Gainesville startup, Kinwa, is changing the way that people connect with their surroundings via their smartphones and giving businesses a better way to engage their customers. The company, founded by four University of Florida graduates, recently launched its flagship product, Beacon, an app designed to help businesses and organizations interact with their customers through their mobile devices.
Beacon lets businesses “tag” their storefronts – or even individual products and displays within those stores – with deals and offers, social media, photos, videos, and a variety of interactive digital content. This changes a customer’s smartphone from a possible distraction to an engaging tool that allows the person to interact with the business and, ultimately, increases sales.
The free Beacon mobile app allows users to view a business’s content when they are near or inside the brick and mortar location. Beacon uses small, low-cost wireless transmitters, which are detected by smartphones and indicate points of interest like a business or a product on a shelf. This allows the most relevant content to be presented to these customers as they approach particular items of interest, no scanning or searching is required.
Several Gainesville-area organizations and businesses are taking advantage of the technology. The Harn Museum is tagging exhibits with audio, video, and web content so patrons can easily learn more about their favorite art pieces as they walk around. Tommy Williams Homes is providing interactive tours of their model homes and properties using Beacon. Other Beacon-friendly locations include The Gainesville Regional Airport, the Hippodrome, Citizen’s Co-op, Bosshardt Realty, Southeast Car Agency, Tempo Bistro To Go, and Brasington’s Adventure Outfitters.
Download the free app on the iTunes App Store. If you would like to use Beacon for your business, contact [email protected], or call 352-363-1423.
For more info go to kinwa.co/beacon
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