Many people have a smartphone and can no longer live without it. An increasing number of people now own a smart appliance or even smart home based on voice assistants such as Alexa or Siri. Businesses are also making better use of the billions of intelligent devices which are connected all around the world in an Internet of Things universe.
IoT is not a new concept and most top executives understand the transformative power of IoT -- an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide. IoT can improve a business, and here are six ways it can do so.
1. Understanding the customer base
The power of IoT lies in data and its ability to obtain tremendous amounts of data, quickly. It can serve as a marketer’s dream. Data captured from within local devices or by cameras located on the floor of a retailer can be used to monitor - practically in real-time - the behavior of a customer at every stage of their journey as a consumer researches, purchases, or provides after-purchase insights. IoT equips a company to get to know customers on a level never thought possible 10 years ago, thanks to the swathes of data now available to collate. This relationship will only get closer as well, assuming businesses continue to adhere to privacy rules and regulations and keeps personal information anonymous.
2. Improving the customer experience
Once a business has data on customers it can start to improve the customer experience by tailoring processes to meet their expectations. Second guessing a customer’s needs can be a thing of the past as the businesses remain tuned to their movements and habits, responding to required changes in real-time. These IoT-delivered insights enable them to provide a truly personalized customer experience.
3. Maintaining the relationship
Connected smart devices and appliances mean businesses can stay in contact with their customers long after a sale has taken place. Scheduled maintenance appointments and targeted product offers are just two examples of IoT enabling a business to develop their relationship with the consumer after the initial interaction. Further data means they could even create specific new lines or products to meet the ever-evolving demands of their customer base.
4. Using IoT in the workplace
IoT easily extends to improving the life of a business's workforce. Logistics, warehousing, tech and supply chains will all benefit from such technological advances to increase productivity and efficiency, serving the customer faster. Entirely new directions for a business become a possibility as many manual tasks become automated, and the workforce is available to carry out more detailed and thought-based duties.
5. Reducing energy costs
The improvement to the bottom line doesn’t only apply at a staffing level. A network of smart appliances can automatically manage lighting or air conditioning systems across an entire group of offices and warehouses. Empty rooms unnecessarily heated or lit all day can waste important energy, something smart thermostats and light sensors can keep in check. IoT can help a transport fleet deliver a product faster helping avoid costly traffic jams.
6. Managing a remote workforce
IoT enables many devices to be connected to the same network, an advantage with a remote workforce. Despite the efforts to move some workers back to offices post-Covid, IoT can help employers give workers the freedom to choose where they work. There is the potential of expanding a work force with a comparatively lower investment. Flexibility with working hours and location is becoming of more concern to the modern worker and IoT makes this achievable for an ever-greater number of organizations.
As these six steps highlight, the Internet of Things offers dramatic changes for enterprises. There are plenty of examples of businesses that are already using it, right now. For example, in the UK, grocery chain Sainsbury's as early as 2018 allowed customers to scan and pay. for their own shopping using their phones.A Sainsbury's spokesman confirmed that SmartShop capability is now available in all its 605 supermarkets. Amazon has taken this one step further with its Amazon Go stores, first introduced in early 2022. Items moved off shelves are detected, and the customer is charged for them once they walk through the door.
Those businesses have seen gains in productivity and efficiency, as well as closer and potentially longer-term relationships with their customers. Organizations in sectors other than retails stand to accrue the benefits of investing in and installing IoT devices into their own business processes.
As a web developer at Law Essay and Essay Writer, Jenny Han assists companies deliver their marketing strategy concepts. As a writer she contributes to numerous sites and publications including academic service Assignment Help.