Why Apple Will Dominate Location Based Marketing

At this point any headline touting Apple dominance is almost a declaration of the obvious but when it comes to location based marketing, the reasons for such a bold statement may not be readily evident.

This week Apple announced it will be launching  its own check-in service that integrates with existing in-store customer service applications.  Specifically, apps like Concierge and iQueue, that keep track of customers who are waiting for appointments and Scout ,  that allows Store Managers to set up specific, close- proximity,  in-store check-in points such as the Genius bar, the iPod display table etc.

So, how does this amount to the early signs of location based marketing services domination?  Because Apple has an advantage that no other player in the market has; it owns all the required components to design the ultimate LBMS experience.  Apple owns the hardware, the applications and above all, they own the retail stores.  They intimately understand and control each of these distinct systems and therefore have the ability to seamlessly integrate across all of them.  The same is clearly not true of HTC, Blackberry, Foursquare, Gowalla or even Facebook – although I have no doubt that a Facebook phone and retail store are almost inevitable.

In essence what this trifecta of control affords Apple is the ability to turn the customer’s wait time into an  interactive and enjoyable experience, delivering relevant and contextual content, based on customer preferences and purchase history as well as physical location within the store.   All this while operating a more efficient and organized in-store service structure.  They have clearly laid the foundation for a location-based experience, the likes of which we’ve not yet seen.

But the proverbial elephant under the table is this; if Apple can perfect the experience in an Apple store, they can theoretically assist other like-minded businesses deliver the same level of experience in any location…anywhere.