The Internet of Things (IoT) is both a big challenge and the opportunity for contemporary businesses. There are already more IoT devices than people on Earth but the number is yet to grow in the next few years. In such circumstances, companies have to adapt and embrace new technologies to remain competitive.

This also goes for marketers who want to maintain or improve brand awareness. They need to figure out new ways to promote products and keep them aligned with the latest industry developments. In this article, we will show you 8 tips to improve brand value using IoT. Let’s check them out!

1. Customer Experience Is Essential

Customer experience has already become the most important brand differentiator but in the IoT era it becomes even more influential. This is where you need to step in and prepare a good customer experience strategy. For instance, some stores and hotels use mobile apps or QR codes to unlock dozens of features, from entering access points to conducting purchases.

A consumer’s everyday life can be much simpler with IoT devices. You need to design your products so as to understand the needs of their owners. A small sensor or code is enough to keep the track of someone’s daily routine and react when the next purchase or order is needed.

2. Increase Social Media Awareness

When a consumer uses IoT device, you can convert this action into social media engagement automatically. The mechanism is rather simple but very effective. For instance, opening a bottle of highly premium wine could be detected through sensors and instantly posted on Facebook or Twitter. Of course, you need to inform users about this and acquire their permissions.  

This type of social media posts strengthens brand recognition, boosting your word of mouth marketing. At the same time, it allows users to engage and brag about interesting activities in their lives. This often leads to the avalanche of discussions and comments among friends or followers, which is a bonus point for your brand.

3. Demonstrate Capabilities

You could invent a groundbreaking product with state-of-the-art solutions but it won’t make a difference if you don’t promote it properly. Marketers have to take advantage of IoT devices and explain what makes them so special. It is all about demonstrating product features in order to distinguish your brand from the rest of competitors.

As experts in the field of IT and engineering, guys from My Math Done use IoT to interact with former customers and keep them informed about new offers. They made a mobile app with all sorts of exercises. Every time someone launches the app, they can instantly send a customized offer to help the user with this field of work and suggest potential solutions to the studying issues.

4. IoT Means Real-Time Reaction

Besides being helpful and super-intuitive, IoT devices are great because they also function in real-time. There is no waiting time in this case. A product knows when the consumer needs something and reacts promptly to indulge him. It completely adapts to someone’s needs and personal preferences, remembering all details about users and their demands.

For instance, the Barista Coffee Maker knows what kind of coffee you like and serves it according to your taste. But this is not everything: Barista can measure your heart rate and suggest when it’s time to drink a cup of coffee. It gives you a real-time input to make the best of the whole service. As a marketer, you should keep this in mind and try to improve your brand using real-time IoT features.

5. Notify Your Customers

IoT products are mediators between you and your target consumers. They allow you to respond to user requirements and you should analyze how it can work with your brand most productively. For instance, an IoT air conditioning will let the client know that it’s time for regular maintenance. You could also use this device to notify owners about weather conditions outside and suggest decreasing or increasing temperature to make a healthier balance and avoid thermal shock. Even a small detail like this can make a big difference in the eyes of an average customer.

6. Big Data Analysis

People already generate huge volumes of information on a daily basis, while IoT increases data production furthermore. From Youtube videos, over social media posts, to emails and messaging, every single person is basically a source of data that you can analyze and capitalize on the insights you receive out of it.

In terms of marketing, you get the opportunity to see what your customers like and what they hate about the brand. Ask yourself a few questions: How they use my products? Why did they stop buying it? Who are my loyal customers and why?  

With these answers at your disposal, it is getting easier to redesign the existing strategy or come up with a completely new marketing plan. The information is out there, you just need to reach out and take it.

7. Display Brand Specifications

There are dozens or even hundreds of brands in every category, which often leaves consumers in confusion and wondering about the quality. You can eliminate their concerns if you apply IoT technology and display brand information on the product itself. This way, you will prove that the product is authentic and made of the best materials.  

Let’s say that you sell furniture. In that case, you need to give users a trace to follow all the way to the factory that produces raw materials like cotton, wood, or leather. At the same time, you should give them basic information about the designer and his style of work in general. Every piece of information you display will convince people that you are selling high-quality stuff only, which improves brand credibility.

8. Don’t Neglect Cyber Security

IoT is based on the most advanced tech solutions but it doesn’t mean that it’s completely immune to security issues. On the contrary, a lot of people are scared of using it because of the privacy concerns and information theft. Your job is to tell customers that they don’t have to worry about hacker attacks because you use the best defense mechanisms. At the same time, you should emphasize that your company is not selling personal information to advertisers or competitors. The more you invest in data protection, the more customers will choose your brand over others.

CONCLUSION

Technology is constantly changing and you have to follow the same pattern if you don’t want to end up obsolete and irrelevant. IoT introduces a completely new model of doing business and marketing brands, which is the opportunity you shouldn’t miss. In this article, we showed you 8 ways to improve brand value using IoT. We hope our post inspired you to try out some new ideas, so feel free to write us a comment if you need additional suggestions.