Elevating the customer experience
With many stores currently closed many brands are taking the time now to map out how to elevate the customer experience when life begins to return to some form of normality. One iota and Gimbal’s recent partnership forms a dynamic duo that can help brands develop Apps and SDK’s to execute and support the proximity marketing component of their Mobile Strategy.
With the advent of 5G further enabling Mobile and IoT solutions, global proximity marketing is poised to attain a substantial market valuation of USD 52 Billion by 2023 -a striking CAGR of 28% over the review period (2017–2023). This level of investment by solution providers correlates directly with the demand from brands who are looking to activate more o proximity marketing campaigns..
Below we explore the leaders in the field, use cases for brands, and why it is critical to take a strategic rather than tactical approach.
Leading the pack in proximity marketing
Amazon’s cashierless convenience stores, otherwise known as Amazon Go, have opened up across Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Seattle. These stores have implemented beacon technology to improve the customer experience, removing the queues and checkouts from every day in-store purchases.
(image above from PWC’s Digital Pulse reports)
Amazon has also used beacons at its own events to provide a rich source of data. The leading Cloud solutions provider used devices to track attendees at its AWS conference in Las Vegas, profiting them with valuable insights into foot traffic during the event.
Nike has also utilized beacons in their House of Innovation in Shanghai, deploying more than 40 beacons across a 41,150 square-feet space in order to create a seamless shopping experience. The beacons enable customers to pay for goods using Instant Checkout spaces and also to collect reserved items from in-store lockers at multiple locations.
Starbucks was one of the early adopters of beacons, and through their test and learn approach, have a well developed proximity marketing strategy. As customers walk into stores, the beacons communicate with Starbucks’ mobile app and allow users to place orders and pay for their coffee, ranking up reward points for every sip.
5G and IoT: Unlocking the vast potential of proximity marketing
Technologies such as 5G forobile devices and IoT are exacerbating at a pace that will provide brands with continued advancements to drive their proximity marketing activities well into the future. Marketers will be able to gain insights from the way customers engage with their brand and redefine customer experiences based on their immediate location.
What can proximity marketing do for retailers?
Some of the key beacon use cases that brands with physical locations should consider as part of their marketing strategy include:
- Sending personalised offers
- Delivering messages to customers as they move through your store
- Tracking in-store customer behaviour
- Increasing mobile app usage
Develop your proximity marketing strategy
Just because you can deliver location-based messages doesn’t mean you should. It’s important to first understand your business challenges and customer pain points. Once you have a cohesive understanding, you can begin to analyze the use cases and their applications to then determine an implementation plan to achieve your objectives.
Buying a collection of beacons is easy but creating a proximity marketing strategy that maximises their potential is something else entirely. The customers of Nike, Amazon and Starbucks are enjoying an elevated customer experience thanks to the brands developing a well thought through proximity marketing plan as part of their overall strategy. The key is solving real consumer problems and closing the gap between online and offline consumer journeys..
If you are looking for guidance and advice on how proximity marketing could work for you we would be happy to help.
#itsoneiota #gimbal
