The term is popping up more frequently in news articles, appearing in product manuals, and highlighted as a feature in tons of mobile applications, but what exactly is geofencing?

Geofencing is the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network to create virtual boundaries around a location. The geofence is then paired with a software application that responds to the boundary in some fashion as dictated by the parameters of the program.

While geofence-based advertising has been around for decades, the early systems were limited largely to those willing to invest in expensive custom hardware for specific use cases. But now thanks to SmartFencing, you can utilize marketing with no complicated hardware for as little as $500.

The widespread adoption of smartphones has put a GPS/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth radio in the pockets of millions of consumers and ushered in an age of incredibly cheap and ubiquitous geolocation markers that has pushed geofencing from an expensive commercial practice into the realm of consumer application. As a result geofencing capabilities are popping up in everything from shopping lists to smart home control packages.

In other words, there’s a whole world of geofencing potential around you worth tapping into. Your smartphone is capable of reminding you to pick up the dry cleaning when you’re near the dry cleaners, of turning down the thermostat when you drive away from your house, and all other manner of handy location-based tricks.

Your practice can utilize the capabilities of a smartphone or tablet by sending specific advertising messages to your patients when they walk into your clinic or introduce yourself to potential patients once they set foot in your competitor’s office.

Although still unfamiliar to many people, geofencing is a natural extension of our desire for our devices to do more. To learn more about how CDM’s SmartFencing can help you reach new patients and engage with existing ones, please visit Our SmartFencing Page, or email Brad Dodson at Brad.Dodson@cleardigitalmedia.net.