Geofencing is a new piece of technology in the world of GPS trackers. Most modern GPS trackers come with smartphone software, letting you track your device from your phone. From your smartphone app, you can also easily create a geofence. Geofencing is using signals from a tracking device to pinpoint that device's location and draw a digital parameter around that area, ‘fencing’ it off. Geofencing is an innovation that will become more popular and widely used. The geofencing market is expected to grow shy of 25% between 2021 and 2024.
Benefits to business
Regardless of your business, geofencing can play an important role in your business’s productivity and efficiency. GPS tracking and geofencing are also very affordable, efficiently increasing the level of service customers receive in your business for a low cost.
Marketing and customer tracking
Drawing a digital boundary around your business is great for marketing, as people coming into that area can be targeted by certain ads or push notifications relevant to that location. Setting up a promotion only available within the geofence around your business could help draw customers into your store. When you cross a land border and receive a notification about entering a different time zone or network zone, this is done through geofencing.
A geofence around your business could also help provide quicker, more proactive customer service and help connect the business with new potential customers. Geofencing can also give insight into customer data, i.e. the times of the day most foot traffic occurs.
Social media
Geofencing can also be used for social media to create custom filters for an event or your business. Customers can no longer access the filter when they leave the geofence. Making use of social media filters during events is a great way to personalise the customer's experience and spread brand awareness. Encouraging customers to 'check in' to your store on social media and share their experience is essentially free marketing. When customers leave a geofenced area, you can prompt them to give written feedback or review of their time in-store.
Fleet management
If you manage a fleet or warehouse, geofencing could offer a range of benefits to your business, like added security. You can use geofences to alert management when vehicles leave a certain area. This could indicate when a driver begins work, when a driver deviates from their assigned route, or if a driver is attempting theft.
Geofences are not only useful for security reasons, but you can also use them to provide better customer service. When a GPS-tracked car enters a specific zone, you can use a geofence to alert customers their delivery is nearby. This can help make parcel drop-offs quicker whilst providing a more hands-on customer experience. In general, geofences can help with monitoring driver and route efficiency, providing data insights into where the business is lacking.