For almost a decade, the Internet of Things (IoT) – a network of objects connected across network infrastructure – has been growing up around us like weeds in a flower garden. Based on machine-to-machine communications that use cloud computing and data gathering sensors, the IoT includes smartwatches, fitness trackers, smart cars and smart appliances. Gartner forecasts 4.9 billion connected things will be in use in 2015, up 30 percent from 2014, and that this number will reach 25 billion by 2020.
Because of its ability to monitor, measure and manage, the IoT is transforming the customer experience. This revolution is already playing out in our daily lives.
Take my car for example. It’s an average, middle-of-the-pack model that wouldn’t be considered a tech giant. Thanks to its Internet capabilities, however, I enjoy cloud-based music and navigation services even where I live in remote Northern Minnesota. But the IoT is about more than these options, which could be considered nice-to-have, but not necessarily imperative (except when I need directions in downtown Minneapolis). The revolutionary part of my IoT car is the fact that it proactively monitors everything from oil and windshield washer fluid levels to tire pressure and more. For me – and other car owners – this is the kind of customer experience that can keep me from being stranded on the side of the road or making unplanned maintenance stops.
Minimizing wasted time is a critical element in the customer experience, and as the above example proves, an area where the IoT can help move the needle. Disney’s wearable, the MagicBand, maximizes guests’ park time – and therefore experiences – by streamlining things like purchases, transportation and access.
Here’s another example: because of my remote location, I receive a lot of packages through UPS and FedEx at my home. Thanks to the IoT, these companies provide me with up-to-date information so I don’t have worry about when my printer ink or wine club delivery will arrive. Even the gym in my small town provides a digital wearable that logs my workouts so I can get a small break on my health insurance costs.
From the car to the gym, on vacation and at home, the IoT provides companies with unlimited opportunities for improving the customer experience. But that’s not all…The other side of IoT coin is Big Data. Turns out all of this connectivity produces massive amounts of information – like how often my car needed an oil change – that can in turn be used by companies to design and produce better products that advance the customer experience further.
It’s been predicted that customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator by 2020. With this in mind, companies are (or should be) doing whatever they can to improve the customer experience. The IoT isn’t a future prediction, but rather a daily reality that companies can leverage to create the meaningful customer experiences that will carry their brands into the future.
If you’re wondering how you can harness the IoT to delight customers, we should chat today.
