How To Use Location-Tracking to Create Personalization For Your App

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People want personalized experiences, so location-tracking is key for businesses that want to create a relevant and engaging app.

Consumers use mobile apps both on the move and at home. Real-time user data from GPS allows companies to discern user behavior and deliver dynamic experiences in real-time.

Partner with a mobile app development company and consider these three ways you can use location-tracking to personalize your app experience and drive results:

1. Customized push notifications
2. Targeted Ads
3. In-app messages with location-aware discounts

More than half of people are comfortable with apps that track their location, according to The Manifest.

Use this data as reinforcement for investing in location-based marketing and advertising. It’s crucial, though, that your location-targeted engagement tactics are relevant and personalized.

1. Customized Push Notifications

Location-tracking apps provide convenience for users, which allows them to:

• Discover nearby businesses, communities, or events
• Find location-specific services
• Communicate with businesses

Ultimately, location-based features such as push notifications provide fast access to information that people need to make purchasing decisions.

To maximize the impact of your push notifications, measure the following user data

• Search history
• Favorited products
• Frequently visited businesses and locations

Retailers, for example, can use push notifications to reduce cart abandonment. Specifically, you can offer discounts for items left in your online cart and for similar items you sell both on your app and in physical retail locations.

Referencing user history and shopping preferences sends the message: “We see that you weren’t sure about purchasing this product and we’re still interested in your business.” This level of personal engagement helps complete open sales opportunities.

Identify when and how people use your app to deliver relevant incentives. Ask for user preferences when they download your app or during the purchasing process so you can know the best circumstances for triggering your push notifications. You can refine your targeting by using beacons and geo-fencing to trigger the notifications at the most opportune moments.

The more personal your notifications, the better: Personalized push notifications have a 4x higher open rate compared to generic notifications.

It’s important, though, to not push the limits: Irrelevant or generic push notifications may compel users to disable notifications or uninstall your app.

2. Targeted Ads

Ads that match user desires and behavior patterns provide the most rewarding experience. According to Evergage, personalization influences the purchasing decisions of over half of U.S buyers.

For best results, invest in targeted and retargeting advertisements. These ads need to go beyond asking customers to visit a nearby store.

Instead, your ads need to be segmented according to audience buyer personas – which categorize your target audiences according to:

• Demographics: age, race, income, gender, family, location
• Behavior: Active consumer or frugal coupon-collector? Commuter or driver? Traveler or homebody?
• Preferences: Brand loyalties, favored products and services, etc

Source: Neil Patel

Once you create a set of buyer personas, apply location data to your ad campaigns that recommend items based on both their buyer profiles and locations.

For example, say you’re an apparel brand looking to drive winter sales through ads for coats and cold-weather gear. People who’ve recently purchased a coat from you are not interested in ads for winter coats. Instead, to retarget these customers, you need to advertise related items such as caps and mittens to help your brand appear thoughtful and garner clicks.

For users whose data indicate travel on a regular basis, for example, target ads that address the common needs for the locations they frequent – swimwear (beach), ski gear (mountains), outdoor wear (parks and camping sites).

Remember that your audience wants to feel understood, not monitored. Ensure that your location-based advertising positions your company as a relevant resource to their needs in a non-invasive manner.

3. In-App Messaging with Localized Discounts

Location-tracking helps companies to map the customer journey and better understand the path to purchase.

As with push notifications, in-app messages must promise real value to your audiences to drive conversions.

In-app messaging is particularly effective for driving awareness for products or services customers have not demonstrated an interest in but fit their personal profile – for example, customers who buy coats but didn’t shop for hats or gloves.

You can also use in-app messaging as an opportunity to communicate when the desired item is restocked, when a service or offer is close to expiring, or when you release a new product aligns with their order history.

Overall, in-app messaging is a great resource for the following engagement techniques:

• Time-sensitive coupons
• Cart-level discounts
• Lifecycle discounts
• Behavioral discounts within a geographic area

For example, a mobile carrier can invite its customers to use an outstanding store credit or upgrade their phone when they pay their bill in the app. In this circumstance, this message will appear personalized, relevant, and provide value – all of which are incentives for users to redeem your offer,

For optimal effect, your messages should feature both visual cues and personalized elements. According to CleverTap, messages earn higher engagement when they include visuals and users’ names.

Source

Consider creating a personalized landing page that corresponds with your messaging campaigns. Customized web pages extend the personalization of your efforts and mitigate the risk that users lose interest if they engage with your call-to-action but encounter a generic landing page.

Location Personalization Soon to Be Standard in Apps

Personalization is becoming the norm for app experiences and location-tracking is a key element for app owners.

People want the most relevant and convenient app experience possible. To create these experiences, consider in-app messaging, target ads, and push notifications.