Imagine you enter a commercial establishment and your smartphone starts to ring, receiving promotions and offers from the place. Suddenly, something that was made especially for you even appears! Well, this is more than possible thanks to beacons. When it comes to the most relevant technological advances, we can say that the personalization of service.
Using almost no human interaction and geolocation to do marketing is something valued by the market? Therefore, we bring this post to talk about beacons, something that is transforming the customer experience in many different establishments. Want to learn more about how this innovation works? Keep following the post with us.
What are beacons?
The loose translation for the term beacons is “beacon”, which can already provide an idea of how this technology works. Well then, we can define it as a geolocation device that works indoors. Many call it an indoor positioning beacon because it can pinpoint where a person is within the location, as well as their movements with good accuracy.
What is the working principle of beacons?
Beacons are devices that, when installed on specific items or venues, send out signals for other devices to receive, such as smartphones. They use BLE — Bluetooth Low Energy — technology, a type of Bluetooth that consumes less energy. Be aware that the name “beacon” has been patented by Apple. Therefore, the term iBeacon is also often common to refer to this innovation, especially when the reference is on devices that recognize the brand’s smartphones.
Are beacon and NFC the same things?
Importantly, many confuse the beacons with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. Although both are similar and use wireless technology to communicate with other devices, they are different in some crucial points. NFC is much less invasive, as its communication range is much smaller, just a few centimeters. In addition, to connect, authorization is required to access the user’s device.
For example, if the consumer finds a window that has NFC technology to provide more details of the mannequins, it is possible to touch the cell phone to obtain this information.
How do the beacons work?
In addition to consuming less energy from the device, when compared to common Bluetooth, the beacons emit radio waves. Moreover, it makes it possible for greater penetration into the walls of an establishment. It is the ideal tool for indoors. So when a customer enters the venue, we consider the beacon as a signal sender and the consumer’s smartphone as its receiver.
If the customer has the store’s app installed on his cell phone and the Bluetooth is turned on, he can receive notifications and other promotional actions from that store.
These actions can be the most diverse, from just saving the information that the connection between the devices occurred, performing pre-determined actions and even sending notifications. It is also possible to check-in on social networks.
Digital Transformation and Marketing
What must be kept in mind is that the main objective of the beacons is to improve the customer experience in business areas. Generally, it comes through geolocation technology and experience marketing, making it unforgettable. For example, if you walk into a coffee shop and sit at one of the tables.
Imagine that the local app with the menu already opens on your cell phone. Simply, this makes it possible to place the order by cell phone, as well as pay the bill, without even having to call the waiter. It would be amazing, wouldn’t it?
What are the advantages of using the beacons?
Now that you know this feature well, let’s list some of the advantages of using the beacon, regardless of the type of business. Check out what they are:
Brand strengthening
A company that uses beacons technology comes out ahead of its competitors. The explanation for this is simple: these days, businesses that use features like this to improve the shopping experience and customer interaction are highly valued by customers.
Therefore, between choosing to be a customer of an establishment that offers a normal shopping journey and another that offers something different, the vast majority prefer the second option.
Customizing customer service
When the customer enters a store that uses the beacon as a resource, it is possible that they feel special right away. The possibility of recovering their relationship history with the company exists. In this way, it will be possible to customize the service, offer special conditions, as well as exclusive offers by beacons. Do you realize that, in this way, the chances of selling something are much greater?
Administrative management
Know that this technology can also help a lot in the administrative part and management of a company, especially in the industry sector. With it, it is possible to improve inventory control, equipment management, and even better employees management.
Just install devices on equipment and badges to understand the movement of the operation throughout the day and thus see what can be improved during production processes.
Where are beacons common?
Since you already understand a little more about how these work, let’s bring you some practical examples of how they can be common to solve challenges that businesses are currently facing.
Follow the list we created:
1. Interaction within stores
The most common example of the beacons is their use in retail store, especially in the United States. In the retail stores, the feature goes very well to increase interaction between customers and the product sections in-store.
The working logic is simple: by identifying which area of the establishment the customer is in, the store sends personalized information and notifications to the customer’s cell phone. There is an incentive for the customer to know more about the products and also helping them to make their purchase decision.
2. Provision of information in tourist establishments
It’s not just for shopping that beacons are useful; they can be common to provide more information on tourist establishments. Just like an art exhibition or any other museum. This helps to leave the sameness and provide a differentiated experience for those who are visiting the attraction. Just imagine, you are visiting an exhibition and with each piece that passes you receive detailed information.
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