The marketing opportunities in the Internet of Things (IoT). More objects are becoming embedded with sensors and gaining the ability to communicate. The resulting information networks promise to create new business models, improve business processes, and reduce costs and risks. In what’s called the Internet of Things, sensors and actuators embedded in physical objects—from roadways to watches—are linked through wired and wireless networks, often using the Internet.

These networks churn out huge volumes of data that flow to computers for analysis. When objects can both sense the environment and communicate, they become tools for understanding complexity and responding to it swiftly if marketing has planned for real-time response. IoT is the interconnectivity between things using wireless communication technology (each with their own unique identifiers) to connect objects, locations, animals, or people to the Internet, thus allowing for the direct transmission of and seamless sharing of data. In essence, it refers to everyday devices that are able to automatically exchange information over a network. Ultimately what makes the IoT market is: • Applications

• Analytics, Decision Making & Social Business

• Platforms (Devices, services, sensors, and

enablement)

• Connectivity

• Intelligent systems and devices

All of these above mentioned components produce structured data that enables the marketing department to make informed decisions in real time (or advanced planning) and maximize MROI and CLV. I see six distinct types of emerging applications, which fall in two broad categories: 1) Information and analysis  

                                     

2) Automation and control

 IoT will soon mean more than just smart refrigerators, environmental alerts, and wearable technology; IoT will have the enormous impact on the way we do business, specifically where marketing is concerned. Here’s 5 ways that IoT will improve marketing ROI:

1) Easy Exchange of Sales Data One of the most valuable commodities to any business is it's sales data. By having access to information regarding how, where, and why your products are being purchased and used, you’ll be able to better tailor your marketing efforts towards your specific clients. Smart devices that can gather this data and supply it back to you in real time, without the need for IT professionals to direct or monitor the interaction,

will allow businesses to create informed marketing strategies and improve ROI on future sales. Perhaps even more important, you’re customers will be able to provide useful feedback instantaneously. So, if a specific product isn’t living up to expectations, you won’t have to wait very long at all to find out about it, which means that you’ll be able to cut your losses much sooner than later.

2) Smarter CRM: Instantaneous Customer Analytics

When used in conjunction with a dependable customer relationship management (CRM) tool, the IoT will be able to do more than simply gather and organize client data; it will be able to efficiently and accurately analyze that data as well, providing you with actionable results regarding your consumer base.

For marketers, this can be invaluable, given that the buyer’s chain of command is often long, and decisions take more time to be made. IoT devices can streamline this process by helping you understand where your prospect is in their buying journey, so that you’ll be able to make every second of every day count towards resolving issues and serving them the right information that will nurture them to ultimately close a deal.

3) Devices That Know and Communicate One of the more promising aspects of smart-enabled products is their potential ability to perform their own regular maintenance and diagnostics. Automobiles have been self-diagnosing themselves for sometime - but it was a clunky method that relied on inexact signals. With the power of IoT, every component is "smarter" so the ability to identify the problem, as well as the solution, will be lightning quickly in comparison. Let`s think of the impact of Telematics in the Motor Insurance industry, and the inability of most of the insurance companies to market technology, telematics in specific connected to User Based Insurance (UBI), which a disruptive way of selling policies.

4) Predictive Social Media

When Facebook and Twitter first hit the scene several years ago, most marketers were less-than

convinced that these new “social media” sites would be worth targeting. We all know how well that turned out. Today, 74% of brand marketers report that they see a noticeable increase in web traffic after investing a mere 6 hours a week in social media marketing efforts. The IoT is already optimized for use with social media, allowing automated posts and shares to be regularly generated by the devices themselves, and preparing the way for new online communities to develop centered on users of particular devices. Marketers who are able to predict the development of these social communities, and target their efforts towards these communities, will be able to reach potential customers that may not have previously been available. Likewise, IoT devices, when coupled with social media, will allow marketers to identify and take advantage of new emerging trends.

5) Higher MROI and Responses to real-time CTAs

Brought together, these factors all point towards one final goal: smarter, more relevant advertising. As increasing numbers of our once-unconnected devices and objects are being fitted with sensors and given constant network accessibility, the face of advertising is going to change for both the marketer and the consumer. No longer will marketers rely on banner ads or popups based off a website you visited on a

Tuesday; As a result, the age of the continuous commerce will finally come. A new world in which advertising must be beneficial and completely relevant where no prospect is served an advertisement that doesn't 100% align with their interests, behaviors, and past purchases. How is this possible? An example would be a light bulb going dark in your "smart" home. The connected home could not only make note of the need for a replacement, but could also provide the homeowner a digital coupon for a new bulb sent directly to their smartphone. Even better, the exact number of hours that the light bulb has been in use can be recorded and transmitted, letting you know that the light bulb is coming to the end of it's life. Not only will the consumer save time by only being served relevant ads, but also marketing will no longer waste thousands of dollars on irrelevant advertising. Marketers would need to have a detailed understanding of their consumers in order to take advantage of the new opportunities being made available, but those who are able to make the transition will find that the IoT allows them the opportunity to stop being marketers, and finally start being valued business resources. Partial credits to McKinsey & SalesForce.com    Main  Topic:  Technology.  

Secondary  topics:  Marketing.  Tag  words  for:  Marketing,  Technology,  Consumers,  IoT,  Technology  Services,  Disruptive  Technologies  Date:  Nov  25th  2015    Number  of  cumulated  views:  1,103    Number  of  cumulated  Likes:    932