Customer Engagement with Smart Connected Products

When I started my career at that time I was converting analog systems to digital connected systems, then we moved from connected products to smart connected products. What is the difference between connected products and smart products? In short, any product which can be linked up can be a connected product and this has been with us for years like your laptop, printer etc. But now the definition of connected product refers to more connected to the internet to transmit data and control remotely. Smart products on the other hand have some kind of intelligent behavior that helps them to predict end user needs as well as react to situations. So, you can say all smart products are connected but not vice versa.

But this article is not about their differences, we can all agree that the connected world has created an environment in which commerce is everywhere and this trend isn’t going anywhere. So, in this article I will focus on how company’s customer engagement is evolving in the era of these smart connected products. Through smart products we can collect environmental as well as user data and transmit this data to a central database where it can be analyzed. This helps companies to have insights on how customers are using their products, their habits, preferences, etc. but along with this we can get performance data of our products as well. Having these combined insights helps companies to make better business decisions and of course enhance customer engagements.?

So how smart product is changing companies and their ways of customer engagements:

• Predictive maintenance to enhance user experience- as smart products are transmitting their performance data, hence it is easy to analyze and use AI algorithms to turn them into useful insights. Using machine learning we can build predictive models and notify the user for any upcoming issues or replacements. This proactive reach enhances the customer experience with the product as well as with the brand.

• Personalized customer experience- Smart products create more customer touch points and evaluating these touchpoints data companies can personalized their offerings for the end user as well as make suggestions for future products or other existing products. These touchpoints data can also be used by companies to understand customer retention and frequency.?

• Reshaping Competition- Having information gives you competitive advantage. Embedded sensors, processors, software, and connectivity in products, coupled with a product cloud in which product data is stored and analyzed are driving massive improvements in product functionality and performance. Smart, connected products are defining a new standard for operational effectiveness, dramatically raising the bar in terms of best practices. Every product company will have to decide how to incorporate smart, connected capabilities into its products.

• ?Building a New Kind of Relationship with Customers- Analyzing product usage data is helping us to gain new insights into how our products create value for our customers and hence allowing better positioning of offerings, more effective tailored communication of product value, better market segmentation to create more value to each customer segment. The Always-on connectivity creates a perception that because consumers are always connected, brands must be able to connect and interact with them no matter the time of day, location or the specifics of the brand. This opens up a multitude of opportunities to engage with consumers.

Convenience and speed are our two biggest drivers for customer satisfaction and customer spending, the widespread adoption of smart technology is facilitating the same need. Consumer’s expectation of round the clock brand interactions, personalized experiences, fast and convenient services are on rise but at the same time data privacy and transparency is also important to them, hence brands must embrace smart technology to responsibly use customer data and prioritize data security. To conclude, Smart Technology will be the major driver behind the reimagined customer experience, and that brands must rethink their customer ecosystems to keep pace with empowered consumers and evolving consumer technologies.