Prior to December 6, 2018 companies were able to send Nearby Notifications via beacons to potential customers that were close to their business (generally within 500 feet or so). It was a good way to send customers special offers and new customers into your business.
Adoption wasn’t extremely high but Google realized that most companies were using this in a spammy way.
I’ve been asked several times since Google basically killed off Nearby Notifications how can this be used in 2019 and beyond?
The major change is it isn’t as simple as it was. Previously you could buy a beacon, program it to your ad/message/website and you were off to the races. Now you need some type of app that the customer has to download to get this type of notification.
You can use a proprietary app or there are actually white label apps out there that can be used for just about any business.
A proprietary app would be your own business app. Generally much more expensive to make and takes time to create. The good news is these apps show your business exactly as you want your business to be seen by customers and potential customers. Adoption rates are generally lower for dedicated business apps.
Then there are a couple of white label apps that customization is much cheaper so there is a lower barrier to entry but these apps are also not that popular at the moment. You still have some of the issues of potential customers downloading the app. Customization is not the same as a dedicated app.
Why would a business want beacons or notifications? Stores can put beacons near inventory, give updates on products, services, etc… Businesses can give tours of the interior with information on products and location of items. There are tons of uses.
Nowadays a hybrid of beacons and push notifications or even just push notifications are a decent setup.
Push notifications can come from either apps or from a website. They are also much easier to configure than a beacon with the current ruleset and don’t rely on location.
Here are some possible solutions and more information if you’d like to research beacons in their present state:
Free/almost free solution (compatible with IOS and Android): https://www.beaconstac.com/google-nearby-alternative-nearbee
Google guides to working with beacons: https://developers.google.com/beacons/overview
Building apps with Estimote: https://community.estimote.com/hc/en-us/articles/204576877-How-do-I-build-my-first-app-App-Templates-in-Estimote-Cloud
AltBeacon an open beacon specification: https://altbeacon.org/
