In 2026, proximity marketing is no longer a futuristic concept; it is a baseline expectation for Australian consumers. However, there is a massive gap between sending a notification and actually driving foot traffic. Too many Brisbane business owners are still treating location-based promotions like digital flyers, blasting anyone within a 5-kilometre radius with generic discounts.
If you are seeing high impressions but empty storefronts, your strategy isn't just inefficient—it’s likely annoying your best potential customers. Here are the five most common mistakes sabotaging your location-based marketing and the direct steps you need to take to fix them.
1. The "Radius Trap": Going Too Wide
The most frequent error we see at Local Marketing Group is the "set and forget" 10km radius. In a city like Brisbane, a 10km radius from Fortitude Valley covers everything from Chermside to Coorparoo. A customer in Chermside is unlikely to battle Gympie Road traffic for a 10% discount on a coffee.
When you stop burning cash on broad ads, you realise that local relevance is measured in minutes, not kilometres.
The Fix: Use "Drive-Time" or "Walk-Time" polygons instead of circles. If you run a cafe in Paddington, target a 5-minute walking radius during morning peak and a 10-minute driving radius on weekends. Precision beats volume every time.
2. Ignoring Contextual Timing
Sending a location-based push notification for a dinner special at 10:00 AM is a waste of a touchpoint. By the time the customer is actually hungry, your notification is buried under twenty others. Australians are increasingly protective of their digital headspace; if you interrupt them at the wrong time, they will revoke your app permissions or block your SMS alerts.
The Fix: Align your offers with the "Intent Window." Use historical data to identify when your customers are most likely to make a decision. A gym in Milton should trigger proximity alerts between 4:30 PM and 6:30 PM when commuters are heading home and deciding whether to stop for a workout or keep driving.
3. Poor Integration with Physical Events
Many businesses run location-based digital ads in a vacuum, completely disconnected from what is happening on the ground. If there is a major festival at South Bank or a game at Suncorp Stadium, your standard "15% off" ad will get lost in the noise.
We often see local businesses fail because their local event ROI stalls at the edge of the event precinct. They don't capitalise on the specific influx of people already in the area for a different reason.
The Fix: Tailor your creative to the event. If you are a bar near Suncorp, your ad shouldn't say "Come in for a drink." It should say "Show your game ticket for a $15 burger and pint deal." Connect the digital trigger to the physical reality of the customer.
4. The "Friction" Failure
You’ve successfully targeted a customer within 500 metres of your store. They click the ad. What happens next? If they are met with a complex sign-up form or a website that takes six seconds to load on a mobile data connection, you’ve lost them.
In the era of hyper-proximity marketing, the transition from "click" to "entry" must be frictionless.
The Fix: Use mobile-first landing pages with a single, clear CTA. Better yet, use Apple Wallet or Google Pay passes. Let the customer save the offer to their phone with one tap. This allows you to send a second, automatic reminder when they are even closer to your door.
5. Forgetting the "Why Now?"
A location-based promotion needs more than just a location; it needs urgency. If your offer is available every day, there is no reason for a person to divert their path today.
The Fix: Use dynamic scarcity. "Only 5 spots left for our lunch express menu" or "Valid for the next 90 minutes only." This compels immediate action and justifies the interruption of their day.
Immediate Action Plan for Brisbane Business Owners
1. Audit your radius: Shrink your targeting to realistic travel times for your specific suburb. 2. Check your landing page speed: Test it on a 4G connection (not your office Wi-Fi) to ensure it loads in under 2 seconds. 3. Test a time-sensitive offer: Run a 2-hour "Flash Sale" triggered by proximity and measure the redemption rate vs. your standard evergreen ads.Location-based marketing is a precision tool, not a megaphone. When you respect the customer's time, location, and current activity, you stop being an annoyance and start being a solution.
Want to dominate your local precinct? Contact Local Marketing Group today and let’s build a proximity strategy that actually moves the needle for your Brisbane business.