Marketing Location tools

3 Location Tools Every Digital Marketer Should Be Using

/in , , , , /by

Even the most skilled digital marketers tend to struggle in one key area: knowing what their customers are doing offline, and how to use those offline behaviours to develop effective marketing strategies. Offline behaviours are the marketing touchpoints that consumers don’t actually physically engage with, such as seeing an advertisement on TV or a sign in a window when walking past a store.

Location technology offers unique insights into the complex customer journey. Customers do not operate in silos, and marketing shouldn’t either. A buyer has multiple potential touchpoints, and effective marketing requires understanding online and offline behaviours in order to optimize strategies. Marketers using location tools are able to view data on how customers react to various forms of marketing based on their physical locations. By tracking certain customer behaviours, marketers gain the ability to offer stronger and more effective experiences for customers.

Whether customers are shopping online or in a brick-and-mortar store, here are the top 3 location intelligence tools digital marketers should be using to develop a strong end-to-end customer journey.

1. Geotargeting

What is Geotargeting?

Geotargeting is a location intelligence tool used to deliver the most relevant content to people based on their location.
Even the most skilled digital marketers tend to struggle in one key area: knowing what their customers are doing offline, and how to use those offline behaviours to develop effective marketing strategies. Offline behaviours are the marketing touchpoints that consumers don’t actually physically engage with, such as seeing an advertisement on TV or a sign in a window when walking past a store.

How to Use Geotargeting

Geotargeting is effective because it allows you to create marketing strategies that connect with customers on their terms. You get the big picture view of customer locations so that you can communicate in a way that is personal and meaningful. This includes mobile notifications, targeted digital ads, email and much more. Geotargeting allows you to get very specific about who you are marketing to, and how location could play into purchasing decisions. Using geotargeting over a period of time allows you to gather data on customer behaviours for a deeper contextual understanding of what sort of messaging is most effective.

2.  Geofencing

What is Geofencing?

Marketers use GPS or radio frequency (RFID) to designate a virtual geographic boundary. The system is triggered in real time when customers enter or leave the ‘fence.’ This allows marketers to send alerts or notifications to encourage consumer engagement.

How to Use Geofencing

Geofencing allows you to engage with customers in powerful ways. When customers enter or leave the virtual fence, you can send very specific content to help them take a certain action. For example, you can set a fence for 2 miles from your store. If a customer enters the fence, they get an alert about a special deal or event happening at that moment. You can also set up a geofence around a competitor’s business, triggering a notification when your customers visit competitors with a compelling offer that could inspire them to visit you instead. Geofencing could also offer helpful insights by showing how often customers are in your fence, or whether they are inspired to visit your store when offered certain incentives.

3. Geofilters

What are Geofilters?

Geofilters are location-based screens that can be used on social media, and are only accessible when users are in a specific location.

How to Use Geofilters

Geofilters are a fun and unique way to connect with consumers. They are also a great way to have consumers promote your brand for you. You can create a filter consumers can use when they visit you. Alternately, you can allow users to personalize geofilters in your designated space and encourage them to share it on social media. You can even set up a geofilter in or near a competitor’s location to drive customer interest back to you.

Use Location Intelligence in Your Digital Marketing Strategies!

Geotargeting, geofencing, and geofilters are all powerful ways for digital marketers to better understand consumer behaviour. These tools offer location-based insights that help marketers refine messaging, and to develop streamlined customer experiences.

DMTI’s CanMap Address Data and Location Hub Visualization & Web Services deliver the tools can be used to support digital marketing strategies. DMTI is continually updating and cleansing data to deliver accurate and reliable location information.  Marketing teams using DMTI’s unparalleled location data consistently outpace their competition. When using any location tools to market your product or service, DMTI offers the most complete and accurate Canadian data and software services.

Click here to contact a DMTI specialist, and get information on how you can leverage location intelligence to optimize digital marketing campaigns.

Additional Reading:

5 Creative Ways Marketers Can Use Geofencing

 

Customer Experience Location Intelligence and Insurance

5 Hidden Data Points Insurance Companies Can Use to Improve their Customer Experience

/in , , /by

Creating exceptional customer experience is becoming a top priority for many insurance providers as an essential way of differentiating themselves in a fiercely competitive marketplace. If you and your competitor offer similar pricing, but your competitor provides a better customer experience, who do you think will land the customer?

Location data offers actionable information that insurance providers can use to deliver high quality customer experiences at every touch point. Interested in using data to outpace your competition by offering stronger customer experiences? Check out these 5 hidden data points:

1) Accurate Postal Codes  

You want to ensure you’re offering the most accurate quotes possible when customers come to you seeking coverage. If you’re assessing risk based on postal codes, you aren’t working off of the most accurate location information, and this will be reflected in your pricing. Flooding and earthquakes, for example, don’t stop at the postal code boundary. It is more accurate to assess properties based on latitude, longitude, and elevation to truly understand risk.

Using a location intelligence platform like DMTI’s Location Hub, insurers can better identify and rate risks for properties of interest. Actionable information ensures underwriters make data-backed decisions based on the specific locations being reviewed. You get real-time, high precision geocoding delivered with trusted industry standards, and customers get pricing they can trust.

