iBeacon Technology
The last of the notification systems is the iBeacon, which is a push and pull system. The app and the iBeacon “listen” out for each other and can be used to create an excellent sales tool and an amazing member interaction tool.
iBeacons are small portable, weather proof digital beacons that run off low frequency blue-tooth and with a capture area from about 20cms to 200ft gives managers a large range of options both in and outdoors.
When set to a close range an iBeacon will locate where the app user is on a micro-environment scale, which means you, the manager of the system will do too. This will allow your club to give a truly personal experience and a comprehensive management tool.
To give you an idea of its practical uses, this technology can be employed from the simple to the complex, with excellent results.
Simple effective uses include:
- Welcoming a member to the club
- Topping up loyalty points
- Logging how many times a person has visited an area
- Pace of play
- Sending of (sponsorship) messages at certain locations around the club/course
On the other end of the scale, when used together with a number of iBeacons, this technology can be used to
completely transform the member’s experience.
iBeacon Example
This is what the iBeacon is capable of in a golf resort to maximise customer experience and drive revenues via engagement and personalisation.
As soon as your member arrives at the gate, the iBeacon sends them a greeting
and sends a notification to the clubhouse that this particular person has arrived. This can all be coded into the clubs CMS to enable the member’s profile to be brought up too!
This can allow the following customer experience to happen:
- Valet can be ready to drop their car/collect their bags and know the person’s name and if staying overnight what room the member is staying in.
- The reception desk knows who has arrived and can start getting items ready for their check in, as well as greet them personally by their name.
- The pro-shop can also be notified of their arrival and have their buggy ready, etc.
And so on.
Because of its micro tracking and your own choosing of iBeacon placement, your club would be able to notify the restaurant, the bar, the golf club, the spa, etc. the arrival of the member and enable your staff to greet the member by name and, dependent upon you records, know what their preferences are or even if they are allergic to certain things.
iBeacons placed strategically on the course can wish golfers a good match, remind them to order food, thank them upon completion and offer them incentives to book another round right away. The iBeacons can do all of this plus allow the management to know who is on the course, where they are to ensure bottlenecks are avoided, give personalised welcomes all that the same time!
Currently the iBeacon is being mostly used in larger retail business and exclusive clubs, and there is
no reason that smaller clubs can not very successfully use the iBeacon on a smaller scale to achieve desirable results.
