Beacon technology has come a long way and proved to be much more useful than the conventional methods, which most people rely upon. Beacon technology is easy to deploy, cost-effective, and it is one of the most popular ways to engage customers. Here, we will discuss what beacon technology is, how it works, the types, and benefits.

Let’s start!

What Is Beacon Technology Anyway?

Beacons are small, wireless transmitters that use low-energy, Bluetooth technology to detect human presence nearby and trigger preset actions to deliver informational and personalized experiences. 

These technologies interconnect and send information to smart devices, which make location-based searches and interactions much simpler and more accurate. It can be compared to the lighthouse that sends light signals to the ships nearby.

How Do Beacons Work?

Beacons are simple and easy to use. When a user walks past an area where a positioning system with beacons is set up, the nearest beacon broadcasts the identifier. Then, the user’s device, usually a mobile, sees the signal and marks your place.

To use beacons, you need: 

• A beacon device

• Mobile app

• User’s permission

The users get to decide if they want to receive beacon-based notifications and use your positioning system. Users can opt-out by turning off Bluetooth because beacon technology works only with a smartphone and mobile app. 

Bluetooth Low Energy Beacon 

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is what Beacon technology relies on to send out messages at regular intervals. BLE is similar to Wi-Fi in the sense that it allows devices to communicate with each other. The best part being it requires low amounts of energy.

Types Of Beacons

There is a wide array of beacons available. They vary by size, use case, battery life, and level of resistance to exogenous factors. The most common types of beacons:

Standard beacon looks like a small Wi-Fi router and works best for proximity solutions and indoor tracking.

Portable/small beacon is the size of a credit card and suits asset tracking and proximity solutions.

USB beacon is portable and small, the size of a flash drive for asset tracking and proximity solutions.

Video beacon — Bluetooth device, plugged into the back of a screen to deliver contextual visual information and digital signage.

AI beacon is a machine learning-driven algorithm that can detect different movements and gestures.

Sticker beacon is the smallest type of beacon and it is used for asset tracking.

Parent beacon is the size of a big Wi-Fi router, used to track other beacons, gather their data, send it to the cloud, and so on.

Dedicated beacon is the best solution for indoor tracking and proximity solutions in harsh environments because it is resistant to water, antistatic, dust, UV, and other exogenous factors. 

Benefits of Beacon Technology

Boost Business

Most people use their mobile devices to make purchase decisions. Businesses take advantage of this to develop their marketing and communication strategies. 

Retail stores leverage location-based beacon transmitters to have real-time interaction with their customers. Through beacon technology, businesses can offer personalized promotions, provide navigation of their locations, and inform shoppers about limited in-store offers. 

Enhanced Marketing

To foster customer engagement and also cater to their needs, businesses rely on emerging technology. With beacons, you can offer personalized location-based advertisements, which can serve as an avenue for driving sales. 

You will be given an opportunity to gather data that will help provide a more personalized experience. Through beacon, you can create meaningful experiences, as well as develop creative solutions for your customers.

Enhance Your Assets and Inventory Management

Bluetooth beacons can identify an item’s location and send updates about equipment that needs maintenance. With beacon technology, you can track your asset and inventory without any glitches.

Beacon Technology: Advantages and Disadvantages 

Advantages:

1. Cost-effective and easy to implement: Beacons are more cost-effective than other cutting-edge technologies. They are also easy and quick to deploy, especially with existing applications, as beacon technology comes with backend management tools and a software development kit (SDK). 

2. Personalized customer experiences: You can send personalized notifications and advertisements to your customers with beacon technology. Businesses can design their offer deals specific to each customer, based on information provided by beacon technology. This will help make precise recommendations to increase the likelihood of conversations and purchases, as well as customer engagement.

3. Beacons are reliable devices and they can receive signals from most places, including underground areas or thick walls. Additionally, some suppliers consider proximity solutions for exogenous factors.

4. Beacon technology is supported by most modern devices, hence you will have a vast amount of coverage.

Disadvantages:

1. Users may opt-out: User’s permission is required for most beacon-based solutions. There is a subtle difference between “cool” and “eerie.” Customers are aware that businesses have their information; nevertheless, they do not like to be engulfed or bombarded with marketing communications. Users may opt-out by turning off their Bluetooth.

2. In most cases, beacons rely on installed business apps for beacon technology to communicate with the customer’s device. For example, if you visit Tim-Hortons and do not have the Tim-Hortons app-enabled, you may not be able to receive beacon communications with customized offers.

3. Since beacon marketing is limited to the BLE signal; if a customer does not have Bluetooth enabled, beacon technology will not be able to identify them. This automatically limits the data businesses can collect from customers. 

So, What’s the Point?

Beacon technology encourages engagement and interaction with customers and if used wisely, the data garnered can be beneficial to the business, in terms of their marketing strategy and decisions. There is a massive potential of beacon technology in marketing and location-based technology. As a data-gathering tool, beacon offers businesses an opportunity to better understand their customers and to enhance their algorithm.  

The focus may have initially been on the retail industry, but as the technology matures, more sectors will utilize beacon technology to cater to customers in more ways, as well as aid their day-to-day activities. And since beacon technology is relatively inexpensive, compared to other technologies, businesses can adopt the technology with very little risk. 

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