Geomarketing
Definition
Geomarketing applies location intelligence to marketing strategy by combining demographic, mobility, purchasing, and point‑of‑interest data to understand where customers live, move, and buy. It transforms maps into decision surfaces—target areas for acquisition, retention, or upsell—using geocoded transactions, catchment analysis, and spatial segmentation. The approach bridges on‑ and offline behavior, measuring how context (neighborhood, commute, venue mix) shapes demand.
Application
Brands use geomarketing to choose store sites, optimize delivery zones, personalize campaigns, and measure out‑of‑home effectiveness. Retailers compare trade areas before and after campaigns, while banks evaluate branch cannibalization. Tourism boards map visitor flows, and e‑commerce players tune last‑mile promises by micro‑market. Privacy‑first aggregation and consented data flows keep practices compliant.
FAQ
What is the difference between a trade area and a drive‑time polygon?
A trade area is empirically derived from actual customer origins; drive‑time is a modeled isochrone. The best analyses compare both—use drive‑time to hypothesize reach, then validate with transaction or mobility data.
How do we avoid demographic bias in targeting?
Use fairness audits: measure disparate impact of segments, cap exclusionary filters, and prefer need‑based features over proxies like race or income. Aggregate to coarse geographies when necessary and document consent and purposes.
Which KPIs prove geomarketing lift?
Incremental visits, sales per capita in exposed zones, cost per incremental acquisition, and halo effects in adjacent geographies. A/B geographies with synthetic controls help isolate causal impact.
What spatial models power audience expansion?
Look‑alike models using POI context, urban form metrics, and mobility patterns. Graph‑based proximity to anchor venues and co‑visitation networks often outperform simple radius targeting.