As the market continues to see more and more businesses emerge, securing customers has become an uphill battle for entrepreneurs, big or small. The demands to stand out from the competition and acquire customers’ loyalty are at an all-time high.
Gone are the days when intelligence alone could guarantee business success. In the current era, entrepreneurs need to have a keen sense of creativity to stay ahead of the competition. Luckily, with an array of software at their disposal, businesses can devise unique marketing strategies.
Allocating adequate resources towards active brand promotion is crucial to establish and maintain business presence in the market.
Maximizing all available resources, irrespective of the programming language or framework used, is imperative for successful brand promotion. While having a marketing background is beneficial, it is not a requirement as any team member can contribute towards the effort.
How?
Using beacon technology is a viable choice.
Provide a brief overview of beacon technology.
Have you ever received a push notification on your phone while walking past a store? It’s likely that a store employee waited until you were within proximity to send the message, potentially inundating you with information in a single click.
Chances are that the push notification was triggered by a beacon. While defining a beacon can be challenging, it is generally a small computer (ranging from single-board computers like Raspberry Pi to off-the-shelf routers) that employs Bluetooth and/or proximity sensing to detect human or mobile device presence. These beacons are considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Beacons can be utilized to transmit data or create personalized user experiences. They can send audio, video or text content, which can be tailored based on user input, time of day, proximity to the target, seasonal changes, and promotion requirements. The possibilities of beacon technology are almost limitless.
Typically, there are three prerequisites that must be fulfilled for a beacon to function:
- Employing one or more beacon devices
- Mobile application integration
- User’s authorization
Although there are beacons that operate without a mobile app or user permissions, they are generally less sophisticated than contemporary beacons and rely on proximity sensors instead.
A few instances of beacons comprise of:
- Signaling devices of varying sizes.
- Video indicators (devices that utilize video to impart information).
- AI signaling devices (beacons that rely on machine learning and can identify different movements and gestures).
- Labelled stickers (can be affixed to almost any surface and are commonly utilized for asset tracking).
- Leading beacon (used for tracking other beacons).
- A dedicated light source (employed for indoor tracking or proximity detection under adverse conditions).
To have a complete comprehension of the technical aspects, developers should have a sound knowledge of both iBeacon, Apple’s beacon standard, and Eddystone, Google’s beacon standard. With the help of these standards, developers are able to create beacons that send messages to users’ mobile devices. Developers are also required to create an app that can receive data from the beacon and act on it. For instance, it could be a basic alert (like a reduced price offer on a specific item), a survey or some other benefit from the company.
To collect data from beacons, the user’s approval is necessary for the app. Bluetooth is usually used for transmitting this data and has to be enabled on the device.
Unfortunately, this suggests that beacons are not the simplest advertising solutions out there. Nevertheless, they are an essential tool for businesses of any size as they have the potential to improve the user experience and aid in sending information to the user, as well as gathering data about users.
Is it advisable to incorporate beacons?
Undoubtedly, in today’s era, customers are increasingly dependent on their mobile devices to obtain information. Smartphones have now become their primary source of discounts and news, replacing conventional means like flyers. Consequently, customers now anticipate receiving digital information rather than physical copies.
It is crucial to utilize all the available resources to ensure that customers can access the information they need in a way that suits them best.
Beacon technology has the potential to offer numerous benefits, but it faces a challenge of assuring its success. Customers are progressively concerned about their privacy and are cautious when it comes to providing their consent for companies to send them information. Therefore, it is crucial that your organization provides beacons that individuals find attractive and helpful.
To accomplish this, it is essential that both the marketing and development teams cooperate and devise a plan that would be attractive to customers. This might entail using beacons to provide discounts or giveaways to mobile users in return for their approval to receive messages on their mobile devices.
Initially, it might be difficult to persuade individuals, but the potential benefits can be considerable. By utilizing the latest software, you can demonstrate to your customers that your organization is modern and updated. Furthermore, you could acquire invaluable insights into your customers’ preferences and behaviour.
Additional beacon applications
Beacons have applications beyond client communication. The backend of businesses can also reap rewards from the deployment of beacons. For example, beacons could assist in directing self-driving forklifts in a warehouse. In an area that could be otherwise difficult to navigate for a vehicle, the beacons could function as markers to indicate specific aisles or sections.
Beacons can also aid staff members in locating lost items. If a tool is used in various departments, it can be quickly identified by attaching a beacon to it. The utilization of beacons for asset recognition is an extremely efficient solution.
Conclusion
In today’s fast-paced shipping and state-of-the-art corporate technologies, beacons are essential. Businesses with proficient engineering and marketing teams (or business operations teams) can achieve tremendous benefits by incorporating beacon technology. You could discuss the potentialities with your in-house development team or seek external assistance to transform your notions into actuality.
