The Latest Cost-Effective Marketing Tool For Small Businesses: Pokemon Go
Pokemon Go has taken the world by storm, and you have likely seen swarms of pokemon trainers walking around town or in the park with their eyes glued to their screens. Plenty of people have been praising it. Plenty of others have been bashing it. It is hard to say what effect Pokemon Go has had on people. The verdict: Regardless of whether it is a hit or miss, EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT POKEMON GO. It is bringing recluses off the couch and changing the very dynamics of handheld gaming as we know it.
It would be easy to view this game and culture as largely social, but someone with a Marketing Eye would quickly see that Pokemon Go has the potential for businesses to market their products and services at a premium price. Some may say this is a fad that will go as quickly as it came, but it is tough to build a business by swinging for singles instead of swinging for the fences. Below are a few tips that can help your business, no matter the size, utilize Pokemon Go to generate leads and additional sales.
Nab That Sponsorship
As anticipated, Niantic Labs have announced that they will implement sponsored in-game locations. Currently, there have not been any sponsored PokeStops or Gyms (locations that users frequently visit in the game, therefore visiting in the real world) added to the game, but there are a number of sponsors in the works. There is not much information available about these sponsorships yet, but there should be plenty of information on the way in the coming weeks.
Set Up Shop With a PokeStop
PokeStops are unique in that they are the only location where users can acquire various in-game items without having to pay actual money through the in-game’s store. Better yet, these locations provide users with these goodies every five minutes, so there is incentive to stick around and amass their resources. As if that wasn’t enough, PokeStops can also have Lure Modules attached that bring flocks of Pokemon to that one location. Because any user can benefit from the Lure Module, it brings even more foot traffic to the location. A pack of eight Lure Modules costs 680 Pokecoins, which is the equivalent of a little less than $10 depending on the amount of Pokecoins you buy through the in-game store. Lure Modules last for 30 minutes, so that eight pack will work for four hours at less than $10, which will cost you about $2 an hour to attract Pokemon Go users.
They Wanna Be The Very Best, Reward Them Like No One Ever Has
The only other specific location that users travel to in-game is a Gym. Long story short, Gyms are virtually held by users for defeating the former Gym leader(s). In order to defeat the Gym leader, users must stay in the location and battle it out (virtually, of course) to take ownership of the gym. If your sponsored location happens to be a Gym, take advantage of it! Offering discounts for the current Gym leader(s) is an easy way to drive foot traffic to your storefront and also convert these users into actual sales. The sponsorship alone will naturally increase your sales, but offering these Pokemon-specific discounts will give your Gym location a unique value that other Gyms likely won’t offer.
If it isn’t clear enough already, Pokemon Go is an extremely cost-effective way to subtly market your business and bring guaranteed foot traffic. The trouble is, this could blow up quickly and your business could fall by the wayside if you are late to the game.
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