To remain competitive, modern companies have to use innovative technologies. An indoor positioning system is an important tool in business development. Thanks to geolocation-based platforms, it is possible to increase the level of customer loyalty to the brand and lead efficient marketing activities. Every year, indoor positioning is gaining popularity and helping to optimize the company’s performance.

What is indoor positioning?

Indoor positioning is based on tiny sensors (beacons or tags), installed in different places of the building, that help to position a person or asset. At the preset intervals, these sensors emit signals that are detected by special readers and directed to the cloud. The processed information is sent to users’ smartphones or computers to enable indoor positioning.

Bluetooth beacons, functioning on the basis of the iBeacon technology, are often used as sensors. They are characterized by low energy consumption. The beacon-based solution is optimal for stores, shopping centers, transport hubs, museums, and large enterprises. It helps to define the location, as well as acquire the detailed analytics of the company’s performance and develop proximity marketing campaigns.

One of the key benefits of using the indoor positioning system is the possibility of adjusting targeted advertising focused on specific buyers. If the user’s smartphone has the installed application with the function of indoor positioning, while entering your company, he will get personalized notifications with useful information and various offers. For example, being in a clothes store, users can get messages about discounts, promotions, or bonus programs.

Marketing functions of indoor positioning systems

Location-based proximity marketing opens unlimited possibilities for attracting clients and increasing profits. The system makes it possible to maintain continuous communication with a buyer and organize successful marketing campaigns based on a person’s location. The integration of indoor positioning into the existing company’s infrastructure can allow the execution of the following functions:

• Sending push notifications – involves delivering information about promotional offers or discount coupons. Depending on the retailer’s aims, notifications can be directed to people who are inside the store or passing by.
• Sending notifications based on external advertising – involves delivering the information when a user passes by the advertising stand. As soon as a potential buyer gets alongside the stand, the beacon detects their location and activates the signal for resending notifications.
• Indoor navigation – allows buyers to reach quickly the necessary point inside buildings. Thus, the indoor positioning system can direct a client to the goods in the store that is on sale. All points of interest can be displayed on the interactive map that appears on the user’s smartphone, which improves client experience and increases their loyalty to the store.

How to improve a company’s marketing performance

To understand how indoor positioning can improve a company’s marketing opportunities, let’s consider how it works on some examples from different spheres.

Shopping mall

Many shopping centers apply indoor positioning for organizing marketing campaigns. At different points of sale, buyers are offered promo actions, special offers, and useful information about various products. Beacons are mounted on the shelves next to the  selected goods. As soon as a person walks past the shelf, his smartphone receives an advertising notification with a proposal to buy these goods at the promotional price.

While using indoor positioning and navigation systems, all important  zones or stores with promo actions can be displayed on the digital map of the place. If a buyer wants to save and purchase some goods on sale, he just has to open the mobile application and define the location of these positions. If necessary, the platform helps to build routes to the points of interest letting clients quickly get to the necessary place without wasting time on the search.

Retail

The application of the indoor positioning system is extremely topical in all retail spheres. Using the proximity marketing solution allows offering clients relevant content that will attract their attention. The platform provides additional channels for marketing and sales, helps to increase client loyalty, and contributes to attracting new buyers. Its implementation increases the effect of targeted advertising campaigns and makes brand promotion more effective.

The main functions of the system in the retail sphere are the following:

• Real-time location based advertising;
• Interactive tips with detailed information about goods;
• Online retargeting based on users’ location.

Museums and exhibitions

Indoor positioning helps optimize the work of cultural institutions. Its implementation allows users to receive targeted push notifications with different information, including the information about discounts and promo actions for visiting exhibitions and museums. Thanks to interactive technologies, the heads of museums and exhibitions have the possibility to send targeted push notifications containing interesting and relevant content.

After the system implementation, cultural institutions can acquire some considerable advantages:

• Attracting visitors thanks to benefits from promotional offers;
• Providing complete information about museums;
• Getting additional profits from renting exhibition grounds;
• Getting a new marketing channel.

Airports and railway stations

Transport hubs are not only ticket offices and check-in desks but also cafes, shops, and other services. They all can work more efficiently if there are navigation systems in airports, railway stations, and transport hubs. A user just has to open the interactive map of the place to find the wanted points of interest and build a route to them.

If necessary, the system can deliver push notifications to passengers when they walk by shops or cafes. It will allow attracting clients by offering them significant discounts, promo actions, information about new goods, and getting additional benefits, such as:

• Improving passenger loyalty to transport hubs;
• Obtaining additional profits from renting points of sale;
• Providing useful information about goods or services at the right moment;
• Positioning in an airport or railway station as a modern platform capable of keeping pace with time.

Sport

Using indoor navigation, companies can send targeted notifications to the visitors of stadiums and other sports facilities. The platform allows notifying people about forthcoming events, ticket costs, promo actions, or discounts. The technology implementation provides a new marketing channel that can be used for increasing business efficiency. It will be useful for advertising cafes or stores that function on the territory of stadiums, as well as for sending targeted advertising notifications from the sponsors of sports events.

Thus, the implementation of the iBeacon-based indoor positioning technology is becoming indispensable in marketing. The use of location based marketing together with mobile applications lets companies interact more efficiently with their clients, increase their average check, and raise profits.