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Thanks to smartphones, the world is at our finger tips no matter where we are. Think about driving through a new city or town and realizing you are tired. You decide that it would be best to get a hotel room, rest up and get a fresh start in the morning. Now all you have to do is drive around until you find a hotel, right? Not anymore.
In 2004, the idea of location based marketing was developed. This concept related to the ability to deliver content to a user dependent upon their location by using technologies such as global positioning system (GPS) data. It is designed to be applied in a way that creates real social interactions. Location based marketing is what you get when you search for the cheapest hotel room in the middle of the night in that new city. It allows a user to view all of the available rooms, find the cheapest rates, and usually book the room they want right from their smartphone.
This concept of location based mobile marketing is a part of almost all major retailers marketing plans. It allows a company to put information regarding their products in the hands of the user based on where the user is at a certain time. It is a specific form of ecommerce that companies have realized takes the idea of shopping online one step further. Location based mobile marketing helps companies drive consumers to their businesses and in turn create a profit. By alerting the customer base to a new store location or local product availability a company can increase traffic to a particular location while increasing its customer base and selling more of its products.
Promotions and incentives are also key components to location based marketing. Companies can use location based mobile marketing to advertise promotional deals and discounts. This process makes the advertisements attractive to the user and helps to generate more business for the company. No matter how you look at it, smart phones and the world of profit generation go hand in hand. This world of marketing and advertisement has officially gone viral.