2) True Risk Concentration

You cannot gain a true understanding of a property’s overall risk probability if you examine risks in silos. Location intelligence offers the ability to review total concentration of risk, such as flood, fire, and other natural hazards, and assess likelihood of any of these occurring, as well as how close the property is to emergency services.

Here’s how this improves your customer’s experience. Aside from providing customers with fair, accurate pricing, you also have a comprehensive understanding of their exact insurance needs, including needs they may not realize they have. For example, a customer coming to you for property insurance may not realize they also require coverage for wildfire or flooding. Using location intelligence, you’ve got the data to show customers what they need, making them feel confident in your services and completely protected by the coverage you offer.

3) Reduce Processing

Time Average processing time for quotes and claims is an essential data point every insurance provider must be aware of. Most people are accustomed to immediate gratification, and staying competitive in the insurance industry requires providers to deliver information quickly.

Leveraging the right digital tools is the key to tracking and reducing processing time. Location intelligence easily feeds into platforms that automate the underwriting and claims process according to your company’s rules and guidelines.

4) Customer Information

Location Intelligence platforms enable customer data to be seamlessly integrated, allowing you to autofill information and limit the number of manual inputs required when generating quotes. Automation of personal information reduces costs for you, while providing customers with a better digital experience. Location intelligence also allows you to review customer claims patterns for real time data-based decision making throughout the underwriting process.

5) Complete Customer Portfolios

Instant access to customers’ portfolios provides an overview of data revealing areas where your insurance company could offer additional services. For example, if you’re using a location intelligence platform, you’ll be able to see all properties owned by a customer that may be covered by other insurance providers. With complete property information paired with hazard data, you’ll also be able to see if your customer has adequate coverage to fully protect their assets. This data allows you to provide a great experience for customers because you enter conversations prepared with complete information and options to provide better rates and coverage than your competition.

Click here to learn more.

 

Additional Reading:

Top 3 Ways Location Intelligence Empowers Underwriters

 

GIS Day DMTI Spatial

Celebrating GIS Day

/in , , , , /by

Did you know there is a GIS day to celebrate the impact of GIS technology around the globe? Today is GIS Day, and at DMTI Spatial we see this as a great opportunity to share our knowledge of the role Canada has played in the development of GIS as a technology that has shaped and changed our world in profound ways.

Today, 66% of enterprises rank GIS technology as critical or very important to revenue growth strategies, and many fundamental business practices–even elements of our national safety suc as assisting with emergency responsiveness and preparedness–rely on GIS technology.

What is GIS Day?

GIS Day started in 1999 as a movement launched by Esri to encourage people to learn and share knowledge about the widespread impact of GIS technology. The movement has grown over the years, and today GIS Day has a Facebook group with 18,000+ members!
GIS Day provides a forum and an opportunity for GIS experts to demonstrate the real-world applications of this amazing technology and how it makes a difference in our society. Every map has a story, and GIS Day is the time to celebrate those stories.

Canada and GIS Day

Canada’s history is rich in technological achievements, and is a pioneer in the development of GIS. Many of the methods and techniques used by GIS specialists throughout the world were developed or conceptualized by Canadians.
Here are some examples of how Canada has contributed GIS technological innovations:

  • Dr. Larry Morley: Widely considered a remote sensing pioneer, Dr. Morley is remembered for starting the remote sensing program in Canada. He was the founding Chairman of the Canadian Remote Sensing Society in 1974, and in 2015 he was inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame.
  • Dr. Roger Tomlinson: Known as the ‘father of GIS,’ Dr. Tomlinson worked for the Ottawa-based survey company Spartan Air Services. It was here that he conceptualized the idea of combining land use mapping with computer technology, and became central to the development and eventual applications of GIS technology.
  • RADARSAT: This Canadian-based remote sensing Earth observation satellite is an advanced satellite system providing high quality, accurate images of the earth for a wide range of uses–one of which of course is integration with GIS technology.
  • Geomatics: This fundamental GIS term was introduced by Michel Paradis, a French-Canadian surveyor, during a keynote address to the Canadian Institute of surveying in 1982. He argued that mapping tools would need to innovate alongside the pace of technology to truly address modern mapping needs. The phrase ‘geomatics’ became the accepted umbrella term for the tools related to mapping technologies.

GIS Technology in Canada Today

Many Canadian companies and scholars continue to push GIS technology forward, often with support of various government programs. Geospatial technology is critical to the functioning of many technologies people have become dependant on, including mapping applications, sensor technologies necessary for the Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) is supported by the Canadian government, and is the source of “standards, policies, applications, and governance that facilitate the access, use, integration, and preservation of spatial data.” GeoConnections is another national program mandated to lead CGDI through the use of standards-based technologies and operation policies for data sharing and integration. This program is incredibly important, as it ensures that quality GIS technology is accessible to the people who need it.

DMTI is Canada’s Leading GIS Technology Provider!

Canadian people and companies will continue to make major contributions to the advancement of GIS technologies throughout the world. Here at DMTI we are proud contributors to Canada’s GIS past, present, and future.

Founded in 1994, we knew early on that the power of location could serve many business sectors including finance, insurance, telco, government, retail, and marketing. DMTI introduced CanMap, the first coast-to-coast digital street map in Canada! As GIS technology became more sophisticated, so did we, adding data to maps, finding unique and innovative ways to serve Canadian businesses.

Contact us today, and learn how DMTI Spatial can help your business grow!