As modern-day society becomes more connected, so do our devices. It is very commonplace nowadays to walk into a house and be greeted by a smart doorbell, smart speaker and smart light switches; just to name a few. Everything seems to be connected to the internet and this is what is called the Internet of Things (IoTs). Devices such as watches, which were only used to tell the time, now can record fitness data and take calls whilst you are on the go. Quite the change in usability! Google found that 63% of people over the age of 16 owned at least 3 internet connected devices, only emphasising the reach of this form of technology, to not only users, but to business.
To a consumer, IoTs are aimed to be very convenient and used to streamline everyday tasks. So, instead of manually calculating the distance of your early morning runs and how much energy you have burned, now your watch can do this all for you. Your smart speakers can order items from websites without you needing to go search for them online. Your smart lights can light up your living room before you’ve even got through the front door. The possibilities with IoTs practically grow by the day in aiming to enhance people’s everyday lives in the small and sometimes big ways they can.
IoTs are also very important to how businesses run as they can help a business guide their marketing strategies and enhance their customer experience. IoTs can provide businesses with bigger access to data as data collection is autonomous and easier to gather than standard methods. From this, businesses can use this data to make decisions on future policy and better understand their customers, making future decisions on products better informed. IoTs can provide data on customer purchasing patterns including how they research and buy/use products. This provides major predictors of spending behaviour to businesses to optimise marketing and reach for a particular product or service. IoTs can also help users transition into the new way of working, home working. These devices can allow workers to access files and information from the workplace to a far greater extent to what was possible 5 years ago. This allows for greater productivity and more scope for difficult tasks to be completed outside of the workplace.
Here at Launchpad, we have embraced IoTs where possible to strengthen our research capabilities. For example, by using coasters and sensors we can accurately measure product usage from a customer’s own home to relay real-time accurate information for data analysis. Get in touch today to find out how our team of researchers can use tech to help in inform your business strategies at info@launchpadresearch.com
