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Top Marketing Strategies for Hyperlocal Apps


Abhinav Girdhar
By Abhinav Girdhar | Last Updated on December 8th, 2023 9:50 am
App Builder Appy Pie

The traditional aspects of business are coming back today wrapped in a new package, with higher relevance and context. One of the greatest example of this is in case of e-commerce, where hyperlocal marketing is making a big comeback. This is especially due to the entry of so multiple hyperlocal apps that make it possible for users to connect to their local markets in the vicinity in an informed manner.

Technology has evolved in leaps and bounds, which has brought about some unique innovations in the field of app marketing as well. Marketers are looking for a better way to connect with and target the right kind of users, particularly in terms of their location, by making use of context and relevant content.

Hyperlocal marketplaces in the virtual space are making quite a buzz these days because of an impressive growth in the number of internet users, a big surge of payment opportunities, an increase in the number of geolocation aware devices, and suitable demographics. It is a combination of these factors that have paved the way for hyperlocal e-Commerce businesses. Services like home care, grocery delivery, office, and personal care etc. are one of the first few that were offered through a variety of hyperlocal apps or marketplaces.

The system of hyperlocal marketplaces is of a great help for both, the merchants as well as the customers, in addition to bringing in profits for the administrator. How is works is that a merchant or a vendor, adds the location(s) or an area where they can deliver their products. The customers would then enter their own area and check for the availability of products and merchants in that area. On the basis of the location and products on offer, the merchants or vendors now become visible to the customer looking for them.

The increasing number of startups and new businesses in the field of hyperlocal marketplaces, and the growth in enthusiasm among investors underline the potential and glowing future of this field. Whether it is mobiles, electronic items, groceries or medicines, everything can be delivered to your doorstep from the shops in your vicinity along with a great “edge” over e-Commerce in terms of faster delivery, lesser shipping costs and trust of the customer. It is for this reason that in the recent times, the e-commerce giants like Amazon, Flipkart etc. are joining the startups in entering the hyperlocal space.

What is a hyperlocal business?

To put it quite simply, a hyperlocal business or startup is one that enters the hyperlocal marketplace in a bid to empower the local offline services from anywhere at any time. It might seem like a simple enough task when we put it like that, but the execution or implementation of this model may be tougher than you’d think.

A popular use case of a hyperlocal business would be listing out all the local grocery shops and an itemized list of the products in a mobile app and then employ a channelized workforce to deliver the ordered products in the least possible time. One more use case that has gained massive popularity in the hyperlocal marketplace is the food ordering service that allows the customers to order food from the fine dining places in the vicinity that would not deliver to your place otherwise.

What are hyperlocal e-commerce businesses?

The hyperlocal e-commerce businesses are online retailers who have the advantage of being in the physical vicinity to the customer. A big chain of grocery retailers who might have a national or global presence expects you to place your order today in order for them to deliver the next day, however in case of a hyperlocal grocery merchant may even guarantee you a one hour delivery for any products that you pick from their e-commerce portal.

Service and delivery pertaining to food, medicines, groceries, customer goods, and many more can be delivered to you by any number of hyperlocal startups who are populating the market with a unique characteristic that their supply chain would lie in entirety near the customers and the vendors.

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Why do we need a hyperlocal marketplace?

There are almost as many or maybe more businesses online today than the offline ones.

In the recent times it has been established that the change in customer behavior coupled with the network effect of the shared economy has increased the importance of the marketplace model in the virtual space. The added advantage of reaching the customer has made offline businesses worth millions of dollars enter the online business world.

One of the most distinguished features of the hyperlocal platforms is that they sort out the problem of being able to match prompt demands with the nearest available supply in the most optimized manner. Whether you want to hire a plumber to fix a leak in your sink, order food from a fine dining establishment in your vicinity, or get a spa session without leaving the comfort of your home, all you have to do is avail the services of a hyperlocal system and you are sorted.

The definitive traits of running a hyperlocal e-commerce business may be listed as under:

  • It might be quite simple and convenient to get the services off the ground, but it is much harder to scale the business. This is because scaling involves replicating a similar model frequently in a number of regions.
  • Once you replicate your hyperlocal business in a number of different regions, you would begin feeling the buildup of a pressure generated by the expectations of a quicker delivery from the customers.
  • Since the geographic expanse of a hyperlocal business is not huge, there is minimal wastage, hence the marketing spends are typically highly effective.
  • The service providers in the hyperlocal retail services are mostly other retailers, which, in some cases, might make it tough to control the quality and inventory.

Two of the most important things today are technology and marketing, especially with the scale of their innovation today. Hence when it comes to hyperlocal marketplaces, the hyperlocal apps are scaling the peak. Marketing the hyperlocal businesses takes on as much, if not more importance as well. Here are the top marketing strategies for your hyperlocal app, put together by Appy Pie.

