Wednesday, 30 September 2015

How beacons combines experiential and engaging marketing to be a win-win for brands

Tell me more about Beacon !


Beacon technology is becoming a new trend for companies to practice marketing in a different way that the traditional one: marketing digitalized. Indeed, using Internet and apps, marketers have seen here the opportunity to target the customer by giving them a very specific and individualized information.
As devices becoming really sophisticated, brands need to find a new/better way to ensure that customers continue to engage with through promotions and incentives.
This technology works through little sensors based on Bluetooth Low Energy.


Beacon can be seen as an intrusive way to reach customers but, actually, promotions will get to them based on how they shop. What is quite impressing in this kind of scheme is that the customer can be continuously doing something. Anywhere he would go, the customer can receive an information about what to do at that moment, and so pushing him to buy, or at least to visit the store (which is already a huge gap : attract consumer).

Firms use this technology, in one hand, to create a close and personal relation with consumers with offers and different push messages, in another hand to get information to make this relation even more personal and adapt to each person. This kind of marketing is very clever. Before that, to get information about consumer needs was not so easy, and it is still a long procedure sometimes : for example head a market study takes time to gather information, analyze it and to use it appropriately. With Beacon, as the message is personnalized, the consumer can provide, by its own willingness, the information the company needs. Then the company can better target, the customer will give more information, and that is a virtuous circle : we could also nominate the a « Data Marketing ».





By doing this, firms can also try (it would be a lot of work for IT guys) remarket directly with beacons. Imagine if companies, with data they have on what you checked on the website, are able to give you a promotion directly related to your research. That would create a purchase and also make you go to the store to get this promotion. Beacons seem to be a real opportunity for marketers but only if they use it right.
Everyone does not yet accept it and you have to download the application (one for each brand) and turn your Bluetooth on. This is not so much to do, but, even if you put information panels at the entrances of the store, not everybody will look at it and take time to do it.

The only way to make customers do this is by proposing a real service and real advantages and not only promotions that pop on your phone every 5 minutes you spend in the store. This is the real challenge for brands in order to make beacon essential because this how you’ll get a lot lot of data on the time spent, the path of consumers and when do they go shopping, which will improve the system.


By Gaetan Lusven and David Delpoio

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