Today, a promising technological revolution is predicted to make a global economic impact of about $1.9 trillion by 2020 and $2.5 trillion by 2025; and it is the Internet of Things. For those unfamiliar with the term, the Internet of Things or IoT may sound like one of those jargon that IT guys throw around casually. In reality, IoT is a progressively promising wave of new possibilities and opportunities, which will give the technology we use today a remarkable boost. In simple words, it is just establishing a relationship between machines. It refers to being able to share information through every day ‘things’ or devices over a network. It is going to change the way we connect with the world around us forever.
According to Gartner Inc., almost 26 billion devices of all kinds will be connected through the IoT by 2020. The intelligent systems that are created by these connected devices will provide us with data that will help study and explore critical information and patterns in the world. Such data will be useful for marketers—a study by Marketo found that about 51 percent of the world’s top marketers agree that IoT will revolutionize the marketing landscape in the coming four years. With IoT, marketers would be presented with the enormous opportunity of interpreting data from smart devices to evaluate consumer behavior, identify trends and tailor campaigns accordingly. But that’s not all. Let’s see how IoT will influence marketing as we know it in the near future:
Better mobility of data: The core of IoT lies in being able to share information over a network. Information thus shared would be something that is extracted with the permission of the user and would translate into a marketer’s goldmine. With the devices doing all the work automatically, better and easier transfer of data will be possible. It will also be easier for a marketer to lay his hands on earlier unavailable data or information that was too cumbersome to collect.
Real-time, specifically targeted marketing efforts: This is especially true if we are talking about the customer’s in-house or in-store experience. A real-time exchange of data becomes possible, thanks to multiple IoT devices that sense location, and track the customer’s buying journey. Armed with this information, a marketer will be able to figure out if a customer is indecisive about the choice he needs to make. In such a scenario, the marketer can speak to the customer in real-time or send them a message on their authorized, registered phone number, maybe offering a discount or so. In effect, here, a consumer’s data collected through various IoT devices are being used as a raw material for real-time, specific marketing efforts.
Increased customer understanding: Why has social media become so popular? Because, it builds connections. IoT, too, is all about building new connections and making older ones stronger. Being connected to an extensive network of devices only means that communication becomes swift and meaningful. Instead of providing feedback and taking time to collect this information and act on it, now marketers will be able to receive feedback instantaneously and come up with remedies sooner. Such a level of connectivity also translates to better analytics. For instance, suppose your business sells coffee from a vending machine. The data collected from the purchases made at the vending machine will enable you to track patterns in consumer buying and also understand the demographics of purchase and consumption. Does the purchase rates spike during a certain time of the day? How often are purchases made and within how much time of one another? Such information will provide marketers a good ground to base their targeted and personalized marketing campaigns on.
Better click-through rates: With IoT, marketers are finally reaching their all-time aspirational high of ‘relevant advertising’. Campaigns and ads will be more streamlined, personalized and specific. This means that as a consumer you will see less and less of information or advertisements of things that do not matter to you; instead you will be rewarded with information of what you really do need at the right time and place. This will also ensure that marketers can be assured of better click-through rates and engagement for their campaigns.
IoT offers tremendous opportunity when it comes to customer engagement and marketing. Marketers are able to tide through two of their most important struggles—one being why consumers are interested in your products or services, and the next being that it opens the door for real-time interaction with your end-users or buyers. Although, some of you may feel a bit skeptical about privacy issues, and the kind of personal data that will be collated and used to market products and services to you, I would want to remind you that only if you allow the permission to a smart device to do so, will it be storing your data. The choice is still yours. Despite the many challenges it comes with, like infrastructure concerns, connectivity issues and security concerns, I cannot help but be optimistic about what IoT holds in the future for businesses like ours.
