您來到這裡是因為您想了解信標營銷. 在其核心, beacon marketing utilizes small, low-cost BLE devices called beacons to deliver highly targeted, contextual, and engaging marketing messages directly to consumers’ 智能手機.
Beacon technology has been really popular among marketers since its arrival. According to a prediction by Fortune Business Insights the beacon technology will surpass about $31.61 億 2026. So it is pretty safe to say that beacon technology has a lot of potential and is capable of growing in the coming years.
But what exactly is beacon marketing, how does it work? And how to start with beacon marketing to meet your business goals? Let’s dive into the nitty-gritty details.
What is beacon marketing?
Beacon marketing is a proximity-based marketing technique that leverages beacons – tiny, battery-powered devices that continuously broadcast BLE signals containing unique identifiers and other relevant data. These BLE beacons are strategically placed in physical locations, such as event venues, 零售店, or public spaces. When a customer’s smartphone comes within range of a beacon, it can trigger specific actions, 比如推送通知, location-based offers, or contextual content delivery.
Beacon-based marketing provides companies with an interesting and unique way to interact with their customers. 尤其, 50% 頂部的 100 global brands are already using beacons in their stores, and studies show that the number of deployed beacons worldwide has increased to 60 百萬 2019.
信標營銷簡史
現在您熟悉了信標技術. 現在讓我們來看看這項技術的簡史.
Apple 推出 iBeacon 作為 iOS 的一部分 7 在WWDC 2013. Apple 在其內部安裝了信標營銷工具 254 在美國的商店並開始提供有關店內不同產品的通知.
在 2014, 梅西百貨安裝 4000+ 商店中的信標設備. 而且, Aruba Networks 還利用信標實現了室內導航.
在 2015, most downloading apps such as Facebook and Shazam started integrating beacons to enhance their functionality. 同年, 谷歌宣布了蘋果 iBeacon 的競爭對手 Eddystone.
在 2016, the user needed to download apps to avail of the functionality of the beacon which stopped the popularity of the beacon. 然而, Google took a step and modified beacon technology such that users no longer needed to download any app, resulting in a resurrection in popularity.
信標技術興起後, Bluetooth states that beacon technology will become the base of the Internet of Things.
Understanding beacon types and standards
市場上有不同類型的信標，例如 GeoBeacon, 超聲波, 和 Wi-Fi 感知. 然而, 最突出的信標類型是 iBeacon, 埃迪斯通, 和 AltBeacon. 讓我們來看看一些著名的信標:
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信標 from Apple
這是 Apple 於 12 月推出的第一個信標 2013. iBeacon is a proprietary protocol in Apple’s ecosystem. It uses low-energy Bluetooth vicinity-detecting technology for the transmission of a universally unique identifier commonly known as UUID. UUID 由一個字符串組成 24 用於與已安裝應用程序通信的數字.
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埃迪斯通 來自谷歌
谷歌在 2015. It is an open-source protocol compatible with both Android and iOS. 該信標是用於傳輸三種幀類型的電纜. Google 利用 Proximity Beacon 應用程序編程接口幫助不同的企業管理他們的信標.
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Radius Networks 的 AltBeacon
Radius Networks 在 2014. It is compatible with different cell phone operating systems. 而且, 它是一個開源信標，為不同的信標應用程序創造了一個開放的市場.
How does beacon marketing work
Beacon marketing operates on the principles of Bluetooth Low Energy (成為) 技術, enabling short-range wireless communication between beacons and smartphones. Here’s how the beacon marketing ecosystem works:
Beacon Deployment: Businesses strategically place BLE beacons in physical locations like stores, sports venues, or public places. These BLE devices continuously broadcast signals containing unique identifiers and data.
Smartphone Detection: When a user with a beacon-enabled mobile app enters the vicinity of a beacon, their smartphone detects and receives the BLE signal from that beacon.
Beacon-enabled App Interaction: The beacon-enabled app on the user’s smartphone processes the received signal data, recognizing the specific beacon’s identifier.
Based on the detected beacon and the user’s context (地點, 偏好, 等等。), the app triggers predefined actions. This could involve displaying a push notification, launching an in-app experience, or delivering contextual content and location-based offers.
Backend 系統 一體化: A centralized platform or backend system manages the beacons, coordinates their deployment, and facilitates the delivery of targeted content and offers based on the user’s location and other relevant data.
Through this process, businesses can engage customers with personalized, location-aware experiences in real-time. The beacons act as proximity marketing triggers, enabling apps to provide contextual information and promotions tailored to the specific physical environment the customer is in.
What are the benefits of beacon marketing
Beacon marketing offers extensive benefits to businesses and customers by leveraging location-based data and targeted, contextual marketing. Some key advantages include:
- Boosting in-store sales: Beacons can enhance the retail experience by delivering personalized greetings, targeted coupons, and discount offers to customers’ smartphones as they browse in-store.
- 個性化營銷: Big data analytics derived from beacon data allow businesses to create more relevant experiences tailored to customers’ preferences and behavior patterns observed in-store.
- Monitoring promotions: Businesses can track in-app transactions near each location to evaluate the success of their offers and campaigns. The retailer can check which items were sold together on the same shopping trip and see peak checkout times.
- Gathering feedback: Companies can use beacons to collect customer feedback about their in-store experience while it’s fresh in their minds.
- Enhancing in-store assistance: By integrating with beacon-enabled apps, customers can easily request in-person assistance from salespeople when needed.
- Increasing foot traffic: Sending location-based messages to customers near a physical store can effectively drive more visits and potential sales.
Overcoming beacon marketing challenges
Retail was the first sector that adopt beacons and deploy in-store marketing. Over time, 各種營銷人員，例如銀行, 賭場, and restaurants have embraced iBeacon technology. 然而, many brands are still facing different problems in integrating beacons into their mobile strategy.
