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A geo-fence is a virtual catchment area that is applied to a real-world geographical region. The geo-fence can be within a 5 square foot area, to an entire county. The goal of a geo-fence is to use a location-aware system to execute an action when someone enters your zone.

For geofencing to work, the device you are trying to target must be location-aware. Meaning any portable device that enters the position will be subject to the delivery of your marketing. A user who enters a geo-fence can receive the targeted marketing from the geo-fence up to 30 days after registering within the boundaries.

Why Should I Use Geo-fencing?

You know that using your marketing budget wisely is crucial. If you run Google ads without setting any parameters to who you want your ads to reach, you are wasting valuable marketing dollars by targeting non-qualified leads. 

Geo-fencing is especially useful in the HVAC industry because you are targeting specific areas. Depending on your business’ size, you probably have a particular area you service. If your ads are being shown to people who are not in your service area or are unlikely to need your services, you have essentially thrown your money down the drain.

Strategy

Geo-fence marketing is only as useful as you make it; placing your fence strategically is crucial in generating results. An HVAC company creating a geo-fence around an older community is more effective because most heating and air conditioning units will be 20+ years old. These older units are much more likely to need to be repaired or replaced, making them much more profitable to target than a newer neighbourhood. By targeting strategic areas that are more likely to need a replacement furnace, your median profit will be much higher. 

We also like to geo-fence home improvement conferences. Almost every city puts on some version of a "Home and Garden" show for homeowners. When we set the perimeter around the show date and address, we capture all attendees' phones with location services turned on. We can market to them during the show and when they leave, and we continue to market to them after the show is over. This is a great way to ensure your ad is being shown to people in your service area, while they are in market to upgrade their home.

How Can I Geo-fence?

Geo-fencing is a service that is mostly provided through agencies as the nature of the service can be quite intricate. When deciding to employ geo-fencing strategies it is important to understand where you want it and for how long. 

For example, if there is a convention or event related to your business, (like a home improvement event) you can target that area and push your ads to the people attending. 

Most geo-fencing services will set a time frame, in this case, the duration of the event where it registers everyone's devices in that location. Then, after the event whoever entered a location known as your audience will begin receiving your targeted advertising. There are several marketing agencies that specialize in geofencing, a popular one being Propellant Media. Each company differs in the service that they offer, some require a minimum payment and others specialize in event marketing or addressable geofencing (households).

Last Word

Geo-fencing is the next step in taking your digital marketing to the next level. Your advertising will be more purposeful with a higher yield by targeting areas and specific qualified groups of people. If you need help identifying which geofencing campaign will be the most profitable for your business, reach out to us.