The way of business has always been changing according to time & technology. Marketers who are an integral part of the business process adapt the changes in their own way to stay ahead of the competitors. Businesses which were earlier run on word of mouth advertising adopted the technology of printing, radio & television as per the changes in time. Today there isn’t a single marketer who doesn’t know about internet marketing. The internet has spread around the world & currently, it’s impossible for us to imagine our life without it. It won’t take much time for it to be common in everyday items from clothes to coffee makers.
Many great men of our generation are considering Internet of Things (IoT) as the fourth industrial revolution after the invention of steam engines, the information age and the internet. It describes the smart technology encompassing the increase of the number of internet-enabled devices that seamlessly network & communicate with each other in an infrastructure which is dynamic. In short, IoT is the connection of everyday objects to the internet.
IoT is already transforming the relationship between products & customers but what marketers doubt is its role in the B2B domain. But B2B companies around the globe are undergoing digital & human transformation to achieve fantastic customer experience. IoT can reveal opportunities for optimization, improve business process & increase effectiveness & efficiency. By leveraging this technology, marketers can customize their approach, access real-time data & make more informed decisions.
1. Revolutionizing Personalized B2B Marketing & Communication.
Since the devices become part of the value chain, marketers will not have any more need to depend on call centers, marketing surveys or mass advertising to convey the message to the targeted audience. Right from the sale, the device can monitor its activities, surrounding environment, operational performance etc. & can communicate same to the manufacturer. Data science & predictive analysis can be utilized by manufacturers to analyze the data & generate useful insights about customer behavior & usage of products. By doing this custom made messages for individual customers can be generated. IoT also improves the timing & delivery of marketing messages & collaterals. The ability to custom target buyers & tailor sales pitch & marketing to fit the prospect’s interests can drive higher conversion rates.
2. Real-Time Engagement.
Timing plays a key role in B2B sales & engaging with potential buyers at the right time is a big problem for both sales & marketing teams. With the help of IoT, marketers can engage with prospects at the right time, for example, the instant they are engaging on your website or with a targeted ad. With having access to immediate data & feedback – there is no need to hold focus groups or send out surveys & wait for the results. Brands will have the ability to have ongoing dialogues with the customers & get instant feedback.
3. Tracking the Buyer Journey.
With IOT B2B marketers will be able to track the entire purchase history, from the first time a prospect is on your website until they buy the product & then post-purchase when they are using it. Usage of smart data points by IOT to plot influence of market forces, social interaction & behavioral economics alongside business interactions is becoming more common. A better customer experience can be provided with these techniques.
4. Creation of Innovative Business Models.
Objects connected to internet & extensive data provides enormous opportunities to entrepreneurs for discovering new business opportunities. The convergence of products & services based business will become more of a reality with the concept of the internet of things meaning Industrial equipment, heavy machinery, & other physical assets will be able to sell as a service.
5. Product usage insight.
Product usage data which was earlier accessible only through customer survey & time-consuming data collection can now be accessed through the Internet of things. Information which includes how customers use the product, when they use it & how often they use it allows companies to constantly improve their offerings which can be monitored through Internet of things. All these data enable the product to adapt better to customer preferences to ultimately provide better products & user experience.
6. Better customer relationships.
Internet of things has revolutionized the methods of documenting & managing the customer experience. The picture of the customer easily becomes three-dimensional with the amount of customer data that internet of things has to offer. Additionally all this can help sales reps add value to their conversations by being able to offer meaningful & relevant industry insights.
Winding Up
Even with all these merits, the IOT has a weak point in our digital world which is data overload & being able to make sense of all the data. 80% of the data is unorganized, which means the marketers must be able to find the data, organize it, analyze it & draw conclusions from it. The aim of an impactful & successful IOT strategy must be to integrate seamlessly with other technology & people it serves.
