Customer-Centric Revolution Unleashed by the Internet of Things

emarketingandcommerce.com

By 2020, the number of internet-connected devices is expected to reach 50 billion. While businesses already use surveys, purchase histories, loyalty programs and other methods to be able to understand customers better, these techniques will pale in comparison to the relationships the Internet of Things (IoT) will build.

As consumers incorporate more and more connected devices into their daily lives, information that's never before been available to companies will redefine what it means to know a customer's needs and wants. Additionally, this new insight will create opportunities to improve timing and customization of sales messaging, improving the results of outgoing sales and marketing efforts. 

Marketing and sales messaging that's tailored to a customer has been proven to be more effective time and again. Jupiter Research found that relevant emails drive 18 times more revenue than broadcast emails. Aberdeen Group states that personalized emails improve clickthrough rates by 14 percent, and conversion rates by 10 percent. The numbers show that when companies take the time to craft messaging that customers can relate to and that has meaning to them, it will pay off.

Now, this relates to the IoT because customers will willingly be providing businesses with insights into their habits, decision-making processes and other aspects of their lives that were never accessible in the past. For example, take something as simple as a connected toothbrush. A customer purchases it because the Bluetooth-connected device will track brushing habits and the customer can receive feedback on how good a job he/she is doing with brushing and overall dental health.

For a savvy dentist, a connected toothbrush isn't just a way for a patient to track how many seconds they spend brushing each quadrant of their mouth. With the right marketing and sales software in place, dentists can synch the data collected by a toothbrush with patient records. Sales software can analyze the data from the toothbrush and trigger email outreach to the patient if certain criteria are met. If a patient is only brushing for 30 seconds once a day, the software can create an email recommending that the patient come for a cleaning more often than twice a year, or it can flag an alert for the office administrator to call the patient in for a checkup.