How to use Pokemon Go to attract customers

By now you've heard of Pokémon Go, unless you've been living in a cave or stranded on an island in the south Pacific.  Driving through Pocatello yesterday I saw tweens and teens walking around in groups, eyes glued to their phones (even more so than usual), looking for the cute little animated creatures.

DMR reports that 78% of Pokémon Go users are between the ages of 18-34 and there are 20 million active users daily in the United States alone. This is a huge opportunity for small businesses!

Here's the basics of how Pokémom Go works:
A Pokémon, or pocket monster, is an animated animal-like creature. There are different types and

One of our tech guys getting in on the fun.

some are more rare than others. When a player downloads the app and signs in, the game uses the GPS on his or her phone to create a virtual map of the area.

The goal is to catch as many Pokémon as possible, so players walk around and using the map, find where the Pokemon are hiding. When the player gets in range of the Pokémon the app uses the camera function on the player's phone to put an animated picture of the creature in the scene, so it looks like it is really there.

When the player gets close enough to a Pokémon, they try to catch it by throwing a PokéBall. See that red and white ball in the photo to the right? Players swipe the phone screen to toss the ball and catch the Pokémon. But it is not as easy as it sounds, the Pokémon move! If you miss you have to throw another PokéBall, and you only have so many.

To get more PokéBalls and other fun add-ons, players visit PokéStops, which are marked on the virtual map created on your phone.

Players can visit PokéGyms to battle other players, use incense that attract rare Pokémon and level up as more and more are caught.

So how can this help your business? 

Lures.

The app offers the purchase of a 99 cent lure, a 30-minute attractant to Pokemon, to be placed at a Pokéstop. Five lures cost $4.99.

Say you own a coffee and smoothie shop that is near a PokéStop. Using your phone, go to the app and purchase a lure and place it at that location. The lure attracts Pokémon which then attracts players. For the next 30 minutes offer a special such as buy one get one free or 10% off purchase. 

But keep in mind that lures can only be placed at Pokéstops. If you are lucky enough to have one at your business, great, but if not you may need to be a little bit more creative. If the nearest Pokéstop is down the street, you may need to create some signage that indicates you are offering discounts to Pokémon players for a limited time.  If your business can travel, like a food truck, simply set up at a Pokéstop, drop the lure and wait for players to come.

If your business is not near a Pokéstop there are still some things you can do to attract customers. Click here if you'd like to request that a PokéStop be added to your location. There's no guarantee it will get approved, but it's worth a shot. 

Also, Fortune.com reports that people will be able to purchase "sponsored locations." Click here to read the article.  

Other ways to market to Pokémon go players include a special offer for players who have captured a certain type of Pokémon (remember, some are more rare than others), offering a discount to people who have reached a certain level and above, or even a contest such as offering a free product to the player who can catch the most Pokémon in an hour. 

Click here to read the ThriveHive article "How To Get New Customers With Pokémon Go."

Have you used Pokémon Go to attract people to your business? Please leave a comment with your success story.