Beacon Marketing Application | 5 Ways How Beacon Technology is Helping Brands Transform Marketing

Source    : martechadvisor
By        : Rohit Roy 
Category  : Mobile Marketing

Beacons are hardware devices which utilize low energy Bluetooth to transmit messages to tablets and smart phones. The introduction of Eddybox, the technology from Apple that lets mobile apps interact with the beacons in their vicinity, has enhanced their importance for in-store consumer engagement activities.  The subsequent compatibility roll out for Android devices has brought us to a scenario where, according to a blog, about 570 million devices are compatible with the beacon functionality.
Beacon technology is being leveraged by leading brands to deliver an unmatched customer experience. Here is how they are transforming marketing and promotional activities:

1. Understanding in-store shopping behavior
In order to improve consumer experiences, brands need to be aware of how a customer behaves when he visits a store. Through a simple integration of in-store beacons with their effective CRM system, brands can find out the number of visitors, and the frequency of an individual’s visit. They can easily identify the store sections where the customers tend to spend most of their time, the number of transactions per customer and how many people signed-up for and utilized the loyalty programs. Businesses can track the effectiveness of their marketing programs, evaluate services quality and abandonment rates, and see how many customers utilized the app, browsed the offers and made purchases. The enhanced understanding of in-store shopping behavior would allow them to send out more personalized promotional offers, helping to drive better engagement.

2. Delivering in-store notifications to increase intent
A large number of customers use a shopping app when inside a store, and most of them are willing to share their location in return for value. Beacons can be used to send out push notifications of sales and other promotional offers as soon as customers are within range, to help increase purchasing intent.

3. Increasing personalization
With a deep understanding of customer behavior, it is possible to send out more personalized, context-driven messages. You can use the beacons to guide customers to specific sections in your store and inform them of the new arrivals, on the basis of their past behavior. You can also send out custom welcome messages as soon as they step into the store and recommend products based on their purchase history. The increased personalization will therefore ensure that your customers enjoy a wonderful experience and want to return to your store.

4. Meeting challenges of competition
Implementing beacons in the right way ensures that you enjoy the fruits of competitive advantage over your rivals. By delivering value added content in the most personalized fashion, beacons can help you meet the challenges of stiff competition.

5. Ensuring efficient customer service
A large store can be confusing for your customers, who may be unsure of where to start. By strategically placing beacons to help the customers navigate your store effectively is therefore the first step towards ensuring effective customer service. You can also use it to track how much time a particular employee is interacting with the customer, and identify potential staff training needs, if any.

Beacons are therefore poised to transform proximity based marketing. Early adopters can look forward to significant gains in terms of enhanced engagement, loyalty and satisfaction.

(Read More : martechadvisor.com/customer-experience/5-ways-how-beacon-technology-is-helping-brands-transform-marketing/)