#1 Make Good Use Of The Search Engines – Enhance The Search & Discovery of Products

creating your own app

The search engines are one of the most important things to consider when it comes to strategizing the marketing of your hyperlocal app. It has been established through research that about 45% of the mobile searches are intent driven. To make things clearer, let’s take a look at these interesting points about the actions of the users after they have searched for something (anything) on their mobile device.

  • 30% of these users are more likely to visit a WAP site.
  • 57% of these users are likely to visit a store
  • 51% of these users are more likely to make a purchase.

These figures clearly indicate the importance of your hyperlocal app showing up on the searches initiated by the users. In order to make sure that your hyperlocal app shows up on the popular search engines, it is a good idea to avail one of the specialized services including but not limited to Google My Business, Bing Places, etc. These services can help you make your app to be easily found by the users. Google is the most preferred search engine amongst any user group for any kind of search, hence it is absolutely essential to have your app and the products or services listed on the first page of the Google search. This can be accomplished either through organic or paid marketing measures.

#2 Pay Optimum Attention To The Reviews

We all respond better to a product when it comes attested or recommended by someone who is a trusted person, or even by a bunch of absolute strangers. This tendency applies to all products and services, and your app is not really going to be an exception. Today user reviews matter more than they ever had. If you have a good number of positive user reviews it is going to positively impact the number of downloads for your app. This is simply because good user reviews for your app encourage an even greater number of people to download it and use it. Additionally reviews also contribute to the ranking of your app in the search results, because whenever any user mentions your app online, it gets included in the ranking algorithm that is used by the search engines. Hence take special care, when it comes to user reviews and recommendations as they have a lot to contribute to your app’s ranking and its success.

#3 Develop Content To Have A Localized Relevance

The whole idea of a hyperlocal content is about ‘Going Local’! And since you have decided to build an app in the hyperlocal space, it is only natural that you would need to begin building and sharing local content. It is only natural that people are curious about the happenings in their close surroundings or neighborhood. Hence what we suggest is for you to create content that would talk about area specific deals and cover information about local institutions and events. You may do well to localize your content in term of the culture of that area, the language that is predominantly used by the people in that area, and the product usage trends. You may also draw up some collaborations with popular content portals that have a local flavor and inclinations, so that you may benefit from their huge readership base.  Another important thing to remember here is that all the content, whether on the landing page or on your mobile blog, must be easily readable and be convenient to use so that the readers can easily navigate through the relevant content pages on your app. Also, make sure that you optimize your content by placing an appropriate call-to-action.

#4 Employ Geo-Targeting When It Comes To The Users

The success of a hyperlocal app depends on how well you can focus on accurate geo-targeting, so that you may be able to reach out to their target users. Two of the most effective tools in this arena are Facebook & Google AdWords. These tools allow effective user targeting on the basis of a number of relevant parameters like age, gender, location, language, etc. ‘location’ being the key parameter here! These form the essence and basis of hyperlocal marketing. In addition to this, you can also team up with the perfect user destinations or spots for better location-based targeting.

#5 Adopt Efficient Social Media Marketing Strategies

Social media is one of the most important marketing tools today, and it is only going to get better and keep gaining more importance. Facebook’s AI enabled bot feature is one of the most interesting features that can help hyperlocal apps. This futuristic feature would enable a lot of businesses to create intelligent bots for targeting users with relevant communication and the product options on the basis of their location. Facebook, however is not the only social media channel. Twitter is a great tool for the hyperlocal apps to realize optimal marketing goals. When you send out geo-targeted Tweets or run geo-targeted promotions, the hyperlocal app and the marketers have the option to target the users based on their location.

#6 Observe The In-App Analytics As Closely As You Can

The in-app analytics can give you a peek into the user behavior. This is especially of a great use for the hyperlocal apps as it allows them to draw actionable insights and give them an insight into the user behavior especially about their choice of products & services in their area. This is accomplished by monitoring the in-app activities of the user including but not limited to the most searched category of products, the time spent on specific content pages, the frequency of their visits and so on.

#7 Go For Appropriate User Segmentation & Smart Retargeting

This is one of the prominent areas where the insights collected from your in-app analytics may be put into application. These insights can be used by the hyperlocal app marketers for the creation of smart user segments for specific targeting. The marketers can segment their app users into segments using the captured data in order to target the users with products and offers that are most preferred and suited to them. As these convenient user buckets are built the hyperlocal app marketers can then design and run retargeting campaigns in order to engage more users, influence the purchase behavior of users and hence convert a larger number of them.

#8 Shoot Out Optimized Push Messages

Push messages or push notifications, when sent in an optimized manner, can go a long way in helping you target your users more efficiently. A hyperlocal app marketer can send out push notifications to their targeted user segment about relevant products, discounts, or any other services. It is important, however, that while you are crafting your Push Message, that you pay attention to the timing, context, and content as well. There are a number of effective tools in the market that can work wonders in sending out well drafted, well-timed, and relevant push messages to the targeted users.

Create Your Own Hyperlocal App

Abhinav Girdhar

Founder and CEO of Appy Pie

App Builder

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