Acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing customer (Outbound Engine, 2022). This is only one of the many reasons why it is essential to foster engagement and brand loyalty by building a brand-to-consumer relationship.
NFC technology can help you do just that. Read this article to discover how embedding NFC tags into goods can help you create a direct digital relationship with your customers.
Today’s digital world brings about new ways of communicating with customers, and the necessity for brands to create innovative communication strategies to cut through the noise. Brands need to find ways to build trust by engaging with their customers on a new level, as this is a key sales driver.
95% of customers say their trust in a company makes them more likely to remain loyal to that brand and 92% to buy more products and services.
65% of buyers find a positive experience with a brand to be more influential than great advertising.
Near Field Communication (NFC) technology is a wireless connectivity technology based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) enabling contactless communication between an NFC reader chip and an NFC tag. The NFC reader is the main controller of the communication system, as it initiates the wireless communication, powers up the NFC tag, and sends commands through the magnetic field to the passive NFC tag. NFC readers are nowadays embedded in smartphones and payment terminals for example.
One of the benefits of NFC technology is its ease of integration: the smallest NFC tags available are approximately 10 mm wide and can easily go unnoticed in consumer products.
NFC technology allows brands to create a direct two-way communication channel and offers an innovative and user-friendly way for them to engage with their consumers. Here’s how: by simply “tapping” the tag with their smartphone (bringing the smartphone and the tag in close proximity), customers can read and access the tag’s content, which was previously configured by the brand.
Companies can choose the type of content they wish to embed in the NFC tag, such as a website URL or a user guide for example. Tag configuration can be easily carried out at the manufacturing stage.
Thanks to the NFC tag embedded in goods, consumers can benefit from personalized experiences. For instance, they can receive recommendations for matching clothes, loyalty programs and coupons, or invitations to private events. A fitness brand can use NFC to share personalized running itineraries with athletes according to their location. The use cases are almost endless! NFC tags provide brands with a door to the digital world and the possibility to easily offer experiences that make a positive contribution to people’s lives.
By providing easy access to digital content, NFC also brings companies more visibility into the post-sale product lifecycle, while enabling consumer engagement. Fully integrated into omnichannel strategies, NFC technology can turn your products into real assets for your brand.
Find out more about the benefits of NFC for your brand in the brochures below. Select your industry and access the resource:
Luxury brands aim to deliver a personalized experience to their consumers. NFC tags can help brands address this goal. In addition to letting consumers know about the brand’s history, NFC tags can also be an excellent way to inform consumers about the manufacturing process of its products.
For instance, the tag can display a video from the production line to show the unique know-how of the brand.
NFC tags also have a lot to offer in the wine and spirits industry. Consumers can be provided with indications on the wine (tasting, serving temperature), explanations on the wine making process, or inspired cocktail recipes with various alcohols.
In the scenario where the NFC tag is embedded in the bottle cap and coupled with the tamper-detection feature, the tag can be used to detected whether or not the bottle has already been opened before it reaches customers.
The contents of the NFC tag can be programmed to evolve after consumers buy and open the bottle. NFC tags tag can adjust the information provided to customers (recipes, expiry dates etc) depending on when the bottle was opened.
The NFC tag embedded in the packaging allows patients to easily access information and tutorial videos about their medical device. This can help them make sure they are using the device in the right way.
In today’s connected world, patients can find a lot of information online concerning health-related topics, but it is not always accurate, nor related to their specific case. With NFC tags embedded in medicine packages, they can find relevant information and be more easily involved in their health journey.
NFC tags can also enable additional use cases: if patients tap the NFC tag at each medicine intake, they can follow their treatment and receive reminders when they have forgotten to take their pills. NFC tags can therefore contribute to increasing treatment adherence.
NFC tags are a key enabler of the so-called Internet of Packaging (IoP), which refers to machine-readable packaging.
NFC opens the door to many possibilities for brands to connect with their customers: from simple information sharing, such as how-to guides for proper product usage (especially for hazardous household products that require specific handling), to gamification and loyalty programs.
In the fashion industry, NFC tags can address a growing expectation from consumers: product customization.
By simply tapping a tag embedded into a pair of shoes for example, consumers can open a mobile application, order online, check stock or access personalization services.
NFC tags are water-resistant and robust enough to be embedded in sporting clothes and accessories. They can provide users with personalized coaching tips to improve their results and they can also benefit from recommendations, such as running tracks according to their location.
Brands can also use NFC tags as a way to build brand engagement, by offering access to tickets for sporting events, such as football matches, using prize draws and gamification.
ST25Connect is a program that aims to ensure the best product integration and implementation of NFC technologies.
By supporting companies from a wide range of industries, such as Paco Rabanne or NP Plastibell, in the implementation process of NFC from the start to the end, we enable the success of their NFC projects.
With ST25Connect, benefit from ST’s technological expertise and network of trusted partners to integrate NFC into your products and start leveraging its potential!
Interested in joining the ST25Connect program? Our experts can provide support and guidance. Fill out the form below. We will get back to you within a week.
Thank you for giving us the chance to help you grow.
