According to the Oxford dictionary, a geofence is a "virtual geographic barrier set by GPS or RFID technology." Consider a geofence to be a kind of invisible fence. When a mobile device passes across the "fence," the geofence responds. When users enter or exit the geofenced zone, geofences use virtual GPS coordinates to trigger responses that send warnings to mobile devices.

What is the purpose of geofencing?

From marketing and social media to work time tracking, geofencing has a wide range of applications. Retailers, for example, can use geofencing to notify nearby shoppers of a fantastic deal. Restaurants might inform passers-by about the special of the day.

Passengers can be notified when a driver is nearby via ride-sharing services. Let's look at it more closely.

Geofencing technology has a variety of applications.

The use of social media

You've interacted with geofencing technology if you've attended an event and used a customized filter to share images and tales from the event. To personalize and enhance the customer experience, several firms use social media and geofencing technology. When a customer enters a geofenced region, they could be asked to check-in, take a photo, or speak with friends nearby, for example. The trigger may prompt them to offer comments or write a review after they depart the location.

Advertising and marketing

Businesses can utilize geofencing technology to provide special offers to local customers. A business owner, for example, might place a geofence around a competitor to persuade customers to go elsewhere for a better bargain.

Businesses can use geofencing for marketing to target customers at events, colleges, trade exhibits, and other locations, all from a mobile device. These geofencing alerts have been shown to be effective in trials. According to a 2018 geofencing survey, 53% of consumers have gotten a geofence notice featuring a special offer or discount and have taken advantage of it. Another 67% believe smartphone alerts are always or occasionally useful.

Employee and workplace time tracking

When an employee arrives at a job location, geofencing in the workplace prompts them to clock in using their mobile device. Triggers motivate workers to clock out when they leave the job site.

Managers can monitor who is on-site from miles away as employees come and go. Best of all, when it comes time to pay staff, they can feel comfortable that they will be paid for every second they spend on-site. Employees who have employed geofencing in the workplace report a pleasant experience 72 percent of the time. Overall, geofencing aids managers in tracking employee time.

Tracking your personal location

Geofencing might also be used for personal reasons. Parents can set geofences around their home, their babysitter's residence, or their child's school using location tracking apps like FamiSafe or Life360. Parents receive real-time alerts when their children enter and exit such venues.

Set a geofence around your house if you don't like coming home to a gloomy dwelling. The geofence can control lights, stereos, and more when used in conjunction with home automation apps like If This Then That and Google Home.

Geofencing has also been utilized to protect dementia sufferers, as well as to help persons with drug and alcohol addictions. Geofencing might also be used for personal reasons. Parents can set geofences around their home, their babysitter's residence, or their child's school using location tracking apps like FamiSafe or Life360. Parents receive real-time alerts when their children enter and exit such venues.

Set a geofence around your house if you don't like coming home to a gloomy dwelling. The geofence can control lights, stereos, and more when used in conjunction with home automation apps like If This Then That and Google Home.

Geofencing has also been utilized to protect dementia sufferers, as well as to help persons with drug and alcohol addictions. If their employer were to apply geofencing in the workplace, 76 percent of employees believe they would feel neutral or positive. They hoped it would improve worker safety on the job, raise staff accountability, and ensure payout accuracy. However, geofencing in the workplace, like any other technology, has its advantages and disadvantages.

Pros of geofencing

It has the potential to boost productivity.

Over half of the employees polled believe geofencing improves their productivity on the job. Meanwhile, when it comes to transferring personnel from job site to job site, geofencing technology can assist businesses in making better data-driven decisions.

Geofencing makes managing a remote workforce, increasing team collaboration, and more simple.

It can help employees be more accountable and safe.

Employees don't mind using geofencing technology in the office, according to a 2018 geofencing poll. In reality, the vast majority of employees believe that geofencing will improve their workplace safety and responsibility. Geofencing technology can secure important data in high-security circumstances by restricting access to devices or applications within a company's perimeter.

It is precise and mechanized.

In the office, geofencing takes the guessing out of time tracking. Employees who have utilized geofencing believe that geofencing-triggered alerts and reminders are beneficial in their everyday job. They claimed that geofencing made time tracking easier and more precise.

Cons of Geofencing

Maintaining it could be time-intensive.

Geofencing, like any other technology, has flaws. Most people who have tried geofencing say it works most of the time, if not all of the time. However, roughly 17% of the participants encountered difficulties. These consumers have problems with their geofencing system on a regular basis. 6 percent stated they had to completely discard the technology. Employers with employees spread out over multiple employment sites may find themselves adjusting the geofencing perimeter more frequently than they would want.

It may give rise to privacy concerns.

While the majority of employees polled are indifferent or positive towards geofencing in the workplace, they still have privacy concerns. They are hesitant to disclose their location data because they are concerned that the geofencing notifications would be overly intrusive. When it comes to geofencing as a marketing tool, many customers have similar worries. When it comes to geofencing technology, both employees and customers believe that trust is crucial.

It has the potential to deplete cell phone data and battery life.

The majority of employees are eager to experiment with geofencing in the workplace. However, they are apprehensive about the impact it may have on their mobile devices. The top two worries across the board, especially for employees who use their personal devices for work, are data pressure and battery waste.