The people counting solutions are not new to the retail and service industry. Majorly it is the retail sector who utilize people counting solutions, however, public offices, mass transit, exhibitions and events management, facility managements, and government offices also utilize people counting solutions. In the beginning the people counting solutions were started as a manual processes, later replaced by basic technology devices which calculate the people entering or leaving a premises. Then over the time the technology have become more complex and the data become more accurate.
However, with the traditional people counting sensors and devices such as IR Sensors, Ultra Sonic Sensors, Thermal Cameras and dedicated people counting cameras have very low accuracy rate of around 80% to 90%. The biggest problems with the dedicated people counting sensors and cameras devices is that they have to be installed separately and require maintenance and management and on top of everything the deployment cost is also very high.
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What is People Counting Software?
The people counting software is unlike any traditional people counting solution as it doesn’t require any dedicated hardware device. The people counting software is built on AI (artificial intelligence) based smart image processing algorithms which enables it to get direct video feeds from the CCTV surveillance cameras and process them to extract people counting, customer behavior and other analytical data. The biggest advantage of the people counting software is that it doesn’t require any additional hardware, which significantly reduce the initial cost and furthermore it is based on smart object identification algorithms which can distinguishes between the human and non-human objects and increase the system accuracy to up to 96%.
The highly accurate data and additional features make people counting software superior than any other existing people counting solution. Moreover the businesses can also link all branches and integrate the people counting software with any other third-party tool or database.
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Here are the Best Features of People Counting Software
The businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE are rapidly adopting people counting software. There are several different solutions available in the market, however, only a few of them are offering great value in terms of cost and features. Here are some key features of people counting software that are very helpful for businesses:
Real-Time Footfall Count and Analytics
The AI (artificial intelligence) powered people counting software has highly sophisticated and smart image processing algorithms which enables it to collect customer footfall data from the live feeds of the CCTV security cameras. The smart software engine has highly advanced object identification mechanisms which enables it to distinguish between human and non-human objects. All these features help increase the accuracy, in fact the people counting software is proven to be the most accurate people counting solution ever.
Traditionally the people counting systems significantly reduce the accuracy of the data when the footfall increase. This is due to the limitation of the hardware sensors that are used to measure the people count, furthermore the calibration for such dedicated sensors could also affect accuracy. The occupancy level or the footfall count data of a people counting software is highly accurate with the accuracy of around 95% to 98% with a much wider coverage area and better capabilities to handle the large influx. All this people counting analytical data is available in real-time and also stored in the system for later use.
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No Need of Dedicated Devices and Sensors
One of the biggest advantage of the people counting software is that it doesn’t require any dedicated hardware device or sensor. That is very important for both small and large businesses, as installing new hardware devices is a complicated task, it has additional cost, it requires additional maintenance and management. Traditionally the people counting solutions requires different types of sensors and hardware devices, each technology have different coverage areas and different installation protocols, sometimes businesses have to install multiple devices in order to meet the coverage needs.
Furthermore it is not just the people count that is important for a modern business, in fact it needs a lot more to effectively improve its product positioning, marketing campaigns and overall operations. The people counting software doesn’t require any additional device or dedicated sensor, in fact it can be integrated with the existing CCTV security network and it turns all cameras into very powerful and accurate sensors for the system which enables it to collect a wealth of analytical data for businesses.
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Collect Visitors’ Demographic Data
Collecting visitors’ demographic data is one of the best feature of the people counting software. No other traditional people counting solution can collect customers’ demographic data. The people counting software’s AI based advanced image processing algorithms can process the CCTV feed in real-time and can easily identify a visitor’s age group and gender such as kids, adults, elderly people, male, female, etc. This data is a treasure trove, especially for modern retail industry.
Businesses and organizations can gain a great competitive advantage with having visitors’ demographic data. This data help them catering the customers’ needs by offering them better products, services and it also help improving the marketing campaigns. The demographics data help businesses acquire a better understanding of their visitors and help them build their future strategies accordingly. Businesses can also base their marketing campaign, inventory management, resource planning and other operational activities based on the visitors’ demographic data.
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Get Heat Map Analysis Data
The heat map analysis data is one of the crucial part of a modern AI based people counting software. The heat map is basically a full record of customer movement within the premises, it highlights how the customers and visitors are moving within the premises. The customer movement is tracked and recorded in a very intuitive way which is called heat mapping, the heat map shows different concentration of people in different colors and overlay that information on a floor plan of the premises which enable the management to understand the customers’ movement within the premises.
The data is highly accurate and tells management how customers and visitors are moving, which routes they are taking and which areas are getting more customer attentions, etc. It help management identify the popular and unpopular sections of the retail store or the premises and help them improve their inventory management strategy. The heat map data is also helpful in resource planning and help improving the marketing campaigns and overall operation of the business.
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Monitor Customer Dwell Time
Another remarkable feature of a modern AI based people counting software is the ability to monitor customer dwell time. The customer dwell time is the time that any customer spent in any particular region or spot within the premises. The dwell time is a very crucial matric it tells management which products, areas or spots are popular among the customers and let them understand why people are spending more time in those areas and regions. The customer dwell time is calculated continuously and it is visually overlapped the floor plan of the premises which further help the management to easily understand it.
The management can improve their marketing strategies, inventory management, internal arrangements, resource planning and the entire operation based on this data. For large premises and even open venues the customer dwell time is a very crucial matric to understand customer behavior. Customer tend to spend more time in places or in front of products which they find interesting or appealing, and vice versa. The customer dwell time can significantly improve the understanding of the customer behavior.
