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Last Saturday I visited my favorite sports store and when I entered the store I received a push notification. I pulled out the cellphone from the pocket and read the message. It was an offer for 20% discount on running shoes from this year’s collection. New running shoes is exactly what I need since its been almost three years since I bought my current pair.
To send a message in the right time with the right content is just what marketing managers want to do, and should do, in order to improve marketing communication efforts. This trend has also resulted in the development of new technologies such as Beacons, this is a technology that enables tracking and collection of geographical data in order to make the communication more accurate.
What is beacons?
Beacons are small, battery powered and “always on” devices which uses Bluetooth technology to communicate with other devices such as cellphones. Beacons can reach other devices within a distance of approximately 90 meters and makes the tracking more precise compared to tracking data from GPS.
How can beacons support marketers?
- Customer are more likely to act on push messages when they are received in the right contextual environment.
- Customer data from physical environments enable marketers to think in new ways. For example it enables marketers to create strategies to make more people visiting physical stores through loyalty programs or scoring models.
- Beacons will give customer insight professionals new types of data to analyze.
- It can improve customer experience in the physical environment and provide customers with service in store or design maps and guides to show customers where products are located in stores.
- When combining data from physical environments with historical purchase data marketers can make predictive analyses and provide refined recommendations.
Recommendations
- Develop a strategy for mobile communication and how to work with “micro moments”. Focus on where, when and how beacons can be applicable to your business and where they can be utilized.
- Start with a pilot to test the technology. Beacons are cheap to buy and implement. Start beacon initiatives in a small scale to test and evaluate the results.
- Focus on how beacons can provide marketers to create a strategy that creates value for the end customer and better accommodate the customer needs.
- Customers must opt in to use the service. Customer needs to turn on Bluetooth, download and enable a mobile application in order to interface with beacons. Customers choose where and when they want direct relationship with a retailer – incentivize them, provide value.
Marcus Sargénius
Marketing Consultant
If you want to know more about how we at Recoordinate can help you build deep, trust worthy and real relationships with your customers, please visit our website www.recoordinate.com or contact us at info@recoordinate.com