A recent report by Markets and Markets has shown that the global location-based services market is expected to grow to $77.84-billion by 2021.

Well-known brands in South Africa, such as Hooters, Virgin Active, Prime Property as well as some of the nation’s biggest malls, have already started to leverage targeted proximity based mobile ads on their Wi-Fi Network – triggering more in-store purchases, increasing customer retention and effectively building brand loyalty.

Businesses can no longer afford to ignore the power of location-based ads, and industries that are slow to adopt location intelligence such as Wi-Fire will be outperformed by their competitors.

But what makes location-based Wi-Fi advertising so successful?

It’s hyper-targeted

While social media platforms like Facebook and Google also offer location-based mobile ads, Wi-Fi advertising leads the way in radius targeting, reaching potential customers who enter or exit a store with an engaging ad. It also sends a message to consumers who haven’t visited a venue for quite some time, as they pass by.

Wi-Fi advertising helps you maximise your customers 'micro-moments' (or 'want to buy' moments) creating unique cross-sell and upsell opportunities for your business.

It’s personalised

Customise your Wi-Fi location ads to your target market. Ad delivery through Wi-Fi marketing can be based on demographics such as age, gender and LSM, consumer behaviour and interests, which allows marketers to craft their very own story for each target group.

2018 is the year of mobile storytelling and brands are being expected to have an understanding of how fiercely personal mobile is. Wi-Fi advertising is the gateway to more personal customer experiences, adding more value and meaning to users’ mobile journey.

It’s less expensive

In comparison to beacon technology, using your pre-existing Wi-Fi network and an easy-to-install ROI solution such as Wi-Fire on top would reduce your infrastructure cost substantially because it doesn’t require extra hardware or app installation.

Wi-Fi technology acts similar to beacons or other near-field communication technologies as it allows Internet connectivity to users in a specific geographical area and pushes relevant notifications/ads to any users’ smart device while they shop.

In addition, Wi-Fire saves you time as there is no need to install beacons in your business's vicinity and could be up and running in less than a day.

It’s direct

When it comes to advertising, there is no better direct marketing channel than your Wi-Fi network. Similar to other advertising platforms, with Wi-Fire, marketers have the choice to reach their target group through banner ads, such as full-page interstitial ads, survey ads or retargeting ads.

As soon as users connect to your store’s free Wi-Fi, your ad can be shown as they start browsing the web. When opting for location-based social media advertising, for example, Facebook, your ad campaign only shows up when a user opens Facebook or an approved Facebook affiliate app.

Another benefit of Wi-Fire is that you will be able to directly track your customers after they signed in on your branded splash page, providing you with valuable data and analytics on their buying habits and browsing behaviour afterwards.

Whether you are a business owner looking to monetise your free Wi-Fi Network, a brand manager interested in gathering more insights on customers, or a digital marketer aiming for better-targeted ads, location-based Wi-Fi advertising is a massive opportunity to increase sales in a competitive landscape.

It’s available, cost-efficient and has the capacity to transform your business.

For more information visit, www.wifire.co.za. You can also follow Wi-Fire on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.