In an era where the convenience of eCommerce is ever-rising, brick-and-mortar stores face the ongoing challenge of attracting customers through their doors. Studies show that foot traffic numbers have been slow to bounce back following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and early 2023 data shows that foot traffic has decreased monthly compared to 2022. Nevertheless, the digital realm offers a variety of sophisticated advertising techniques designed to increase physical store visits. Among these, geo-framing stands out, alongside demographic and behavioral targeting, as an important tool to bridge the gap between online browsing and in-store shopping. In this article, we’ll discuss a few digital advertising techniques brick-and-mortar home furnishings stores can leverage to help them navigate the competitive retail landscape.
Understanding Geo-Framing
Before we get into the techniques, let’s look at what exactly geo-framing is and how it differs from geo-fencing. At first glance, the two might seem similar, but the distinction lies in their technology, approach, and accuracy.
Geo-Fencing vs. Geo-Framing
Geo-fencing involves creating a virtual “fence” radius around a target location, so when a mobile device enters or exits this area, they are automatically added to an audience and served an ad. This technique is dependent on users having location services enabled on their devices. It is only accurate down to a quarter mile, which can result in a wasted ad spend, as you may target people who weren’t seen within the target location.
On the other hand, geo-framing utilizes historical location data to target devices that were seen at a target location within a set period, such as the past 30 days and up to 6 months in the past. This targeting and the fact that geo-framing is accurate down to a single meter helps ensure that your ad dollars are being used effectively and solely going to those seen at the target location.
Geo-Framing Use Cases
Because of its accuracy and ability to work with historical location data, geo-framing offers numerous use cases to help boost foot traffic.
- Competitor Targeting: Consumers often shop at a variety of locations and research options before making a final purchase – this is when they’re considered “in-market”.. By geo-framing your competitors’ store locations, you can identify and engage customers who are already in the market for your product. The more potential buyers see your brand during their “in-market” period, the more likely they are to purchase with you, making this a great technique to drive sales and grow your market share.
- Event Targeting: Event attendees often share common interests, demographics, or purchase intentions related to the theme. By geo-framing the locations where relevant events occurred, such as furniture markets or specific trade shows, you can reach out to attendees after the fact, inviting them to explore your offerings and keep your brand fresh in their minds. Event targeting also works well if you cannot attend these related events, allowing you to engage with attendees without having to attend yourself!
- Neighbor Targeting: Like how service companies hand out flyers to neighboring homes after performing services, targeting neighbors via geo-framing serves digital ads to your past customers’ physical neighbors. Neighbor targeting is one of the most efficient ways to target a demographically similar audience to your current customer, as neighbors tend to mimic each other regarding demographics, interests, etc.
- Friends & Family Targeting: Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the most influential ways to get your business out there, and friends & family targeting takes it to the next level. This technique works by identifying the devices belonging to friends and relatives who have visited the houses of your recent customers and serving them advertisements for your business. Combining a glowing review from close friends and family with enticing advertisements is a surefire way to influence consumers to give your business a shot.
Demographic & Behavioral Targeting
Demographic and behavioral targeting, paired with zip code targeting, has proven an effective way to reach and define your target audience. These methods ensure your message is seen by the right eyes based on geographical and socio-economic factors.
- Custom Demographic Audiences: This strategy involves segmenting audiences based on location and demographic criteria such as age, gender, income, marital status, etc. Analyzing your past customers’ data can help you find which demographics and locations are most prevalent in your current customer base, giving you the perfect starting point for this audience. Custom demographic audiences will allow you to tailor your advertising messages and campaigns to suit the preferences, needs, and behaviors of your key demographic groups, thus helping to boost engagement and maximize ad spend.
- New Mover Targeting: With every move comes big purchases to furnish and decorate the new homes, and these purchases tend to happen within the 30-day windows before and after moving. Using MLS databases, new mover targeting can reach those anywhere in the moving funnel, from those in escrow to those who moved a few weeks ago! New mover targeting is a great targeting technique, especially for furniture and home stores, as it lets you capture shoppers’ attention while they’re still in the market, providing them with an easy choice as they’re figuring out the best places to decorate their new homes.
Other Considerations for a Comprehensive Strategy
To truly revolutionize the customer experience, integrating digital efforts with physical store enhancements is crucial. For example, sending physical mailers to potential customers with special coupons following a digital ad campaign is the perfect way to link your online ads with customers’ in-store experiences. This strategy can help enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. Offering customers the ability to buy online and pick up in-store is another easy way to accomplish this, allowing the customers to cater their shopping experience in a way that’s most convenient for them.
To create an even more seamless transition between your online and offline efforts, align the creatives you use in your digital ads with your in-store displays, as this can produce a familiar atmosphere where customers feel more comfortable shopping. Lastly, and most importantly, having a good sales staff on the floor to greet customers is essential to convert the increased foot traffic into sales. By keeping them up to date on your digital marketing efforts, you can ensure they’re focusing on the products you’re currently promoting and approaching these new customers with the same offerings they’ve seen online.
The digital age presents unprecedented opportunities for brick-and-mortar stores to thrive by adopting hyper-targeted advertising strategies. Geo-framing, alongside demographic and behavioral targeting, offers a pathway to attract more foot traffic and do so with precision and personalization. By embracing these techniques and ensuring a seamless integration of online and offline experiences, stores can enhance customer satisfaction, foster loyalty, and confidently navigate the digital marketplace’s challenges.
