Modern Ways To Drive Customer Loyalty

Written by Andrew Cauthorn, Marketing Specialist at DataLogic

You’re walking through your local mall when suddenly your smartphone vibrates. You check it to see a notification informing you that the store you just walked by is having a 50% off sale on winter clothing. A similar experience could occur in a grocery store. You approach the pasta aisle — and voila! An offer pops up on your phone. How is this possible you might ask? Beacons.

You May Not See Them but They Are Almost Everywhere

Beacon technology is ubiquitous. From retail and hospitality to NFL stadiums, it’s everywhere. In fact, you can find beacons in most major U.S. sport stadiums and arenas. Research from LoyaltyOne and CMA showed that Canadian consumers are ready to use beacon technology. Of those surveyed, 86% are aware of location-based technology and 56% have used beacon technology at some point while shopping. The most appealing feature for consumers is receiving rewards relevant to their location.

How Beacons Work and Why You Should Care

Beacons are especially intriguing because of the fact that they support hyper-localized content, promotions and location sensing. Beacons don’t send push notifications; they serve purely as a location sensing device that sends a signal to a specific app on your phone. The app then sends the push notification, provided you allow push notifications and location sensing from that particular app. So why should you care? Smart phones also support beacon technology, and since more than 85% of Canadian shoppers own a smartphone or tablet, marketers should probably start paying attention.

The Retail Landscape

Many stores, like Target and GameStop, already had pilot runs with beacons. By the end of 2016, Google predicts over one million beacons will have been installed in retail stores. Retail marketers couldn’t be happier about this news. Beacons have the potential to drive sales, create a unique experience for shoppers, and capture important data such as store visit frequency.

Beacons and Unique Offers

With the power to market to customers in-store as they shop, the possibilities are endless. Imagine how much more success you would have by leveraging customer data to offer them discounts on products they’ve previously purchased. Consumers are much more willing to disclose their personal information in order to receive special offers and recommendations. This gives you the chance to completely personalize the offer and create value for each customer.

Customer Loyalty: No Limits

You’ve served your customers well, now it’s time to surprise and go above and beyond to serve your loyalty program members. If you’ve set your program up well by triggering unique and personalized offers through beacons, your customers will serve as advocates on your brand’s behalf. That’s why it’s important to sweeten the pot for loyalty card holders.

The other great thing about beacons; they’re inexpensive and inconspicuous. Once you have beacons installed, it’s up to you to invest the time to set up a superior client-experience and reap the rewards.