Why Use Beacon Technology for Your Business?

9 min

Today, there are many ways to make the marketing part of your project effective. There is no need to invent something large-scale and complex because small, yet powerful ibeacon transmitters are already in use. You have probably received notifications when passing by local stores and often found useful information in them. These tiny devices can solve many problems of modern businesses and enhance positive user experience. In this article, we will focus on how tracking beacons work, why iBeacon technology is popular, and what businesses will benefit the most from using iBeacons.

Beacon app

Source

What Is iBeacon Technology

Learn about iBeacon

Beacons are small wireless transmitters that send information to nearby devices. They work with Bluetooth 4.0 technology, which is low power consumption. The beacons are able to interact with devices within a radius of up to 70 meters. This feature helps the beacons win the marketing area due to high-precision location interaction.

How Tracking Beacons Work

The operation of the beacon is not possible without installing the software. Before installing the app, the company must think through the details of the system's operation plan so that it works smoothly in the future. The company-user and its client get a significant advantage after installing the beacons: the company gets access to an expanded range of marketing chips, and the client does not overload the memory of their device, because all the data goes to the cloud.

Let's take an example of how beacon-powered pop-ups function in real-time. Imagine that you are in a shopping center and pass by a store. Your smartphone is connected to the Internet and Bluetooth is working. The beacon sends its ID to your smartphone. Your phone processes the incoming information stored on the server. In an instant, you will receive personalized information about discounts or special offers in this store, since you have already made purchases there. This is so convenient that even without going to the store, you already know what you need to pay attention to first and your time is properly saved.

Why Bluetooth Beacons Are Popular

The successful history of beacons began in 2013 when Apple provided its first beacon profile. Google then took up the baton, creating a profile called Eddystone in July 2015. It is worth noting that Eddystone is publicly available and its specification can be found on GitHub.

Even though the beacon technology is not new, however, it does not lose its popularity and steadily increases brand loyalty and sales. According to ABI Research, by the end of 2020, there were 400 million beacons.  Global Market Insights published that the beacon technology market is set to surpass $25 billion by 2024.

Beacon technology market growth

Beacon technology market growth

 

You can use beacons with its tech simplicity in various fields of activity and solve many user problems. Besides, the usage of beacon technology in combination with mobile applications significantly improves the overall user experience.

We can identify some useful beacon options that make the real “big bang” effect:

  1. Push notifications have an extra effect on smartphone users.  McDonald’s increased sales using ibeacon microlocation system that informs visitors about the offer of the day — the sale of "McChicken" at a special price. On average, the profits from such campaigns increased by 8%,

  2. Tracking the quality control of the services provided and immediate feedback from each visitor,

  3. Resolving emergency cases in crowded places with local beacons,

  4. Location-based games run into people’s outwork life and get a quick response with exciting user interaction,

  5. Convenient navigation inside of the room, when you visit international exhibitions, for example. The beacon interactive area map enters visitors into the fascinating ancient and up-to-date world. Besides, beacons are ready to help people with special needs. Making the world accessible for everyone is the powerful beacons’ motto. By the way, we know how to enrich your website for its attendance using web accessibility for people with extra needs,

  6. Statistics and search functions make it easier to find things passengers lost. Real-time behavior indicators allow all visitors to be more attentive about the traffic schedule and secure in halls in different situations.

PWC has published research where 35% of users consider brand-trust to be a crucial factor in interaction. These beacon options create a brand-trust user experience, which made huge popularity for Beacon technology.

What Businesses Use iBeacons

Catering: location-based discounts, product propositions, and specific announcements sent to entering customers.

Retail industry: virtual hall cards, promotions, extra discounts, relevant tips messages using multiple languages to enhance the guest experience.

Tourism and Hospitality Industry: easy navigation in crowded places, tracking the transport schedule, keyless access to the hotel rooms, quick contact to the service staff, checking the left things.

Education: push notifications about different events, extra announcements about some accidents.

Healthcare: an easy roadmap to hospital equipment and extra help for visitors to find the way to a certain zone.

Benefits of iBeacon Apps

The iBeacon technology can boast a huge number of advantages:

Beacon Technology

Source

  1. Easy installation to any surface according to the beacons wireless and minimalistic style,

  2. Long-term performance: the battery will last up to 3 years, and is charged from a power outlet or USB,

  3. Freedom to install notification: the owner himself determines the frequency of sending information,

  4. The low battery discharge rate of the mobile device: the technology Bluetooth 4.0 is energy-saving,

  5. Independent of temperature conditions: beacons are suitable for use from -20°C to 60°C. What’s more - thanks to ToughtBeacon, housed in a polycarbonate case, is specially designed for outdoor use and in harsh weather conditions,

  6. Overload protection and a wide range of management: CloudBeacon, which uses cloud technologies in its work and allows you to simultaneously manage a large number of beacons.

