Claire Ephgrave, account manager at Active Profile looks at how sensor technology is transforming marketing.

 We live in a world where everything we do online is monitored, recorded, shared and analysed. A marketeer’s dream, some might say. Without wishing to sound too Big Brother, shopping online creates thousands of ‘data points’ which track behaviour as we browse, building up a picture of our buying patterns and preferences. Algorithms can then predict what we want to buy - before we even know it ourselves.

Whilst websites track us online, marketers are finding clever ways to track us in real life. Wearable tech such as the step-counting Fitbit wristband gives access to consumer data and fitness trends. Combining clever gamification elements like daily step counting challenges (currently causing some healthy competition in the Active Profile office) means that customers don’t really feel their data is being tracked.

In turn, location-based sensor technology allows marketers to pinpoint where customers are and send push notifications to their smartphones e.g. the latest in store offers. Retailers are taking this a step further by using customer and location data to customise display screens as shoppers enter a store. Sensing a Manchester United fan is entering a sports store for example, the displays are able to showcase merchandise that is appropriate for them. Pretty clever stuff, providing there are no team mix-ups!

In a world where reaching consumers is more difficult than ever with ad blocking and bot fraud, sensor technology is opening new doors for targeting customers. They’re essentially becoming the ‘eyes and ears’ of marketers - from tracking consumer trends and buying habits to targeting them in the right place and at the right time. For customers, it should mean you’re less likely to be bombarded with irrelevant adverts and instead receive bespoke information linked to your buying habits. The only danger therefore will be the damage it could have on your bank balance!

As the impact of sensor technology emerges before our eyes – from creating smart cities and homes to transforming manufacturing and healthcare – closer to home, key regional projects such as Liverpool’s Sensor City project and Manchester’s ‘Internet of Things’ demonstrator awarded by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport are aiming to have a global impact in terms of R&D and become economic catalysts driving growth in our regions.

The key of course, is what we do with all this data to make it useful. At Active Profile, we believe that sensors will create new opportunities to get closer to customers and really personalise interactions with them. Likewise, growing your business profile should also be a bespoke and targeted process – getting your message to the right people via the right channel at the right time.