What Is Geofencing & Why Every Small Business Needs It

What is Geofencing?

Let us understand the geofencing meaning, it is a location-based technology. It helps to accurately track, and effectively alert when a person has entered or exited the virtual geofence. Many security companies are deploying geofencing technology in the security space.  

How does Geofencing work?

To explain how does geofencing work, a virtual boundary is created around a specific location. It must be drawn via GPS or RFID-enabled software. This technology can also be used to simply draw a circle of 100 feet or less on a platform such as Google Maps using API’s. 

Types of Geofencing

Primarily, there are two major types of geofencing: active and passive. Active geofencing is the type of geofencing that depends on having the user’s mobile app open. And, typically works with the user’s GPS service. In the case of passive geofencing, there is no need for an application to be open and doesn’t use GPS. 

Examples of Geofencing

1. Starbucks

One of the best examples of geofencing is Starbucks. It uses geofencing for the advertisement of drinks to interested customers. Push notifications are sent when users walk by their business or are in a nearby area.

2. Dunkin

The strategy used by Dunkin is similar to Starbucks. It sends app notifications when any user enters their geofence. Customers will see exclusive deals on drinks and food from Dunkin.

3. Uber

Uber company uses geofencing marketing for cab drivers to earn fares. It utilizes geofencing in cars to create fences around airports, hotels, and more. This is what is geofencing in cars. 

Advantages of geofencing

There are various advantages of Geofencing for small business, for example, it helps to

1. Drive and engage customers and potential buyers with the business.
2. Adds value to the sales process with the help of offers and promotional gifts.
3. Offers a win-win business proposition to customers with relevant push notifications.
4. Increases business intelligence with location-specific data about customers.
5. Helps to monitor and manage the workforce remotely.

These are the areas which is geofencing used for. 

Examples of Small Businesses Using Geofencing

1. Geofencing in cars can be used to get your customers to invest more money. At the same time, it helps to acquire new customers. Additionally, with the help of geofencing, you can be notified if the vehicle driver leaves their territory. This helps to keep your workforce accountable.
2. Another advantage is that geofencing saves you time and money. It can also be used for the purpose of promotion of a brand and its awareness. Once a customer is contacted with geofencing technology, you must allow them to continue their shopping experience directly from their mobile device. 
3. Help you to wisely manage fuel expenses: Taking long routes or different unplanned routes is a common habit of fleet drivers leading to unnecessary fuel consumption. It is the owner of the fleet who bears all the expenses including the fuel bill. Having a device like KENT CamEye installed in the vehicle can help business owners with fuel management as well. Creating a virtual fence around an area on the map would restrict the driver from going beyond the fenced area. If he tries to do so, an artificial intelligence or AI-based alert will be automatically sent to the owner. Also, an in-vehicle alarm will get activated to warn the driver.
4. Keep track of the driver to ensure on-time delivery: In business, time is valuable, and on-time delivery of products and services is critical for success. The problem is, you cannot always accompany the drivers to ensure timely delivery. The risk of delay persists in the transportation business as the drivers don’t always adhere to the need of reaching on time. Drivers often take detours, sometimes intentionally and at other times, unintentionally. However, tracking them through cell phones gets difficult as most of the time they are unreachable. These issues bring a lot of pressure on a transport business owner and many of them end up taking wrong decisions. However, with geo-fencing, such issues can be easily managed as this technology does not allow the drivers to go astray to other places and generates a regular alert if he breaches the geo-fence. KENT CamEye allows 2-way calling for easy tracking of the drivers even if their cell phones are unreachable. 

Using geo-fencing technology can let you have a better grip on your business.  At least, you can monitor those areas where you cannot be physically present. These are some examples of geofencing for small businesses. 

Conclusion:-

Geofencing helps benefit businesses in various ways. It allows businesses to see who enters into a particular space. For example, physical stores, and how long they stay there and whether they return. Geofencing technology is used by a wide range of industries, thereby helping them in their growth. 

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Frequently Asked Questions about Geo-fencing for small business

1. What types of businesses can use geofencing?

Geofencing can be used for marketing and social media. It also helps businesses with work time tracking. Geofencing can be used by retailers to alert local shoppers about a great deal nearby. Restaurants and Ride-sharing services can also make use of geofencing.

2. Are there any specific industries where geofencing is more beneficial?

Geofencing alerts are effectively used in industries such as:- 

Fleet Management – It has different sets of vehicles that can utilize geofencing for better asset management and monitoring.

Supply Chain – In such an industry, it offers exact location-based reporting. This allows the shipment availability and the right location for the in-transit products.

Taxi Services – Geofencing provides the availability of the number of taxis around a user along with the expected waiting time for when the driver can arrive.

3. How can small businesses implement geofencing technology?

Geofencing for small businesses can be used for targeting social media users at specific events and locations. You can make users who are going to visit their location check-in, leave a comment or write a review.

4. What are the costs associated with implementing geofencing for a small business?

The cost of geofencing differs from one business to another. Most businesses spend anywhere from $1500 to more than $30,000. 

5. Can geofencing be used to track employee locations for small businesses?

Yes, geofencing alerts can be used to easily track the location of employees for small businesses. Geofences of different shapes and sizes can be easily set up around office buildings, warehouses, customer locations and more.

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6. How can small businesses use geofencing to improve their operational efficiency?

Geofencing helps businesses to target users in specifically designated areas. It benefits companies in many ways, for example, by driving local foot traffic to a storefront. Also, it helps in delivering localized ads to nearby users.