How Pokémon GO can benefit your Business
Pokémon Go is the latest mobile gaming sensation which has already gained more active daily users than Twitter and Tinder within its first week and has increased Nintendo’s stock prices by over €7 billion.
By combining Augmented Reality and an already popular video game, Pokémon Go has got it’s millions upon millions of users out of their seats and roaming the real world attempting to catch all of the different types of Pokémon through Augmented Reality. By turning on the app and looking through your screen, you can roam the map (very similar to how you’d navigate Google Maps) and bump into Pokémon in the real world via your smartphone.
However, it isn’t just Nintendo and all those Pokémasters who will benefit from this new craze, your business can too! One of the in-game features is that there are fixed locations for Pokémon Gyms and Poké-Stops. These fixed locations are actually real life places such as shops, landmarks, businesses and even peoples houses. You can find these locations by exploring your local area and seeing what’s near you. Maybe your business is already a stop! If not, don’t worry, you are never too far from one.
Now, here are our tips on how your business can profit and benefit from Pokémon Go.
1: Setting Lures
A Pokémon GO Lure is what it sounds like. It is an object which attracts a large amount of wild Pokémon to your nearest Poké-Stop locations for about 30 minutes. This will result in a herd of Pokémon GO Users running towards your local area trying to catch said Pokémon. Who knows, they might pop into you afterwards! For example, if you’re a shop/restaurant, the Pokémon GO Users may be hungry/thirsty after all that catching and may be tempted to call in afterwards and spend money.
To set up a Lure, you must first download the game yourself (It’s free and easy to install!). However, the Lures are available as in-purchases. All you need to do is open the Pokémon GO app, tap the red PokéBall at the bottom of the screen, tap shop and then purchase a Lure.You can use these Lures one at a time by tapping the PokéBall again, entering the items section and tapping on the Lure icon. It’s an incredibly effective way of getting people to arrive into your area in their numbers, and it’s cheap! A days worth of Lures is only approximately €25, try buying a few and see how it goes first before purchasing in bulk.
2: Host A Pokémon Hunt at your Storefront
Maybe you aren’t near a Poké-Stop or Gym and want to grab peoples attention. In that case, a Pokémon Hunt may be more suitable for you! By hosting a family friendly Pokémon hunt, you can lure in a big number of users to your Store Front. Encourage players to come into your establishment and form a group to go on the Pokémon Hunt as a “team” and provide your location as a starting point for players to find their next stop.
Once you’ve formed a group for the Hunt, pass out a local map of Pokè-stops and Gyms so everyone knows where they need to go (most importantly having users start and finish at your store-front). This is also an opportunity to hand out a few freebies to the group to subtly get your business out there.
This is your chance to do a small amount of advertising before hand. Encourage employees to wear branded clothing with your logo on it so that the company is well represented and ask them to take part. It would be great to fly the company flag at this point as your company will be highly visible throughout.
Take to Social Media also to advertise exactly where and when it is happening and be sure to mention the company name there also. Treat this Pokémon Hunt as an ‘open day’ and attract potential customers to your business before/after the hunt. A Facebook Event would be a perfect example of ensuring that users will show up (A suitable time on the weekend or after school/work during the week would be best for optimum results).
3: Gym Battle Days
If your business just so happens to be a designated Pokémon Gym, or if you’re near one, you have the opportunity to host Gym battle days. Similar to a Hunt, a strong advertising campaign before/during would highly benefit this (See above in point 2). Offer prizes and/or discounts for 1st/2nd/3rd place on the day to encourage people to come back to your business in the near future. By offering, lets say, 50% your next purchase or a €50 voucher for any purchase, people will be more driven to win and take part as there is something worthwhile on the line by coming to your business and taking part. To see which team is currently winning, just look at the colour that represents the Gym when you open up the Pokémon Go game.
4. Create a Pop-Up Shop at a nearby Pokè-Stop or Gym Location
Many businesses unfortunately won’t be near a Poké-Stop or Gym but don’t worry! This is your chance to bring your business to them.
If you sell products or offer services, look into setting up a Pop-Up Shop near the Stops and Gyms so when users are going to/from them, they’ll see your business. If you sell food, set up a take-away van or even a BBQ or picnic. If you sell clothes, merch, anything, be creative! If you don’t sell goods and services you could also set up an information desk about your business just to get the word out and hand out information to users (how to sign up, recruiting, etc.) so they get in contact with you at a later stage when they aren’t trying to become a Pokémaster!
Make the most out of Pokémon GO for your local business by laying down lures, hosting Pokémon hunts & gym battles and by selling your goods/services outside Poké-Stop’s.
It’s amazing how little effort you have to put in to potentially gain new customers as the app is doing all the hard work for you! The likes of Yelp are also advertising which businesses are Poké-Stop’s so be sure to set up a Yelp account and mention that your business is one to attract more users.
As you’ve been reading this post, I guarantee there’s already been a handful of Pokémon GO users wandering past you, so what are you waiting for! Join the craze today and use the above tips!
