Marketing Strategies For Local Business By Using LBS As A Marketing Tool In The Era Of 3G

The rapid development of mobile Internet, the popularity of smart phones and 3G's application, making Location Based services (LBS) injected fresh vitality. LBS application makes the local business and the users around it a perfect fit. LBS platform, it links merchants and users, combining the virtual and the real. The core of such kind of interactive application is setting relationship between local business and the users, making users and local businesses linked more closely with each other, enabling local business to conduct interactive marketing with users and achieve the goal of Precision Marketing, and finally to drive business value. Local Business can use this platform to strengthen regional marketing. This marketing approach has the precise, targeted, timely and interactive advantage, in the shortest period of time to seize the consumer demand, and consumer demand will translate into concrete economic benefits. LBS platform can provide real-time analysis tools as well to help Local Business better understand customers, in order to make precise marketing and reduce local business'marketing cost. But as a new marketing tool, LBS application itself is not perfect, privacy issue has to be improved, but in terms of its trend, LBS will play an important part as a Marketing tool to help local businesses do interactive marketing, especially small service businesses and big chains. This article will elaborate how local business to use LBS as a marketing tool to carry out marketing activities. The article is divided into six chapters.Chapter I:Stating the background, the development of the object and the commercial value it can bring to.Chapter II:Focus on "Check-In" model created by Foursquare and analysis the Marketing significance it can bring to local business. Also, elaborate the types LBS application combined with other businesses. Finally, Take LBS based Marketing model and traditional marketing model into comparison.Chapter III:Elaborate how LBS can be used a marketing tool for Geo-Location marketing. State the set-up process for local business to sign up on LBS, and Marketing applications based on LBS platform, including Check-in specials, Mayor special, Tips, Nearby Tips and Badge, in-store promotion and Check-In Analysis Tool of LBS, all of which describe how LBS can be used as a marketing tool to help business. Finally, use specific case of Ann Taylor to prove the use of LBS as marketing tool can not only bring local business real profit, but also can increase brand awareness and reputation.Chapter IV:Analyze the current situation of local business using LBS as a marketing platform in China, by comparing the domestic local business'use of LBS with overseas'. Also, make discussion on the conditions of using LBS as a platform and the problems encountered in marketing activities.Chapter V:Elaborate the Marketing tactics of using LBS as marketing tool, including loyalty program, tournament promotion, the partnership of regional local business and joint use of micro-blog and LBS for promotion. Finally, state the marketing opportunities, marketing trend and defects of LBS as a marketing tool.Chapter VI:Review the article's augments and conclusions and point out the further study direction of LBS as marketing tool.After studying, it is learned that using LBS as a marketing tool is far-reaching in terms of local business'promotion. LBS can not only serve as a marketing platform for loyal customers, customer information platform, oral spreading platform,but also could be a promotional platform, experiential marketing platform and event marketing platform to drive business value.