If you think that word of mouth is enough to attract new guests to your hospitality business, then it is time to review your marketing approach. We will tell you all about Location based Marketing here.
What is Location based Marketing (LbM)
Location based Marketing (also called hyperlocal advertising) involves marketers using a phone’s Wi-Fi or GPS location to find out where their target audience is. They can reach their audience based on city, region, neighborhood, or zip code, for example.
It can also be interesting for your catering business if you want to promote your business to people in a certain area. Because advertisements are so focused on location, the advertisement becomes more relevant, which in turn can ensure that you build better relationships with your (potential) guests. After all, a hyperlocal advertisement makes it easier for your target group to come to you because you are already in the area.
Location based marketing is less interesting if your target group is very specific. If you sell wedding dresses, you will probably reach many people with location based marketing who are not interested in wedding dresses, for example people who are already married or young people.
Why is it a trend now?
Everything and everyone is mobile and personalization is key. We don't want to see ads for products or services we are not interested in, because those ads are not relevant to us.
We want experiences that add something to our lives and can fulfill our wishes as efficiently as possible online. Location based marketing plays into this.
Belgoo Beer 
Madagascar Vanille
NOOR & NOOR
Jeanne Gennar, Coffee with a Soul
Chef & Knife
Kyzoe Hosting & Design
Belgian Master Butchers
What options are there?
Advertisers can use Location Based Marketing to send promotions and offers to the right people who are nearby. For example, if you have your own app, you can use hyper-local ads in this way if the users allow their location to be used for the app.
You can also use Google AdWords to create an advertisement based on location, for example with radius targeting, which allows you to reach people within a radius of your business.
Facebook Local Awareness Ads
Another option is with Facebook Local Awareness Ads. This allows you to reach new guests by showing ads that are near your restaurant. This way you can promote your business to people who are in the area.
By using 'get directions' you can show a map with your business location, the distance to the business, the opening hours and a link to directions. You can also add a call to action button to your Local Awareness Ad, for example: Directions, Call Now, More Information or Send Message.
The 5 reasons to pay attention to LbM
1. It helps generate more sales
The goal of any marketing campaign should be to attract more guests. LbM can help you show your hospitality business in the right place when it matters most; when (potential) guests are performing relevant local searches.
Let’s say you run a café. When someone types in “coffee near me”, that’s when they’re interested in one of your products. No matter which search engine they use, they’ll see a list of establishments that offer coffee in their area. The higher you appear on this list, the more chances you’ll have to be chosen.
When performing a local search on Google, a user searching for “Café near me” will only see three options – with a drop down menu where 'more places' contains more options.
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According to a survey conducted by Moz, only 8% of customers click on “more” results, while 44% of customers make their choice based on the first three local results. This means that if you’re not in these top 3 local listings, you could be missing out on foot traffic.
2. LbM makes hypersegmentation incredibly easy
Who else is more likely to visit your establishment than those within walking distance? With Location Based Marketing, you target prospective guests in a highly specific, geographically defined area, sometimes just a few blocks or streets, as they perform “near me” searches on their mobile devices.
For example, let’s say you need a medication and you go to the nearest pharmacy to get it. When you get there, you discover that they no longer sell that medication. What do you do? You take out your mobile device and perform a “near me” search for pharmacies near your location.
Hotel-Restaurant De Kommel
Weilandshof
The Mastercooks of Belgium
Bulls of the Princess
3. It helps improve customer experience.
John has a meeting in a town he is not familiar with, is well ahead of time and wants to grab a bite to eat beforehand. He searches for “snack near me” and identifies 'Linda Chicken Snack' as the best choice out of the top three local listings.
The snack has good reviews, nice pictures and is located on the way to the meeting location; it is the perfect choice. The information says that they close at 20pm. John leaves the station at 19pm and arrives at the catering establishment at 19:15pm. Right on time, he thinks. But the snack is closed. 'Linda Chicken Snack' has different opening hours due to the winter holidays, but has not posted this information online.
John is not happy. He leaves a negative review and goes to the second best local result. John will eat at the competitor, simply because one company provides accurate information and the other does not.
Inaccurate or missing listings cost your guests. Not only do they drag down your search rankings, they also create a frustrating guest experience. In the 2018 Local Search Ranking Factors Survey, 66% of marketing experts said that Google My Business listings and reviews are the elements that will have the most impact on a local business’ online presence.
If your listings are incorrect they will lead to increased customer dissatisfaction, negative reviews, and loss of future revenue.
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4. It instantly generates new Facebook reviews
Over the past few decades, consumers have increasingly begun to communicate with companies through social media, and no social platform is more popular than Facebook. 74% of consumers say they use Facebook to find out more about businesses. And that includes reading reviews, of course.
Want to get more Facebook reviews without having to ask for them? With Location Based Marketing, you can. Here’s how it works: A user “checks in” to a location using Facebook’s geo-tagging, and within 1-2 business days, Facebook will send them something like this:
Facebook's automatic review request is based on check-ins, so the business owner doesn't have to do anything!
But in order for Facebook to use this feature you will need to ensure that your location targeting is accurate with correct and complete business information.
More about Location based Marketing
view more reasons to pay attention to LbM.
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Sources: SoConnect, Stuurlui
