Wearables are the next smartphones. They have come a long way from fitness bands to Google Glass to smartwatches like Pebble Time, Android Wear and of course, the Apple Watch are changing our lifestyles by becoming gadgets on which we can depend upon for day to day activities.
Although wearables are not standalone devices yet, they offer numerous opportunities to marketers to promote products and services. This can be attributed to a completely new set of hardware and software features and functionalities, which they bring to the table. Also, consumers are becoming constantly aware of wearable technology, which helps marketers leverage the potentials of various wearable devices and reach out to their target audience.
This tells us that wearables are ushering in a new revolution when it comes to mobile marketing strategies. Want to find out how? Here are some pointers, which will explain how wearables are changing the marketing game.
#1. Location based marketing
An average customer today is constantly changing locations, devices and also, the preferred way to interact. This is where location based marketing becomes a prerequisite of all marketing campaigns. It helps marketers connect with their target audience in real-time and that too in the most personal way. It also has more impact on them as compared to the traditional marketing routes.
Location based marketing takes a completely new turn with wearables in the forefront. The best example of location based marketing is demonstrated by Apple’s iBeacon Technology, which monitors the shopping patterns of consumers, their spending histories and get their real-time locations. This data can be used to present content such as product information, discounts and deals as and when they walk into a store and stroll past an aisle. This enhances the whole shopping experience without intruding their privacy. All that the users need to do is to check their wearables to know ‘the best deal of the day’ for different products and use the information to take an informed choice.
Additionally, wearables are going to get more useful with the Internet of Things. For example, consumers can get coupons of car rental firms pop up on their wearables when they travel abroad or avail discount coupons of souvenir shops when they explore a town. This personalized focus on consumers will definitely help businesses maximize their ROI in the long run.
#2. Getting more information on consumers
Marketing thrives on consumer data. Using wearable technology enables marketers get a better insight in their consumers’ habits and opens up a plethora of opportunities when it comes to targeted advertising. The data also helps marketers improve upon customer experiences, allows them to rise above their competitors and gain customer loyalty.
For instance, wearables have in-built sensors that allow them to measure heart rate and stress levels, monitor activities, track locations etc. This helps marketers determine the lifestyles of their potential consumers and therefore, makes it easy to sell products and services that are in sync with their lifestyles. A person with an active lifestyle is more likely to buy sports shoes or invest in premium fitness apps as opposed to someone with a sedentary lifestyle. Similarly, a person with a high stress level is more likely to take a break from routine and use vacation deals that pop up on the wearable screen.
These are just some of the many possibilities, which consumer information bring to the table for the marketers.
#3. Enhancing customer loyalty
Wearable technology is also useful when it comes to ensuring customer loyalty. Think of a situation wherein consumers buy a product such as sports shoes and get a complimentary app that helps them track their fitness levels at regular intervals. This is what provides them value addition; they have already paid for the product and getting useful information regarding their health and fitness acts as a bonus. This way, they are more likely to stay loyal to the product or the brand and advocate the same to their friends and family. This takes us to the next point.
#4. Making consumers brand advocates
References by friends, family members or even influencers do much more for brands as opposed to relentless advertising and marketing. This is because consumers nowadays rely more on reviews from someone in their social media network or someone they trust and not testimonials on websites or reviews on some third-party websites. They will comb through the pages related to the product for genuine reviews posted by other users and then take a call.
Just like social media platforms, wearables too hold tremendous potential in terms of brand advocacy. Uses can use a gesture as simple as a tap to rate a product and share the information on their social profiles. They can also share videos, images and other sharable content relevant to the product with people in their network if they find it beneficial and spread the word about it.
#5. Contextual advertising and promotion
Wearables have small screen real estate, which means that marketers get limited space for promoting or advertising their products and services. This also means that customers will get less spammy and invasive ads and more contextual ads or promotional content, which are relevant to their interests or their locations. This is what turns these gadgets with tiny screens into powerful advertising mediums.
#6. Making the most of augmented reality
Wearables such as Google Glass and smartwatches allow users to explore different products and services by making apt use of augmented reality. This technology allows users to perceive a product or a service as it is. This is quite helpful for marketers when they want to highlight the benefits of their brands.
For example, a company that wants to launch a new type of fruit drink on the market can create an interactive video showing how the drink is made and provide a CTA (call to action) button for ordering a sample of the drink. This helps potential customers engage and connect with the brand on a personal level and therefore, increase the conversion ratio.
#7. Giving mobile payments a boost
Apple Pay and Google Wallet – both have taken mobile payments to a new level even though they are at a nascent stage. This functionality can be used by marketers to promote their products or services easily on the wearable platform. For instance, it is quite possible that in the near future, various coupons related to different brands can be directly stored in the virtual wallets of the users. At the time of making a payment with their wearables, they will get a prompt to use these coupons, which they otherwise forget to use. This is something that will give mobile payment a boost and translate into more sales for the marketers.
Conclusion
There is no doubt about the fact that wearables are here to stay and so, it is imperative that marketers adapt to this new, innovative platform and create strategies to reach out to their segmented audience. Have you tried your hand at marketing using wearable technology or intend to do so in the near future? Share your experiences and opinions with us by commenting on the write-up.
Images: “Modern wearable technology illustration isolated/Shutterstock.com“
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