What is the Internet of Things (IoT)? It includes things like wearables, apps, and devices that have the internet connected to them. So, your Apple Watch or Fitbit for instance, or even items such as your printer or phone, even your fridge are such examples.
Today, we live in a completely connected world thanks to the cloud and mobile technology. In the future it’s likely we’re going to see a lot more of the Internet of Things and this will impact the way we all do business. The IoT has so many opportunities for businesses and many of us are yet to realise exactly what these are, let alone take advantage of them!
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For starters, the Internet of Things can help your digital marketing become more efficient, reduce costs and improve the level of service you provide your customers. Here are few ways the Internet of Things may be able to benefit your business.
Transparency & Authenticity
Both are essential for building trust with customers, and the Internet of Things can be really useful here as it lets you keep customers, suppliers and anyone else updated with real-time information. This can also reduce the workload on your customer facing team members and improve the overall quality of your customers’ experience.
Monitoring & Communications
Many devices are Internet enabled for monitoring and communications purposes. This means they will automatically tell you when they need maintaining or updating.
My phone is telling me these days that my car is parked 5 minutes from my office, or that I have 30% battery left and I can conserve it by going into a conservation mode. My printer sends me messages when it wants more ink, or paper is stuck, or needs the service man to come and give it a good clean. I can only imagine what this could mean for businesses using inventory systems, who could get notified of stock levels, faults, and other issues.
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This not only helps your business run more effectively, it’s a feature you may be able to build into your own products to improve customer experience and potentially increase your sales.
Self-serve
An app can help your customers place orders, give feedback and make payments from their smartphone or tablet, at any time of day or night.
The financial industry is huge in this area. More people do their banking via the phone app than going into the bank these days. You can transfer funds, pay your suppliers or your staff. In fact, there’s not much you can’t do yourself where banking is concerned.
The hospitality industry is making use of ordering apps that let customers place an order and pay for it before they even arrive. This is great for places like takeaway cafes and it takes the load off staff during busy periods as well as saving customers time by not needing to wait in line.
Analytics
We know that data is invaluable, and helps us with making decisions. One of the best ways that the Internet of Things can help your business improve and keep in touch with your customers is by giving you data about how they use your products. This data is invaluable for future marketing, product development and customer relationship building.
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While it may still be relatively new, more and more new products and services are being released that tap into the Internet of Things. Now is the time to start thinking about how your business can incorporate greater connectivity into its processes, products and services.
Sue Mills is a marketing, sales and digital specialist to the financial and professional service sector, and the owner of Sassy Marketing & Communications. With over 20 years of experience working for and with financial planners, accountants, brokers and advisors she shows her clients how to step up and out to be sustainable and thrive in their practices through adopting smart and valuable marketing strategies. Call Sue on 0477 468 888 for a confidential discussion or visit www.sassy.marketing.
