The Netherlands has the highest smartphone usage rate within the EU, at 93%. That is 8% more than the major European countries. There are 19 million mobile phones in the Netherlands, which together account for 22.5 billion call minutes and 11 billion SMS messages per year. On average, Dutch people spend 34 days a year on their mobile phones. That is 2.2 hours a day. And in May 2020, 17,436,000 residents were registered in the Netherlands. They make massive use of social media. Time to map this out in more detail:
Number of smartphone users
x 1 million
Social medium
Total
Per day
12,1
9,3
10,4
7,1
YouTube
9,1
2,4
5,6
2,7
4,7
0,6
Snapchat
1,5
1,1
0,7
TikTok
0,1
Total
25,5
Source: www.marktvizier.nl – May 2020
Wherever you are, people are busy with their smartphones. At the office, on the street, in a café, restaurant, on public transport, at birthday parties—truly everywhere. The smartphone has become an extension of the human being. A kind of basic necessity. But through which media channel do they connect with other users? This unfamiliarity is not a problem in itself, because if you target your advertising message on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok, the customer will likely come across you. That represents enormous potential: 12.9 million touchpoints per day and 4.7 billion per year. And if you send a text message, there is a chance it will be read within 15 minutes, which is high compared to other types of messages.
The mobile phone user is therefore a large and broad target group that can be further segmented using current technology. This segmentation technique makes it possible to determine the individual customer’s wishes, their location, and whether they have searched for a product before. However, the target group is constantly on the move and regularly changes location. Suppose you offer a specific brand of furniture. If the customer is on the road somewhere and you can track their whereabouts, and your company is nearby, you can send a targeted message. The customer could then take the exit and drive to your company.
The Location-Based Advertising system has been developed for this purpose.
When a smartphone user wants to open a new app, they are quickly asked whether location sharing is allowed and whether push notifications may be sent. The customer does not know why this is necessary and it can deter them. But as a marketer, you desperately need that information. With it, you populate the LBA system and can send targeted information to the customer. Now you just need to convince the customer that you have good intentions, and the following rules are for that.
1. Design the right questions
Don’t ask too many questions and be clear about your intentions and what the customer can expect.
2. Show the customer what they will be able to see
Show the customer briefly and clearly what they can expect. Indicate that it is not spam and that they will receive targeted information.
3. Indicate the frequency of the messages
Sending messages at a high frequency causes irritation. Give the customer a choice in this matter.
4. Refer to privacy legislation
The customer’s fear lies in the possibility that their information may be shared or misused. Make it clear that privacy legislation applies in full.
5. GPS
The customer’s location is important for the LBA system. Specifically ask the customer for permission to track their location.
