Mar 26, 2009The Targeted Group, a Charlotte, N.C., company focused on technology designed to help organizations acquire and manage customer and prospective client data, has unveiled a new system that captures customer information using RFID, then offers organizations a method for recognizing and interacting with those clients by leveraging the data in real time.
The solution, known as the Targeted System, is based on technology called the Sticki System, developed by Nuwire Corp., which The Targeted Group acquired this month. The Sticki System leverages UHF EPC Gen 2 tags and interrogators, and runs on a Microsoft .Net platform.
Developed by Cromwell Evely, Nuwire's founder and now The Targeted Group's CTO, the Sticki System is a mobile RFID application that Evely originally designed for car dealerships. The idea, he says, is that an auto dealer could provide a customer with an EPC Gen 2 RFID sticker to place on his or her vehicle's windshield, then direct that individual to go to a secure Web site that Nuwire manages but brands for the dealer. There, the customer can fill out a Web-based form, entering a serial number printed on the RFID sticker, along with that person's name, contact information and preferences—such as requiring a shuttle for transport when he or she drops off the car for servicing. The dealership could then access this profile, Evely explains, and link each customer's service record with the ID number encoded to that vehicle's RFID tag.
When the customer takes the car in, a fixed EPC Gen 2 reader installed in a drive-through lane or service bay can capture the unique ID from the windshield sticker. That read could then prompt a service alert, or send to the dealership's technician an e-mail that includes the client's information and preferences.
The Targeted Group unveiled its solution based on the Sticki System at Microsoft's Convergence Expo, held in New Orleans earlier this month. Administaff, a Houston-based firm that provides outsourced human resources services for small and midsize businesses, used the system at the conference to accurately capture information regarding prospective clients.
From there, those visiting the booth were invited to try out a golf swing analysis program—one of three activity-based systems designed to engage prospective clients and offer organizations opportunities to build relationships with those customers (The Targeted Group was founded by former golf pro Richard Brasser; the other two programs are poker and racing). The golf analysis program records a video of a visitor's golf swing, analyzes it and provides tips and suggestions for improvement. That information is then posted in the visitor's online locker.
A fixed RFID interrogator, set up in Administaff's booth, captured each visitor's RFID-enabled card. The information that visitor had input in the Web-form was then displayed on a computer screen that Administaff's employees could see. "The sales people had access to data about who they were talking to," Evely explains. "This allows for interaction, and takes it to a new level. It is real time, and can enable the salesperson to talk with the prospective client about things that he or she is interested in, rather than approaching them randomly."
The Sticki System, which The Targeted Group plans to continue developing and selling, can be customized to work in a variety of other applications as well, including loyalty programs for fast-food restaurants and retail shops. According to Evely, a national fast-food chain he is not yet at liberty to name intends to implement the system and integrate it with its existing loyalty program and point-of-sale (POS) platform. Customers who opt in will be able to visit a secure Web site, fill in an online profile and place an RFID-enabled sticker on their car's windshield. When those individuals visit the chain's drive-throughs to place a food order, the salesperson will be able to view their preferences and personalize the ordering experience.
"The clerk could know that the customer likes his iced tea with two lemons, and that his usual order is a chicken sandwich," Evely states. "When the customer drives up, the clerk could say hello and ask if the customer would like his usual. This makes service more efficient, and that translates into hard dollars. The customer has an easier, more personal experience, and the fast-food retailer can serve the customer faster, and in a whole new way."
