Beacons: Enhancing Customer Engagement

White Paper

Beacons – Enhancing customer engagement

Author:

Zameer Ahammad Shaik

RCPG

November, 2014

Table of Contents

Abstract 1

1. Beacons – An Introduction 1

1.1 Beacons – Emerging Factor 1

1.2 Beacons –Technology 1

1.3 Beacons –Value 2

2. Beacons – A Game changer 2

2.1 Industries 2

2.1.1 Retail is a Driving force 2

2.1.2 Events 3

2.1.3 Airlines/Airports 3

2.1.4 Banking and Financial services 3

2.1.5 Healthcare 4

2.1.6 Others 4

2.2 Why Beacons are more promising? 4

2.3 Technical requirement 4

3. Conclusion 5

4. How Beacon Use can bring value to IGATE business/ vertical? 5

5. References 6

6. About the Author 6

Abstract

The physical stores have been successful in the early era and it was more focused towards product and vendor rather

This was started by Apple and it adheres to iOS specific protocols. The beacons can take many forms, come from a variety of manufacturers, and can communicate with most recent-model smartphones.

1.1 Beacons – Emerging Factor

Beacons are a not so expensive piece of hardware. They are of small size that makes them easy to attach to a wall or any countertop. They utilize battery-friendly Bluetooth connections to transmit messages or promotions directly to a smartphone or tablet. They have emerged as a boon for retailers, event organizers, transit systems, enterprises, and educational institutions to communicate with customers and create rich and personalized experience.

1.2 Beacons –Technology

The underlying technology for Beacons to operate is Bluetooth LE (Low Energy Consumption).

Bluetooth LE is designed for transferring small amounts of data at low data rates. The primary benefit is that it consumes very small amounts of energy, which means device batteries have a long life. It is secure, very power efficient and relatively cheap to deploy due to its

The app would be supported by a management center that can be in customer place or in any offshore location.

The customer has to download the retailer’s app and enters into the store. The beacons are strategically placed in this store to ensure customer walks through the entire store. The beacons right from customer entering into the store and till his exit tracks the entire customer journey and send the analytical data back to server.

The customers will get the relevant promotion designed only for him when he enters into store or passes through any shelf. Basis on his decision he could accept or reject the promotion. Once he accepts the promotion and picks the product, the promotion enters into his wallet in his smartphone which he can redeem at POS. This helps retailers improve in-store experience and hence improve customer satisfaction.

IGATE has the potential to build similar solutions in “Banking” and “Healthcare” space as these industries are more customer-focused and can be potential customers in future. In Banking and Healthcare, IGATE can eye an opportunity into providing solutions as mentioned in section 2.1.4 and 2.1.5.

5.