 

Talk to Beacon technology expert to boost your business

 

Beacon vs GPS 

Nowadays, businesses need to have accurate and inexpensive information about the location of customers on-premises. The question is which of the widely used indoor geolocation technologies: GPS or Beacon will be most useful for this?

Beacon

GPS

System technology

It works like Bluetooth battery-powered signal transmitters and can be programmed using a mobile app. This makes beacon technology scalable and highly mobile.

It is a publicly available technology but has the high battery consumption of the mobile device.

Distance and accuracy

The range is from 1 to 70 meters, but it depends on the power of the transmitted signal.

The range is unlimited, but the factors, such as atmospheric effects, cloud shielding, and transmitter quality, play a critical role in the accuracy of GPS data.

Security

Risks are minimal because these geolocation devices just send out an outgoing signal, and the informational transmission isn’t available.

It is safe, but personal data transfer risks associated with GPS mainly come from the signal receivers and communication mechanisms of GPS servers.

​​​​​Best options for

The best available technology to indoor geolocation, user communication, and analytics, combining flexibility, precision, and low-cost infrastructure.

The best technology for outdoor activity.

 iBeacon Use Cases 

Despite its small size and ease of installation, beacons’ advantages can create a powerful marketing tool in any business. Here you will see real-life examples of how beacon technology has helped business owners improve their sales, traffic, and user activity.

  1. Movement tracking. By implementing a beacon, you can track the movement of visitors in your store, for example, and analyze this information. These features help you to send targeted ads in real-time about promotions, new products, and sales. American Eagle with beacon boosts the real interaction in every 100 stores of the company.

  2. Indoor and outdoor navigation for commercial purposes. We are sure that you have noticed such navigation at airports or major train stations. So, this beacon technology will help your client find the right section or product without the help of consultants. Stores like Target rolls out Bluetooth beacon to power its indoors map for users to navigate the multi-section halls. The same system is used in baseball stadiums so that visitors can get to their seats or hotdog shops faster during the break.

  3. Encouraging customers to make a purchase. Imagine a situation: you are walking in a large shopping center. You feel tired and receive a notification about a 50% discount on coffee or tea. This message pushes customers to make sudden purchases after receiving the information.

  4. Informing your customers about upcoming events. As such, one can invite their clients to relevant presentations, interesting workshops, and special perks. One example is Virgin Atlantic, which uses beacon technology in London’s Heathrow to invite premium passengers to visit their lounges.

  5. Notifying about the flights and train schedules. New York City subway use beacons to inform its visitors about the arrival of the train, so that they will be involved in the process are not late.

  6. No-key entrance. In the hotel business, "little helpers" bring huge benefits to their visitors and reduce the headache of the owners. They help to enter the hotel room without keys, the doorman quickly contacts the guests, as well as check whether the guests left the room and did not forget things inside. This model has already been tried by Starwood Hotels and brought satisfying results.

  7. Targeted ads. The iBeacon technology also allows you to get targeted advertising (according to research, about 25% of those who received it, make a deal after).

  8. RapidSOS. In some cases, iBeacon can act as a reliable emergency aid. RapidSOS with a beacon keeps the situation under control and during the accident the customer is quickly found and rescued.

Our iBeacon App Development Service

Our company has quite a lot of experience in the field of beacon development and we know how to get your hybrid mobile app the best. However, before you start developing, you need to decide on the following points:

  1. Determine the value and importance of implementing the ibeacon technology in your product,

  2. Analyze your target audience, which will interact with the system,

  3. Find an experienced and highly professional vendor who can implement ibeacon technology into your business,

  4. When searching for beacon technology companies, be sure to focus only on reputable sources, such as Clutch,

  5. Carefully check the reviews and talk to the company directly to see if your cooperation values are similar,

    Clutch
  6. If your values and goals are the same, start adding beacon technology to your project,

  7. Create a technical document that describes all the details of your project. Our document is called Discovery Phase, where we reveal all expertise of your future project.

If you choose AnyforSoft, be sure that your future project with the introduction of beacon technology will fully meet your expectations and the requirements of your customers.

 

Have questions about beacon technology implementation? We are ready to answer!

 

Conclusion

iBeacons are actively introduced into our everyday life due to their ability to save time and effort of customers to search for various things, and the business owner to interact productively with customers, increasing sales, trust, and loyalty. They are simple and easy to use, and their battery can last for several years. Choosing beacons for your business is an affordable step that will give you a significant customer response.

Want to work with us?