Always Err On The Side Of Caution With Location-Based Marketing

Always Err On The Side Of Caution With Location-Based Marketing
Emma Mackenzie
By Emma Mackenzie



All that will result when you bombard a consumer with constant bleeping notifications on their mobile is a swift app deletion. And once the app and permission is eradicated, you can’t get it back. At least, that’s the view of Seb Pedavoli.

The co-founder and creative director from software start-up company Proxima says marketers have to put themselves into the mind of the consumer to figure out what’s an appropriate amount of messages to blast someone. And he adds you should always think the mindset of the cautious customer to avoid the “creepy factor”.

“For notifications and for the marketing, advertising and promotion products, always on the cautious side, very much,” he said, referencing push notifications and beacons – where an app or tech a user has installed recognises the proximity of the user and sends a relevant message to them.

“When we’re designing apps, we spend a lot of that time putting ourselves in the minds of the customers and when it comes to beacons and engagement and experience, you’re always trying to avoid that creepy factor.”

However, Pedavoli reckons marketers aren’t using location-based marketing to its full advantage – which has been hindered by the initial misunderstanding right when it launched, he said.

“Location based marketing was almost a misunderstanding when it came out,” he said. “Marketers and advertisings saw it as a way to be able to target customers with advertising and messaging and they didn’t realise that the guys who have enabled the technology – Google and Apple – put boundaries in place to prevent marketers being able to bombard people with the messages and advertising.”

The actual look and feel of a notification is also critical, as if they bear any similarity to the dreaded pop-up ads from the 90s (and still today), the user will automatically be on the hunt for the cross in the corner.

Pedavoli instead said when he’s talking to marketers he recommends a little banner that pops in from the side by doesn’t obscure the entire screen.

“That allows the user to continue what they’re doing but if it grabs their attention and they like the look of it…then they can do that themselves,” he said.

“And once they dive into that, we don’t bother them. It’s important to understand to always err on the side of caution.

“As a developer, we’re constantly educating marketers of the future we want to avoid – having people walking down the street and being constantly bombarded with messages and notifications.”

 




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