Have you heard about beacon technology? Beacon technology has come a long way since its debut by Apple in 2013 and is expected to keep on growing. If you are not familiar with the technology and considering implementing it in your business, then here are 3 things about beacon that you need to know.

What is beacon technology?

Beacons are small, wireless transmitters that use low-energy Bluetooth technology to send signals to other smart devices nearby. They are one of the latest developments in location technology and proximity marketing. Put simply, they connect and transmit information to smart devices making location-based searching and interaction easier and more accurate.

How does Beacon work?

The beacon device itself is incredibly simple. Each device contains a BLE SoC, and batteries, and it works by repeatedly broadcasting out an identifier. This identifier is picked up by your device, usually a mobile phone, and marks out an important place in your environment.

The identifier is a unique ID number that your smartphone recognizes as unique to the beacon. Once connected, the beacon will carry out whatever function it has been programmed to perform.

BLE as Bluetooth Beacon Technology

Beacon technology relies on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to send out messages at regular intervals. BLE is a power-efficient Bluetooth technology developed for the Internet of Things applications and devices like beacons. With BLE, a beacon needs only one coin cell battery every three years, and the technology is 60 to 80 percent cheaper than the classic Bluetooth.

What are Beacons used for?

At a retail store

You can pair beacons with a custom app to notify shoppers about limited in-store offers, deliver personalized promotions, and provide navigation at vast retail locations.

At a warehouse

You can set up a beacon-based indoor positioning system at a warehouse to simplify and speed up the navigation in its bigger areas for new employees and representatives of third parties. Paired with an enterprise software development solution, beacons also allow for indoor personnel tracking to improve on-premises security as well as asset tracking.

Exhibition marketing

Any important information that you want your visitors to know can be transmitted directly to any receptive devices that are within the range of your beacon. This could be simple promotion info to notify the user that they are within range of the exhibition hall. Or, the promotion info could be something more complex, like sending messages related to exhibits, and videos that you are next to.

Taking all this into account, it is safe to assume that more and more business locations will have beacons installed in them in the coming years. Ultimately, beacons will help us better understand our audience, supporting and complementing our other marketing activities.