Near Field Communications

 

Near Field Communications (NFC) is finally here.  More than 80 smartphone models around the world now include NFC technology, led by major players such as Samsung, Blackberry, Nokia, Motorola and HTC.  NFC is being used for payment and smart ticketing, but Fenbrook Consulting believes one of the major uses of NFC will be for retailers and brands to attract more customers.

 

Download Trevor’s White Paper on Location Based Marketing and Mobile Phones

Also see Trevor’s blog for more discussions about Near Field Communications.

Fenbrook Consulting has been involved in NFC since before the original announcement in 2004.  What could be more attractive than tapping into the devices that so many people carry with them at all times, with a whole range of new possibilities to make life more convenient, immediate, and cool?

So, where specifically will NFC make a difference, and how can Fenbrook help?  Based on our experience with contactless cards, and the extra functionality offered by NFC, here are our tips to watch out for:

• Location Based Marketing – NFC offers a powerful new tool to companies to market direct to consumers.  Using NFC, it’s possible to prompt customers to make enquiries by tapping their phones (e.g. “smart posters” or beermats).  It will be possible to prompt impulse purchases and build up a detailed picture of an individual’s preferences, spending patterns, and whereabouts.
• Transport (Mass Transit) – NFC offers an ideal way to pay for and use transport tickets.  As contactless transport readers become more common, it’s possible to use NFC phones to load tickets and show their validity.  But NFC is much more powerful than that, because it enables users to buy and download tickets over the air – at a time and place convenient to them.  And for the Transport Operator, NFC based smart ticketing means not having to bother with the non-core business of managing a population of cards.
• Events – Most people attending an event (could be a festival, football match, conference, exhibition, county show, attraction…) take their mobile phones with them.  In the future, these same devices will be used to access special areas, pay for food and beverage, download money, and more.  Among other things, this will mean that the event goer doesn’t need to carry cash, and the event organiser learns more about the customer’s preferences, allowing marketing to that individual to be tailored in the future.

 

Fenbrook Consulting can help

Our associates are experts in NFC technology and applications.  We can take an unstructured idea and turn it into a well worked business plan.  We can build prototypes so that new applications can be tested and honed.  And we can work to implement the plan, in an ordered and affordable manner, to gain the maximum results.

If you are a small or medium sized enterprise looking to take advantage of the new opportunities presented by NFC, contact us.  We will help you get ahead of the game and achieve your goals.

Please see Trevor’s blog for more discussions about Near Field Communications.

Touché – Fenbrook Consulting is proud to be a Joint Venture partner in touché – a business specifically established to support NFC applications.

Take a look at the video commissioned by touché to explain Location Based Marketing with NFC – Location Based Marketing with NFC, by touché.

And also see the latest video from touché, explaining the “Find My Car” app: http://www.touche-nfc.com/