Your customers’ IP address and geolocation might be the key to success. You will no longer miss the mark with advertising campaigns, connecting to people on a personal level.
Moreover, gaining access to all that geo-information is way easier with smart tools, and considering that nearly everyone is on the web today, you get more data. That means more information and better decisions, leading to better sales.
Want to learn more? Let’s find out in detail, shall we?
How does IP Address Geolocation Help with Better Marketing?
Do you wonder how big names and brands of the industry get into your head every time, convincing you to buy their product? They leverage IP addresses and geolocation of their clients and personalize the experiences for the users.
According to a recent CX study, nearly 81% of customers want personalized digital experiences and 70% emphasized that the company should know who they are.
But there’s more to that, much more than you might’ve anticipated. This is why we will quickly run down how geolocation might help you get better at marketing your products.
1. Segmenting Audiences
In marketing, there’s a special phrase “marketing isn’t one size fits all kind of thing” and this is true. A business first finds its niche and gets to a specific group of people based on their interests, likes, dislikes, online buying behavior, and so on.
But there can be sub-groups for people with the same preferences. People who like Jackie Chan movies around the world may have different ages, likes, dislikes, etc. How will you get to them without any means of physical contact? You’ll use their geolocation.
You can personalize buyer’s experiences when you learn where they live, their environmental circumstances, potential struggles because of them, and more. Hence, leaving you with people who truly understand and accept your products/services as their solution.
2. Localized Buying
Geopolitical boundaries influence a lot of buying decisions due to local trends, word-of-mouth, and much more and brands need to realize this. They must leverage IP address geolocation to enable localized buying. Don’t worry, I’ll explain.
Think of it this way, a person living in Gansu, China might not be able to afford an action figure worth $50. Whereas a person in New York will get their hands on the new Avengers set in a heartbeat. Why? Because they can and the Chinese cannot.
Well, aren’t the Chinese rich, too? Yes and no. While the western part of China is developed, the eastern part like Gansu isn’t that financially strong. This brings us to the point that leveraging IP address geolocation is crucial for businesses.
It allows you to set the pricing of your products, accordingly, encouraging more buyers to get on board with your brand. You cannot localize buying without getting to the level of the consumer.
More than that, getting your hands on users’ geolocation grants you to show them offerings they like to see, hear, touch, or wear.
For instance, a streaming platform may show local shows and drama based on where the user lives, something particular to their taste so that they continue using your platform.
3. Gaining Deeper Insights
Users commonly use different ways to go online. Some with their laptops, while others with their desktop computers, tablets, and mobile devices. All of them emit an IP address that can be leveraged for detailed consumer insights.
For example, as an E-commerce store, having a surge of users coming from Greece can prompt you to add the Greek language to your platform to cater to their needs.
On a similar note, if we’re talking locally, you can get help from IP address geolocation to optimize the delivery route to a customer by knowing the exact city from where they are connected. This can satisfy them, to say the least, making them a regular at your store.
Another special thing that comes to mind is trends that are tanking: things that aren’t working too well in a particular region or language. Having access to IP location can save you from wasting your resources and time on ad campaigns that were never intended to work in the first place. Thus, making you more productive and effective in certain areas.
4. Strengthening Fraud Protection & Brand Loyalty
You might have noticed that most intelligent platforms like Google immediately notice when you log in to your account with a different device or from a changed location. This is because they use geolocation to track you down, but for the good.
Companies today utilize IP addresses and location data to keep their users informed and safe on the platform. So, if you’re on the go and want to play some games on Steam, you might have to authenticate yourself first using a 2FA security system.
I know, the security checks do seem like a bummer, but they can save you from potential scams like malicious use of G-pay, stolen in-game items from Steam, and so on.
But what does it all have to do with better marketing for your brand? You see when online stores or platforms utilize geolocation, they not only help protect their users from fraud but also gain a chance to show things that appeal to them.
For instance, Steam will not show games that aren’t available in a certain region. Thus, allowing users to buy products that truly work for them, making them loyal to the company.
5. Making Improved Decisions
When you have everything marked on a map, making decisions becomes much easier. You know exactly what to expect from out of a place or region based on past ad campaigns and the in-demand products.
This can influence better strategy-making for local/international regions, helping you to win more business.
On the contrary, you can also see underperforming regions and come up with better plans to cater to their needs. This can improve your bottom line and help you stay competitive in the local and international markets.
Challenges of Using IP Address Geolocation
Leveraging IP address geolocation can provide marketers with many advantages, however, using IP geolocation means businesses also face their own set of challenges. Like many data analytics processes, there are genuine issues to be addressed to make sure geolocation data use is ethical, effective, and sustainable.
1. Privacy Concerns and Privacy Regulations
Perhaps one of the most exigent challenges is sacrificing the user’s privacy. Because geolocation data can reveal where a person has been, certain ethical and legal questions arise.
Europe has the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and in the U.S. the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) sets strict rules about how businesses can collect, store, and use location data. So, companies must clarify that they get explicit consent from users and exactly how they will use users’ data to stay away from hot waters.
2. Accuracy of Data
The geolocation data that is derived from IP addresses is not always correct. Users commonly use virtual private networks (VPNs), proxies, or shared IPs, which can cause the information you read to be misleading.
For example, a user who connects through a VPN will seem to be coming from another country than they are. This can potentially lead to wrong audience segmentation, wrong advertisements, or ineffective localization.
3. Technical Limitations
Geolocation technology is a costly investment in tools, infrastructure, and expertise. Such platforms are high-end, which creates the problem of adoption for smaller businesses as it is difficult and expensive for them to afford them or integrate them with their existing systems.
4. Ethical Implications In Targeting An Audience
Sometimes, hyper-local marketing strategies can get a bit invasive. For example, you could run ads based on a user’s exact location, but it might be considered intrusive, to the point of leading to some discomfort or distrust from the user.
Thus, to keep customers satisfied and loyal to the brand, businesses must find a balance between customer personalization and respecting user boundaries.
5. Risk of Overgeneralization
Geolocation data isn’t enough on its own—you can stereotype or overgeneralize about a user’s preferences or behavior. Consider someone claiming that everyone in the region acts the same: They forget buyers are human beings and can act differently.
Geolocation is simply one data point that needs to be combined with other data points, like browsing history and most importantly customer feedback to deliver truly effective marketing.
Recognizing and dealing with these challenges helps businesses successfully utilize IP address geolocation to their benefit.
Final Thoughts
Utilizing IP address geolocation is pivotal for enhancing customer insights and improving marketing strategies.
By segmenting audiences, enabling localized buying, and gaining deeper insights into consumer behavior, businesses can create personalized experiences that resonate with customers.
However, there are challenges to utilizing IP Address Geolocation for your business that you need to be aware of. Be mindful about resolving these issues and you are golden!
