Startup Proximity Insight is combining proximity (iBeacon) marketing with the power of the Salesforce – CRM environment to deliver superior customer service and delight shoppers.
Interview below is with Proximity Insight founders Kris Moyse (photo) and Steve Orell:
Q: Proximity Insight is new innovative platform tell us something more about it?
A: Proximity insight is bringing real-time CRM to real-life environments. Our strategic mobile insights platform integrates iBeacon proximity technology with a retailer’s Salesforce.com environment to get them closer to customers than they’ve ever been before. By incorporating CRM in the iBeacon experience, we have unlocked a huge range of digital and in-store interactions which exemplify customer service and will delight shoppers.
For example, a highlight of the Proximity Insight product is clienteling. Can you imagine visiting your favorite retailer, except instead of being in New York City you’re on holidays in Tokyo? You walk into the store apprehensive about being able to find what you need and you don’t speak Japanese. But you’re carrying your favorite retailers app and they are running Proximity Insight’s clienteling feature. You arrive. The retailer is alerted to your presence; they know that you only speak English so send their best English speaker to greet you at the door. Your fears about being able to find what you want diminish. The shop assistant asks you what you are looking for. You actually want a shirt – something similar to your last purchase in the US but you don’t remember what size or cut it was. No problem. The shop assistant looks at your purchase history. You’ve just got a personal shopper type experience and been able to purchase with utmost satisfaction, despite the fact this was the first time you have ever been to the Tokyo store – that is Proximity Insight’s clienteling.
As with our clienteling feature, we utilize a CRM backend with our proximity based mobile messaging feature. This means we can reach customers with relevant targeted message campaigns based on knowing the customer. Other beacon applications merely spam anyone at a certain location – they have no way of hitting the right mark because they don’t have CRM.
And likewise we can activate digital assets in-store based on who is standing in-front of them. If you’ve seen the minority report you will know how this works.
Apart from these great features, Proximity Insight wants to streamline your day-to-day life. We facilitate customer assistance finding you in your favorite big box retailer when you call for help from anywhere in the store on your mobile device. We are passionate about hotels which check you in when you enter the building, and then let you unlock the door with your phone so you can enter your room configured just as you like it. We want your airline to be able to find you when you’re checked in but aren’t at the gate because something has delayed you in the terminal. This is the future of iBeacon technology; it’s a really exciting proposition for everyone.
Q: Tell us something more about technology behind Proximity Insight?
A: Proximity Insight starts off with an iBeacon at a point of interest, say a product display in a retail store, transmitting a low energy Bluetooth signal. A VIP customer who is passionate about the retailer walks up to the display; she’s got the retailer’s app on her phone. The app, which can be open or closed, detects the low energy Bluetooth signal originating from the beacon. It talks to our CRM backend letting us know who is in-front of the display. That’s when our CRM backend kicks in unlocking a whole lot of options depending on who the customer is and what is going on in the store at that moment.
Q: What are main benefits for retail stores and brands?
A: iBeacon technology is creating new-found locational awareness in our phones; phones aren’t blind anymore and can make contextual decisions based on where they are.
There a few beacon shops popping up who are jumping into this space, particularly in the retail sector. But where Proximity Insight excels is in the fact that we are experts with CRM. Through Proximity Insight, not only do our phones know where they are but they can also tell the surrounding environment who they are – which facilitates meaningful levels of interaction.
Proximity Insight is about creating customer experiences and not push messaging customers with generic content. We foster brand relationships through knowledge, care, and service. Retailers can deliver relevant brand messaging and education across both their digital and brick and mortar landscapes. We support an omni-channel path to purchase that meets the needs of different customer segments. We connect and grow the communities across all channels including in-store, e-commerce, email, website, and mobile.
Q: What is your main goal at the moment?
The beacon space is new and hot. Our goal is to carve out a niche as the platform for retailers and businesses who care about understanding their customers and building that one to one relationship– what they do online and what they do in physical environments. We want to build brands by creating an internet of customers.
Q:What we can expect from you in next six months?
A: We will shortly be announcing more retail partnerships. In the next six months we aim to have a number of retail pilot’s completed and moving on to subsequent phases. We also hope to announce deals with several non-retail partners in coming months.
In addition, this summer we are facilitating a creative adventure involving multiple participants through New York city. This event will showcase why Proximity Insight is different from other beacon applications that you’ve seen.
Further down the track we will be showcasing our content at Salesforce’s International Dreamforce convention.
The product is constantly evolving and tying more real life experiences into your Salesforce.com environment. We can’t tell you all our secrets.
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