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Monitor Customer Churn Rate
The customer churn rate is one of the most important matric for the businesses. Because the customer churn could also cause a huge sales loss. The customer churn rate is basically the measurement of the number of customers who visited the businesses but left without making any transaction. There could be several reasons, such as they might not find what they were looking for, they were just window shoppers, or they felt the counters are too busy. Usually it is the queue at the counter which cause the rise in customer churn and it is due to poor resource management or simply too much customer influx.
It is important to understand and address the actual cause of the customer churn because these customers are genuine opportunities that a business is missing out and these opportunities can have a huge impact on the overall sales. The people counting software help businesses understand the customer churn rate. It can be integrated with the POS or the financial/sales system and the number of people arrived can be compared with the number of sales to measure the customer churn. Furthermore the heat map analysis and customer dwell time also help understanding the causes of the customer churn.
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Improve Marketing Campaigns
The marketing is one of the most crucial aspect of any business. It assures the success and failure and could have huge impact on the overall performance of the business. Businesses use a variety of different methods for marketing. Some businesses place digital signs, offers and promotions at their premises along with digital marketing and other traditional marketing campaigns. Basically the purpose of each marketing effort is to increase the customer footfall.
The customer footfall tend to be directly proportion to the sales. As many visitors a business will have as much sales they will make. That is why businesses invest huge amount of resources and revenue in the marketing efforts. The people counting software can help businesses evaluate and asses the success of their marketing efforts. Businesses can easily identify a slight increase or decrease in the footfall and they can compare it with the sales data to understand the actual impact of the marketing campaign.
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The in store efforts can be scrutinized by analyzing customer behavior and interest in the content and the digital or other traditional marketing campaigns can be evaluated by measuring the increase in the sales and footfall. Businesses can closely monitor the people counting software data while making changes and fine tuning their marketing campaigns to maximize the efficiency. The customer footfall count, the customer dwell time and the heat map analysis can offer a wealth of valuable business intelligence data which not only help businesses evaluating the existing marketing campaigns but also help them build their future marketing campaigns.
For example, if a digital sign is installed, businesses can monitor how many people spend time in front of it, or how many people take a different route to approach that digital sign. If the business have started a social media marketing campaign, they can monitor the campaign’s impact on the footfall and sales. Thus the people counting software is also very helpful in making your marketing campaigns more effective and impactful.
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Monitor and Improve Employee Performance
It is important for businesses and organizations to ensure excellent customer experience. Which is impossible without efficient resource management and optimum employee performance. The people counting software is capable to distinguishing the employees from visitors, it can detect and identify employees with 100% accuracy. The people counting software monitor and track employee movements within the premises. It capture their dwell time and also provide heat map analysis. This enable the management to understand which employee is spending how much time in most productive areas and what can be done to improve the productivity.
Businesses can compare their employee positions during the peak hours and drive better strategies to improve employee performance throughout the day. Furthermore the business management can also make future plan to improve resource management strategies which results in better employee performance. The management can also plan service and other activities accordingly to further enhance employee performance during the peak hours and normal day to day operations.
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Have a Centralized Monitoring System
The people counting software is a very powerful tool. It comes with a main server side core application, which is hosted on a server, either online or in local data center. This allow the businesses to connect all the branches with the people counting system. Furthermore the people counting system comes with intuitive dashboard interface to monitor and view analytical data of the system. The head office can view all the connected branches and it can also assign local branch managers for each branch with limited visibility. It means that the branch manager will be able to view the data from their branch only or if more than one branches are under that manager they will be able to view that data too.
However, the head office management will be able to view the data form all connected branches. This help establishing a centralized monitoring and management structure which not only increase the effectiveness of the system but also improve the decision making capabilities of the senior management.
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Easy Deployment and Scalability
The people counting software is a server based application which means that all its algorithms and processes are done on a server. All the source code is deployed on a server which allow businesses to deploy the system in their local data center or at a cloud or at an online hosting platform. This also enable the people counting software to offer centralized management system and also offer better security and performance. The initial cost of the system is also relatively lower as the system doesn’t require any additional hardware to install and also doesn’t require IT infrastructure at each branch. The people counting software doesn’t require much maintenance in fact and if is hosted in a hosting or at a cloud, then most of the maintenance is taken care by the service provider.
Furthermore adding more system users, branches and increasing the coverage area is also simple and doesn’t have any additional cost. Once the business acquire the system they are free to connect more branches only just a small cost of integrating more branches might be applied. That is why the operational and maintenance cost of the people counting software is very low and the ROI is excellent.
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Conclusion
The modern day marketplace is heavily driven by the data and information. The business who can collect valuable business intelligence data tend to outperform businesses who are still following traditional practices. For businesses the customer experience is a crucial aspect of their day to day operations. A happy customer experience means the customers will return and if they are more satisfied they will recommend your brand to others as well. An unhappy experience means the customer might never return to your business and they could also share negative remarks about your brand.
Although the digital marketing have taken over the traditional marketing but the word of mouth is still a key component for brand image building. Although with the digital channels and platforms such as social media and the online reviews the customers can still share their opinion about the brand in the online world. The people counting software is one of the most effective technological solution for the modern problems and needs of a business.
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The people counting software is far superior to any traditional footfall counting technology. It doesn’t require any additional hardware device or sensor, in fact it convert your existing CCTV security cameras into very powerful sensors. The AI (artificial intelligence) based algorithms and the powerful software engine can not only accurately measure the footfall but it can also collect a wealth of analytical data that can help business identify the problems in the customer journey, help them understand customer behavior, demographics and much more.
It also help them in improving many processes such as the marketing, inventory management, resource planning and the entire operations of the business. RSI Concepts is a leading people counting software provider in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want us to deploy a highly effective and cost-efficient people counting software for your business, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.
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