Beacon technology for marketing and content opportunities becomes a local reality
Retail and more set to gain from Beacons through analytics, 1-to-1 customer relations, brand advocacy and real-time value exchange

Beacon technology provider Beamo launches in SA - Digicape
Location-based beacon technology provider Beamo has launched in South Africa. Promising to transform how you shop and access information, beacons provide contextually relevant information that's personal and high-touch at just the right time to a mobile device. It's the new way for retailers, shopping centers, sports and entertainment venues, schools and education institutions and anyone in the business of consumer engagement to build a future promise with their fans and followers.

What are beacons?

Beacons are small battery-powered sensor devices that wirelessly communicate and transmit data to apps on mobile devices using Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology. Succeeding their NFC predecessors due to their ability to geo-locate to within centimeters, they can be attached to almost anything and once the connection is made the app on the mobile device is triggered to display rich content like video, voice, images, music and more.

Using a beacon solution, customers get to immerse themselves in a self-service multimedia experience and have fun viewing info that is relevant to where are they, what they're looking for and what they might not yet know they want. Brands on the other hand get to push dynamic content in any form including ads, videos, promotions, product comparisons, pricing, special offers, venue maps and requests for immediate feedback amongst a myriad of other opportunities matched to the consumer profile.

"It really presents companies in the service industry with the opportunity to build the personal touch customer experience that customers want and that brands have lost over the years," comments Robin Olivier, Beamo Founder. "Consumers are constantly bombarded with promotional messages online and offline that they're muting out. Beacons close this gap and make the relationship between the consumer and the retailer more personal but not in a soft way. And by opting in to the beacon service, consumers are saying yes to receiving promotional and personally relevant information. This high trust relationship sets the scene for a far more profitable and shared value interaction that's going viral."

Introducing Beamo

Companies that are looking for more cost-effective ways of creating a steady flow of leads and revenue opportunities, who want to build personal-touch relationships with customers, cut down on their spray-and-pray promo initiatives and want to learn from real insights from their business and interactions should consider a beacons solution from Beamo.

Beamo provides consulting, implementations, beacon hardware for sale or lease, white label app development, Beamo app for iOS and Android with integration via an API, content management, service monitoring, reporting and SLA management.

Retail revolution

Retailers that have installed beacons with an accompanying app are seeing an increase in sales within 48 hours of having them activated. In the USA retail sales influenced by beacon-triggered messages is set to increase from $4.1-million in 2015 to $44.4-million in 2016. BI Intelligence also estimates that 85 of the top 100 retailers in the USA will use beacons by 2016.

Beacons offer the retailer a range of benefits including:

More feet in-store - beacons set to send signals to a wider area and placed in the vicinity of a shop could send relevant messages encouraging customers through the door.
Bridge the bricks and clicks customer experience - added to existing systems and loyalty programs, beacons help to build a profile of the customer based on preference, profile and purchase or browsing history to improve their online and offline interaction with your brand.

Proximity marketing - send relevant information, deals, limited time specials and cross-sell product opportunities based on a customer's exact location.
Indoor navigation - not only can you track foot traffic, but you can help customers find their way to Contactless payments - already here in SA, beacons make it easy to complete the transaction without fumbling with cards and opening up separate payment apps.

Immediate reward - give an immediate discount or special deal for the customer to take advantage of rather than wait for coupons in the post, printouts at the checkout or SMS's when the customer is no where near the store.

Personal one-to-one customer service - create a much richer customer experience by knowing the person when they walk into your store and by pushing messages on what's new that might go with a previous purchase they made.

Prevent losses and manage staff - companies are using it to keep track of merchandise levels and store staff locations to prevent losses associated with theft.
Cost saving - it also cuts down significantly on the time it usually takes to prepare and distribute traditional communications materials and channels for promotions and campaigns, not to mention the cost of the devices and running the service.

Analytics - track store movement, shopper behaviour, product preferences, promotions uptake, content engagement and behaviour as the person moves through a venue and add this to existing CRM data and big data strategies.

Looking beyond retail

Travel - beacons are being used in airports, train stations and other travel hubs to keep travellers up to date on schedules and important announcements.
Brands are using beacons to track product uptake, stock levels, send rich media interactive content to consumers.
Supply chain organisations are using beacons to track their processes and monitor vendors.
Medical care centers are linking beacons to patients for 24-hour monitoring.
Homes are also getting the beacon treatment with reminders, security systems, household goods and utilities services sending smart messages to and from mobile phones.
Sports centres are getting closer to the fans and linking them to their teams, helping them find their way around stadiums and get the refreshments and memorabilia they want.
Museums are creating more interest in their exhibits by providing additional information and context of what's on display. The content is easy to update as things move or change and it keeps the experience fresh and engaging to a broader audience.

"We believe SA has great potential and we're excited to be one of the front runners in this early stage of the local market. We've spent a year on R and D to get the product ready for commercial release, including testing different types of beacon hardware, developing a management system for content management and reporting, being able to ensure secure setup and cloud storage, getting our own Beamo app developed and testing the service on client sites," concludes Olivier.

Beamo makes an immediate impact and is an incredibly effective and rewarding way to create loyalty, valued and ongoing trusted transaction-based relationships with customers and for people to make more informed decisions right when they need it and to have fun doing it.

Issued by: Digicape