The Most Important Questions You're Not Asking About Beacons

This week is a little different from the others as it's not focused so much on what was written about as what was talked about, at least in my neck of the woods.  This week I attended an event focused on "The Rise of The Beacons" and the marketing opportunity they represent.  

There were many good questions posed to brands, agencies and technical solutions alike.  Questions like: What does a beacon strategy look like?  What will beacons do for marketing?  What does a good test look like?  It was a lively discussion with lots of focus and excitement on the possibilities.  However, I was quite surprised by all of the unvoiced questions.

The one on the minds of those that remember Bluetooth's first foray into marketing is the most obvious: How viable is this technology for marketers?  Will people actually use it?  Bluetooth has definitely grown in usage as the connected car market has developed and given it purpose.  Though many users are still aware of the battery drain and do not leave Bluetooth active at all times.  This may not be the detriment it seems to be, there may be enough traction now to make this technology viable for marketing purposes, but again why is this question not being asked more loudly?

Another question, one I could not leave unvoiced, is: Has there been any thought as to what support will be necessary to implement these solutions?  One point made during the event was what a great opportunity beacons represent because they are inexpensive to deploy (basic models).  However, when you think about technical support, customer service training, etc those costs become more substantial.  Additionally, most of the panelists discussed push notifications from their apps as the main method of deployment.  Many customers do not read through their Terms of Service before accepting agreement and may be unaware they're set up to receive these messages.  This then quickly becomes a privacy discussion, if not by law, then at least in terms of good customer service.  Though as the FTC cracks down on advertisements to children, this could become a real concern for marketers in instances where there's not a verified agreement by a guardian.

One of the last questions asked at the event was: "What do you think will be the coolest execution with beacons before the end of the year?"  While this is an exciting proposition, again there is an important question that is left unvoiced: What is the most effective execution you'd like to see?  This may be a result of my years in performance marketing, but there is a big difference between "cool" and "effective."

I am very excited to see the technical developments we're making as an industry in mobile, so please do no mistake the point of this post.  It is simply that, while it is exciting to think about what we could do, brands want to know what they should do to get the most from their investment.  If we want brands to run real, meaningful tests, we have a responsibility to not only help them understand the potential challenges of beacons & Bluetooth, but to then plan campaigns that will give them their best chance at success.