If you aren’t using a Bluetooth beacon, you should be. Bluetooth marketing is all the rage, and using it might just be the hack you need. It involves a small device that you place in hotspots to transmit data to nearby devices.
Just think. You could use this in hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, and transport hubs. It’s a really popular way of drawing attention to certain retail stores in a shopping center. A beacon device is the backbone of proximity marketing campaigns, which is excellent for driving foot traffic and impulsive sales.
Most people use beacons to send marketing content to potential customers in close proximity. In this guide, we’ll tell you all about the strategy and its uses. With no stone left unturned, here’s what you need to know about using Bluetooth for beacon signals. You’ll be an expert in no time.
What Is Beacon Technology?
Beacon technology consists of software and equipment that produces a radio signal beacon to connect devices via Bluetooth. It’s an excellent method of proximity marketing with a fairly wide range — typically covering a small mall or large restaurant. However, it’s a significant investment to attract potential customers who are already nearby.
So, what is beacon technology in action? Well, the whole premise of the system is that you’re tackling the “nearby” customers. These are the ones that can visit and make a purchase on the spot. They are so close that you’re missing out by not targeting them.
You just ping them with a timely notification. It’s easy to sway them slightly off their track and onto yours. Once you’re set up, you can automate the process, too.
The technology itself is a bit of a “teamwork makes the dream work” approach. You’ll have the actual beacon, which we’ll cover more individually below. You’ll also have adjoining software to help schedule proper marketing content, plus monitor results like engagement and open rates.
The best way to approach this is by buying kits, including all the components of a successful beacon marketing campaign. These usually operate on a subscription basis, which is easy enough to opt in and out of. Still, always request a demo or free trial. This gives you that extra bit of thinking time and flexibility.
What Are Beacons?
Beacons are small devices that marketers place to emit signals. As promised, we’ll address the question of “what are beacons” individually. By the end of this section, you’ll have a great understanding of these clever little devices.
They are only small bits of technology; they’re smaller than a mobile device and usually have indoor positioning. Because of this, you’ll usually find beacons in places like shopping malls, restaurants, and hotels.
They are the first step in the beacon technology chain. These beacons are the parts that emit a signal and attract passing customers’ attention.
Beacons act as radio transmitters, sending signals to smart devices within their radius. They emit data constantly, which passersby receive on their devices. Because of this, a beacon device is a handy tool for proximity marketing. It’s a nifty little process.
As they are just small, beacons are really minimally invasive. As far as beacon standards go, you’ll barely notice they’re there, which is precisely what you want. You can also set beacons up on your phone using a smartphone app. However, we’d suggest keeping it simple by investing in physical beacon equipment.
3 Benefits of Investing in Bluetooth Beacon Marketing
It’s safe to say there are many benefits to investing in Bluetooth beacon marketing. Beacon technology can boost sales through an increase in foot traffic. Who in their right mind would turn that opportunity down?
Foot traffic is taking a hit in retail trends. It’s on a steady decrease, having obviously spiked in 2020 but continuing to drop post-pandemic. You really want to entice as many people into businesses as possible.
Here are the three benefits you should be aware of when investing in beacon marketing. You’ll get some serious inspiration and motivation to make a start.!
1. It Helps Boost Sales
Okay, the real winning factor is that this type of marketing rockets in-person sales. Just think about it: You’re targeting individuals with the right deals at the right time. It’s a hugely results-driven process, and if you want to boost what you sell, it’s well worth the investment.
The more people you can get inside, the more you can sell in-store. It’s a really simple form of logic and an effective way to increase your business turnover. Besides, who wants to make less sales? This is what makes investing in beacon marketing a no-brainer.
Reducing the foot traffic lost to passersby links to this. It’s a fantastic way to “capture” those who would otherwise just wander by.
Passersby might not make a short detour to you for many reasons. For one, they could be busy and stuck in their little world. Unless someone asks them directly, “Do you feel like pad Thai right now?” They may not even realize they’re hungry or remember that they last ate Pad Thai over six months ago.
They might also not know you exist. For this reason, Bluetooth marketing is great for newly opened businesses. Similarly, they might not know your rates are within their budget range. This is a fantastic reason to send promotions to nearby customers.
3. It’s Low Maintenance To Run
Once you set everything up, beacon marketing is remarkably low maintenance. You’d be surprised how little input it requires. You can simply automate messages with additional software.
That ease of automation makes the whole process much slicker. With great-quality beacon marketing, you can invest once and win a million times over.
The Cost of Beacon Marketing
So, how much does all of this cost? It’s all very well raving about the benefits of beacon technology. But at the end of the day, budget rules supreme. You need to know if it’s feasible.
Generally speaking, if you snag a fantastic deal, you can find beacons at around $25 to $35 monthly. The average cost is $50 to $100 monthly, usually with more advanced equipment. A monthly subscription is the norm, paying a set amount to access the equipment and software.
You can pick things like Bluetooth Low Energy or approach companies like Beacon. There are tons of options just a short Google away.
Of course, all of this is tax deductible, meaning you can lump it off your annual return as a business expense. Overall, it is affordable for an average-income business wanting an effective marketing investment.
If you rely on in-person sales at all, opt-in for beacon marketing. If your location has a high density of surrounding foot traffic, it’s also one hundred percent worthwhile. Even $100 is nothing in the grand scheme of things if you get an extra ten sales daily.
Fitting Beacon Marketing Into Other Strategies
Fitting your beacon marketing into other strategies should always be an important consideration. A solid marketing campaign is never a single avenue; it always has a connecting network.
So, how can beacon marketing combine with other strategies? Well, location and storefront marketing are two big ones. By carefully choosing your location in a foot traffic-dense area, you increase the likelihood of chance visitors.
Similarly, you can use your storefront to engage and attract visitors. Think displays, brand authority, and “wow factor.”
You can also use beacon marketing to attract customers into your store and target them there. WiFi marketing is the best form of in-store marketing, as everyone loves free internet.
Use beacons to attract customers into your store and WiFi marketing to milk them for details when they enter. It’s a slick, effective, and ethical (hear us out) way of combining strategies.
Beambox: The Power of Simple WiFi
WiFi marketing is one of the strongest investments to make. Its importance varies from guest network security to capturing customer information after you attract them with beacons. All of this works through a simple captive portal system.
A captive portal is just a web page pop-up that customers trigger when they click to join your network. Instead of just joining immediately, the captive portal pops up and bars their entry. Instead, the web page requests that they fill out a form. And — ta-dah — this is a form you get to design to collect customer details for yourself.
You can use this form to collect email addresses, phone numbers, reviews, and even social media engagement, such as Instagram followers. These details are useful for future marketing campaigns, whether by providing contact details, social engagement, or demographic information. It’s a great way to benefit from having more people in store.
If that sounds like something that could work for your business, we can help. At Beambox, we supply all-in-one WiFi marketing software with personalizable captive portals to businesses investing in their success.
Start your Beambox free trial today! Get your WiFi ready to handle the increase in foot traffic from Bluetooth beacon marketing.
