We first saw it in the Minority Report. You know, that part in the movie where Tom Cruise walks through the shopping mall and the shops are calling out to him letting him know that that jacket he tried on last week is now in the sale. OK, so that worked in the sci-fi world based on retina scanning but in todays world this type of proximity communication is becoming a reality through the use of GPS enabled phones.
Many of you I'm sure have already dabbled with permission marketing whereby a customer gives you their permission to contact them every now and then to let you know what's going on instore through the power of text. The problem with this type of marketing is 9 times out of 10 the customer is no where near a store and forgets all about it the moment they close that message.
If only you knew when they were close by and you could then send them something that was specific to that store on that day?
This is where Proxi Marketing comes in. Once your customer has given their permission, your systems will have a very clever algorithm that identifies when your customer is close by through the use of their GPS phone. Once identified you can then send them a message such as "Hi Steve, we see you're round the corner from your local Clapham store. Why not pop in and use this unique discount code and get 10% off any purchase today!". I might be in a rush, I might not need any more music, but just maybe I'm looking for that new Take That album and just maybe I'll pop in and buy it there and then just because I have that discount code.
Of course proxi marketing is not just about giving discount codes. In a world where we are now informed customers, this provides a great stream to communicate endless information that engages todays customer, right here, right now, just outside your store.
O2 is currently trialing this on a London based scheme with brands such as Starbucks, Superdrug and L'Oreal. During the trial in the US, 65% of customers made a purchase as a result of the proxi message*.
Is your brand involved? If not, this could be a great opportunity for you to get onboard and drive sales through this new technology!
* Figures from GDR Global report 2011
