Geolocation and Big Data for Business Apps: How They Deliver Better Results

Several types of research have indicated that more than 50 percent of companies today use geolocation to provide services and target their customers in general. Furthermore, the GPS and geolocation market is expected to touch $94 billion in 2022. It is clear as day that there is immense potential in geolocation. No matter what industry a company might be operating in, geolocation proffers myriad benefits -- for starters, it allows companies to visualize their assets in the context of geographical concentration. It also helps businesses to understand how location stands to affect their most crucial metrics.

Considering the many advantages, many have taken it a notch up and added big data to the mix. This combination further enables the delivery of enhanced customer satisfaction through more targeted marketing and personalized customer experiences. Moreover, that's not all -- the combination of geolocation and big data allows companies to acquire a better understanding of their business along with their stand in the market.

To further examine the benefits of big data-driven geolocation apps and how they get used for delivering enhanced customer experience and also achieve better business results, let's discuss some of the use cases.

1. Geofencing: The most popular use of geolocation is in the context of marketing, wherein the company's initiatives target customers who foray into a specific area or location. It is most common among shops' apps, which, upon recognizing that a customer is in the vicinity of one of their stores, sends them discount coupons and special offers among a variety of other promotional material.

2. Better understand the customer: The data collected using geolocation, as well as data based on other factors such as browsing history and purchases, can be used for big data analysis to glean actionable insight. It, in turn, can be used to either improve or overhaul offers to better meet customers' demands and needs.

3. Transportation: Geolocation is of great consequence in the transportation and logistics industry since it allows businesses to make use of the data produced and gathered. Geolocation apps can help companies in this domain accumulate information about the fastest routes, roadworks, and traffic jams as well as calculate the delivery time. Furthermore, they also enable the development of more pragmatic schedules and production timelines. Moreover, that's not all; such apps can also keep customers engaged by allowing them to monitor how their order is progressing across the chain and by when the product will arrive at their doorstep.

4. Social media: Seeing as to how social media is all the rage right now, it isn't surprising to see that geolocation has made its presence felt in this domain too. Geolocation based apps enable companies to enhance engagement levels significantly. Case in point, Pokémon Go. Another use of geolocation and social media is to allow users to form a trail of digital markers as they visit different establishments and also rate their experiences, which can enable other customers to make more informed decisions.

While this discussion serves to provide a quick overview of the benefits offered by the development of location-based app, businesses must also account for other related factors, such as security and compliance. Companies must ensure that their process of collection and use of such data is safe and even by any applicable regulations. Eventually helping users feel assured about the safety of using their offerings and make better decisions.