Working with Location Based Features within SAS Customer Intelligence 360

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This post provides an overview of how to utilize the location-based features within the SAS Customer Intelligence 360 mobile SDK to support and execute location-based marketing strategies. The SAS Customer Intelligence 360 mobile SDK uses beacons and geo-fencing capabilities to determine if a customer has entered or exited specific geographic locations. This information can then be used to trigger marketing tasks such as a Mobile Push Notification or an email to the customer. For example, if a customer enters a specific location close to a retail store a push notification could be triggered inviting the customer to enter the application and see if there are any ongoing promotions.

Geofences and Beacons

 SAS Customer Intelligence 360 uses both geofences and beacons to create a location-based marketing strategy. Geofences are virtual boundaries used to define a physical boundary of interest. A beacon is a hardware transmitter that uses Bluetooth Low Energy to broadcast proximity-based information. Within a geofence, there can be multiple beacons. When permissions are granted, a mobile application is actively scanning for beacons. Once the mobile application detects a beacon, an event is created that can trigger a mobile message being sent to the application.

Uploading Geofence and Beacon Data

The location data can be uploaded to SAS Customer Intelligence 360 through the user interface by uploading a CSV file with the required location data. For details on the specific format needed see SAS Help Center: Upload Location Data. Within SAS Customer Intelligence 360 select General Settings, then select Mobile Applications under the Content Delivery heading, then select the Select button:

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Mobile users: To view the images, select the "Full" version at the bottom of the page.

Select the mobile application that you want to upload location data for, and select the Upload geofence data for the selected application button:

Select the desired CSV file and select OK:

Enabling Location-Based Features within the Mobile Application

For the location-based features of the SAS Customer Intelligence 360 mobile SDK to be used there are specific steps that need to be taken within both the iOS and Android applications. This post will not go into detail about these steps but please see SAS Help Center: Enable Location-Based Features for iOS and SAS Help Center: Enable Location-Based Features for Android. Additionally, these steps are included in the SAS Customer Intelligence 360: Mobile SDK course which is part of the SAS Customer Intelligence Learning Subscription.

Adding Location-Based events to Trigger a Task

The last step needed to allow for location-based marketing is using one of the location-based events to trigger a task. For example, if I want to send a Mobile Push Notification to a customer when they enter a specific geofence then I would select Orchestration for the Triggered Push Notification Task:

Under the Trigger section select, Select criteria:

Select the Geofence Entered Event (note that the available location-based events are Beacon Discovered, Geofence Entered, and Geofence Exit):

Next, specify which attributes of the Geofence Entered Event must be present to trigger the event, such as the name of the Geofence:

Make sure to complete any other steps required to set up the Triggered Mobile Push Notification task. For more information about publishing a Push Notification Task see: SAS Help Center: Create a Mobile Push Notification Task. The customer should then receive a mobile push notification when they enter the specified geofence.

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