Any business that wants to grow and have a successful digital presence needs to stay up to date, embracing and integrating new technologies and capabilities into its strategies. This is where NFC technology comes into play in many dynamic and innovative ways. In this article, we'll look at how NFC technology and marketing go hand in hand to create NFC marketing and get results!

 

NFC Marketing

NFC (Near Field Communication) marketing is a marketing strategy in which people interact with specific physical objects with embedded NFC tags. This means they pass their mobile phone over an NFC (or QR code) tag and an action is immediately taken. Once they have interacted, they can then access marketing material encoded on the tag.

NFC technologies, such as QR codes, can be used to enhance and improve any existing marketing campaign. Read on to find out how.

How NFC marketing can help your business

Build loyalty with NFC tags

Incorporating NFC tags into products and in-store locations can increase customer loyalty to your brand. For example, embedding an NFC tag on a garment label allows users to tap on it to see additional information about that particular garment. They may even be able to see possible combinations with that garment. Coincidentally, the clothes that complement the outfit are in your store, so the customer may end up wanting the entire combination they see.

NFC can also be used to interact with customers by showing video content about your brand or products.

Samsung did this when it introduced the ability of its phones to share content instantly via NFC. They used NFC posters to demonstrate the capability by sharing e-books and songs. This improved customer loyalty and increased product and brand awareness.

Offer more products

Unfortunately, most retailers don't have enough space to display all their products. Using NFC tags makes things easier. It is possible for NFC tags to display the availability of a product. This is done by linking directly to the store's website. Other options can also be displayed (e.g. a different colour).

 

Read also: How to Use NFC Technology to Deliver an Amazing Customer Experience

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Create interactive ads

In addition to building loyalty through NFC tags embedded in the products and stores themselves, it is possible to build audience loyalty through advertising. You can create interactive ads by placing NFC stickers on signs, posters and banners. With NFC stickers, you can provide more information about the products featured in the ads, videos featuring the product, the location of nearby stores, and more. It is even possible to motivate your audience to participate in the campaign with an action (e.g. create content). At the end of the interactive campaign, you can offer a bonus to those who have participated, such as discount coupons.

Lexus used NFC in print ads by embedding stickers in a magazine that users could tap to open the new Lexus app suite.

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Connecting with customers through loyalty programmes

There are a number of  loyalty reward programmes. These programmes are a powerful tool for building a loyal audience. You can use NFC to enrol your loyal customers into a loyalty programme, giving them more reasons to stay with you. This can be done at the checkout, where an NFC tag is located and you prompt your customers to enrol. You can also give them points when they complete their registration.

You can see product reviews and ratings

The main difference between online shopping and physical shopping is that online shoppers have access to a wealth of information. This information includes reviews and ratings of the company and the products. Reviews and ratings are very important. Positive reviews can influence people to buy a product, while negative reviews can make people stay away.

You can improve your already (hopefully) positive image by allowing customers in your physical stores to tap an NFC sticker to see online reviews of the product they want.

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You can provide more information

Some people may want to know more about your products, and it's a good idea to have a direct and up-to-date way of providing information, even without an internet connection. NFC tags are perfect for this as they can be encoded with all the necessary information about a specific product.

For example, if you sell food to customers, you can use the tags to display the ingredients of the products so that someone can see if they have an allergy to any of the ingredients. Imagine how many points your brand will gain with such a specialised and useful action!

Encourage repeat sales

NFC stickers can be embedded in product packaging so that customers can tap them to order more.

This way, if someone makes a purchase, finds the sticker in their pack and scans it, they can move on to a subsequent order more quickly. In this case, of course, he wants good communication about this feature so that the customer is aware of it.

This use of NFC tags has many benefits beyond the additional revenue from the next order. Firstly, it increases traffic to the website and makes it easier for customers to shop. It also reduces the likelihood that customers will look for another store to do their shopping, as NFC gives them a more immediate solution. Finally, in the long run, it creates a stronger relationship with customers.

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You can get amazing information

NFC technology can also be used to collect loyalty data and information about who your customers are and how and when they use your products. For example, you can get instant information about what your most popular products are.

This information can help you to be better organised and also give you data on when and how to run a marketing campaign and how much to invest in it.  Without this information, there is a high risk of wasting money on ill-timed marketing campaigns.

NFC or QR code tags?

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Companies are already using QR codes to enhance their marketing. Between NFC tags and QR codes, NFC is arguably the most versatile technology, offering more functionality even without internet access. Marketers can take advantage of the fact that .txt and .JPG files can be encoded into NFC tags to provide more product or service information and customer reviews, which is not possible with QR codes.

The bottom line

NFC technology offers great opportunities for businesses. It can deliver a sensational customer experience, making their shopping experience easier and giving them more choice. The ways in which it can be used are already growing, and NFC marketing is proof of this.

Learn about NFC marketing and its potential. Find out how you can use it to help your business gain a new and loyal audience, awareness and, of course, revenue.

We're sure you'll start seeing QR codes and NFC tags everywhere after reading this article! Maybe you'll start to notice them in the shop where you went to buy a shirt, in the restaurant where you're having dinner, in the hotel room where you're staying. This means that more and more businesses are starting to use NFC marketing. Are you one of them?

 

Read also:

13 Ways To Turn Your Business Cards Into A Smart Marketing Tool

How To Use NFC Business Cards At Corporate Events

 

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