以下是最常見的信標營銷挑戰及其可能的解決方案.
Poor user experience on beacon-enabled apps
Oho 進行了一項調查 35 of the leading beacon CMS and hardware providers. 大多數公司都擔心糟糕的用戶體驗.
信標營銷就是發送推送通知. 所以大多數用戶會收到無關緊要的推送通知，這讓用戶很頭疼, resulting in the uninstallation of apps. These irrelevant push notifications were a basic reason for the drop in app usage.
同一份報告顯示，消費者在收到及時且與上下文相關的推送通知時會表現出積極的行為.
解決方案:
The possible solution is to set up a management platform like Beaconstac that facilitates you to set a threshold time for a message before triggering via an app. 用戶在特定部分花費特定時間時應收到推送通知. 信標應跟踪用戶以收集數據，包括停留時間和商店中的特定位置. When data indicates that there are higher chances for the users to buy, beacons should send push notifications at that time. You can set the threshold time at one minute in the Beaconstac dashboard.
信標部署挑戰
決定在特定位置安裝多少個信標以減少干擾是另一個問題. 所以, 品牌必須在繼續前進之前做出這個決定. 所以這對營銷人員來說確實是一項艱鉅的任務.
解決方案:
智能對焦, 全渠道營銷人員, 提供一種新型信標. Virtual beacons are AC-powered multi-frequency beacons that are really powerful compared to standard battery-powered beacons.
規格大戰 (iBeacon vs. 埃迪斯通)
谷歌和蘋果兩大巨頭之間的規範之戰. Both companies develop different specifications so there is high chance that iBeacons will work only with iOS products and others will work only with Android devices. 這將產生問題，因為企業將不得不購買, 部署, and manage beacons for each platform.
解決方案:
最好和中立的解決方案是開發一個需要同時兼容 iOS 和 Android 設備的應用程序.
有限的信標範圍
一些企業需要信標在大範圍內廣播以收集不同的信息. 您可以通過增加廣播功率來增加信標範圍. 很遺憾, 如果你增加信標的廣播功率, 他們變得不那麼節能, resulting in battery drain.
解決方案:
您可以使用信標來解決此問題. MOKO Technology 推出此解決方案. It is a company that specializes in location-based mobile technology.
Beacon management and maintenance
信標本身並不昂貴. 然而, 管理一批信標確實是一項艱鉅的任務. 如果您必須在所有商店中部署信標，則管理過程會變得很頭疼, 跨越不同城市甚至國家.
解決方案:
可以使用不同的平台來幫助您進行信標管理. 這些平台方便您檢查電池狀態, ping時間和其他監控功能.
Proximity beacon marketing vs traditional marketing
與傳統營銷相比，信標營銷是一種更好的策略, especially for businesses operating with limited budgets. Many reasons give beacons priority over traditional marketing, and obviously, the most important reason is its cost-effectiveness. Unlike traditional channels like newspaper ads, TV, and telemarketing that require recurring expenditures, beacon marketing involves a one-time investment in beacons and supporting infrastructure.
而且, beacon marketing provides a personalized experience, mobile-centric culture, 與傳統營銷相比，有洞察力的分析和實時結果. 傳統媒體無法提供實質性的矩陣來理解活動的有效性. You are always blank about the total number of people who have seen your ad. 相比之下, businesses can benefit from data-driven and highly targeted beacon marketing campaigns in the modern retail landscape.
Examples of global brands using beacons for marketing
There is so much happening in the world of beacons. 了解已經實施了哪些活動非常重要. Let’s have a look at some of the global brands that adapt beacons in businesses:
Allrecipes 的烹飪推薦
Allrecipes 在俄亥俄州 Marc 的雜貨店安裝了信標. 當客戶對特定項目感興趣時，這些信標會向他們建議不同的食譜. 通過使用信標營銷，Allrecipes 的移動瀏覽量每月達到 2600 萬至 3590 萬.
酒吧和餐館
Martini 是一個意大利酒類品牌，開發了 Smart Cube. This cube helps bar owners in efficient crowd management and provides its visitors an unforgettable experience.
iBeacon技術已被用於製作智能立方體. 當杯子變空時, 智能立方體向調酒師發送一條帶有確切位置的藍牙短信. So bartenders can easily refill the visitor’s glasses without leaving their seats.
How to add beacons to your marketing strategy
Now you are familiar with the complete workings of beacon marketing. 如何開始信標營銷?
智能手環或手錶對鍛煉很有幫助, you need to get different beacon hardware. MOKOSmart is the most remarkable and trustworthy site where you can purchase a variety of beacons that meet your requirements. We also facilitate you to customize beacons according to your needs.
配置您的信標: 選擇合適的信標後, configure them by setting power levels, broadcast intervals, and frame types. For data advertising with Google’s Eddystone beacons, you can use the Eddystone-EID or Eddystone-UID frame types.
Register Beacons with Google: If using Eddystone beacons, register your beacon ownership with the Google Beacon Registry. You can utilize tools like the Beacon Tools app or the Proximity Beacon API for seamless registration.
Develop Beacon-Enabled App: Create a mobile app compatible with your chosen beacon technology (例如, 埃迪斯通) to detect nearby beacons and trigger desired actions, such as delivering push location-based notifications.
結論
Beacon marketing comes with its own set of challenges – user experience issues, complex deployments, and privacy concerns. 然而, businesses that embrace this technology can reap significant benefits. Partnering with a trusted beacon provider like 摩科智能 can smoothen the integration process. Our customizable beacon solutions and industry expertise can put your business at the forefront.
