As the name suggests, online to offline (O2O) marketing is the process of running online marketing campaigns designed to drive in-store foot traffic and offline sales.
The outcome is more targeted marketing and greater brand affinity by humanizing the sale at the point of purchase.
How does O2O marketing work?
There are four stages of the O2O process:
Online discovery: 81% of shoppers do their product research and discovery online, so O2O marketing focuses on gaining exposure across top-searched channels to gather user data. These channels include:
SEO and content creation – driving SEO for keywords with high search volume within the target audience by creating high-quality content.
Email marketing – Inviting potential customers to subscribe for new products or sales alerts.
Location and preferred store data – As part of the email opt-in process, collect consumer zip codes, which can be correlated with their nearest store to be segmented and targeted accurately.
Offline purchase: You can start driving them in-store for product launches, trials, or special promotions now that you’ve got an audience.
Post-purchase feedback: Collecting customer feedback after they’ve made a purchase will help strengthen relationships, grow product launch sales and gather better insights about customer preferences. This feedback can be from product reviews or purchase drivers/intent. Feedback can be collected via an email campaign to consumers within a specific timeframe from the sale event, QR codes on packaging, or purchase receipts sent via email.
Amplification and advocacy: This stage is about building community and encouraging word-of-mouth. This can be achieved through marketing activities like brand ambassador programs or influencer campaigns and social media campaigns asking people to tag friends that might be interested in the product. However, the most crucial factor for generating word-of-mouth and customer advocacy is building a product that your audience loves.
Why should CPG brands take O2O marketing seriously?
It’s hard to deny that O2O marketing provides an edge to CPG brands over eCommerce-only competitors. It offers the consumer the benefit of enabling their usual online research and discovery habits without disruption but adds “service with a smile” and injects a human element into the otherwise sterile eCommerce experience.
Research has shown that delivering an in-store experience helps to address customers’ emotional needs and reinforces brand affinity.
While measuring the post-COVID retail environment, there’s a noticeable shift from “O2O” to an “O+O” philosophy. CPG brands who integrate this school of thought into their marketing efforts will reap the rewards. Online marketing and eCommerce have been ingrained into every shopper journey, which means there’s renewed focus on delivering a better in-store experience.”
A brand’s online and offline marketing activities need to work perfectly to deliver a seamless, consistent customer experience to make the in-store visit a positive one.
If you’re ready to explore innovative ways of delivering a seamless purchase experience to your customers, contact Mobeo today.
New technologies and the development of new communication channels have changed local marketing.
Today, instead of relying on inserts, small print ads, and banners to gain attention, we can use hyperlocal marketing techniques that target specific regions with pinpoint precision.
This type of marketing targets customers within a geographically limited area, usually a few blocks or streets, often targeting people who conduct ‘near me’ searches on their smartphones.
What are the Advantages of Hyperlocal Marketing
Reach the right audience
Advertisers who use hyperlocal advertising target consumers on mobile phones looking for products and services.
Typically, ads with strong calls-to-action (CTA) display the consumer’s phone number and current location. When the consumer clicks on the ad, the ad network receives their location details and sells the advertisement space to similar channels. This way, advertisers can reach more relevant audiences with more compelling campaigns.
Each advertiser can choose the channel mix that best fits their budget. The media mix may include conventional and local channels, small print ads, television, radio, newspapers, and pamphlets.
Connect with a larger audience
Hyperlocal ads can help small businesses reach as many people as possible within and around their business locations. Aside from reaching a large audience, hyperlocal marketing can also offer a tremendous return on investment.
Brands can sponsor local events or use local influencers to increase their exposure to people who can shop at their business on the same day. Hyperlocal digital marketing can also generate online reviews for the brand, boosting its local rankings.
Another great feature of this kind of marketing is that it drives word of mouth, which leads to increased brand recognition in the local area.
The Key to Hyperlocal Advertising is Search
Local businesses can easily target local consumers through Google, local directories, social media, and mobile marketing. As a result, consumers can engage with local brands in ways never before possible.
In the past, people looked up a business in the White Pages when they couldn’t find its phone number, or they would search through the Yellow Pages to locate a specific type of business.
Since search advertising has taken over, things have become very different in today’s digital world.
Search engines are crucial for local businesses that target a local audience but don’t have massive name recognition. With the help of search engines such as Bing Places and Google My Business, it’s easier than ever to find local businesses.
Google My Business allows local businesses to appear in two places on the first page of a Google search: Google Maps and organic Google search results.
Top Tips for a Successful Hyperlocal Marketing Campaign
To get the most out of your hyperlocal digital advertising, follow these best practices.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Targeting relevant keywords is a good way for businesses to build their local SEO. You can also list your brand on multiple directories, such as Tripadvisor and Bing Places.
According to Google, people search for most information within 1km of their location. Google’s answer to this is their Neighbourly app, which organizes data the way people search for it.
Create Localized Content
Localized content can give businesses an edge and entice new customers. By making the content relevant to the customer base, it feels more personal and is more likely to attract customers.
A way to create more personalized marketing campaigns is to use local stereotypes.
As an example, summers can be stressful due to the excessive heat. Brands can make the most of the summer heat by creating and launching a campaign that promotes healthy chilled foods.
Retargeting
Businesses can use SMS, paid ads, and email campaigns containing compelling promotional offers to remarket to customers who show interest in their products.
You can also define retargeting by demographics and psychographics, such as gender, age, interests, and hobbies.
Geo-fencing
Businesses can target their ads in real-time to only people in a particular area with this technology. You can target a region as narrow as 1,500 feet, and as long as you like.
Social Media Business Tools
Both Facebook and Twitter have created small business divisions. While their approaches to reaching a business’ target audience are different, both show how brands can use their platforms to create content strategies, build a community, engage users and drive sales.
Putting it all together
Once implemented, these local strategies can help local businesses reach more customers, resulting in substantially increased profits. As a result, many brands are looking to hyperlocal marketing as the future of their promotional activity.
Those who recognize the potential of hyperlocal marketing and become early adopters will be more likely to achieve and retain success.
