How Internet of Things (IoT) solutions can power your brand

With the ability to enhance organisational efficiencies, improve customer experiences and support with cost-savings and increased revenues, it’s no surprise that more and more enterprises are harnessing the power of the Internet of Things (IoT). As the network of physical devices used to connect and share data, known as IoT solutions, is expected to reach global market revenues of over $1 trillion in 2024, this technology has immense value. But how does this value translate to your brand?

This guide will answer this question as we explore how IoT solutions can power your brand. This insight piece will cover the points surrounding IoT's ability to enhance efficiencies, customer experiences, and organisational finances. 

We will delve into the following points:

• The Internet of Things enhances organisational efficiencies
• IoT solutions improve your customer experience
• Embracing the Internet of Things can make and save you money

The Internet of Things enhances organisational efficiencies

Following our piece, where we explored the benefits of IoT, our first point on how IoT solutions can power your brand revolves around how they can help enhance organisational efficiencies. The emergence of the Internet of Things has presented itself as a vital asset in improving productivity levels in the workplace, allowing companies to streamline their recruitment needs and cut back on unnecessary operational costs.

One of the most notable benefits of IoT is its ability to automate various aspects of a business's operations, including resource management. For example, if a business regularly ships products worldwide, smart devices such as sensors and trackers can be used under the Internet of Things umbrella. 

These sensors can track things such as the precise location of inventory, allowing you to predict accurate delivery times and manage your supply chain and resources more efficiently. IoT technologies can also help you stay on top of inventory quantities, providing data on customer demand to avoid overstocking or understocking specific materials and products.

IoT can also ensure your IT infrastructure, including hardware, software, and network systems, operates smoothly. It can also provide analysis into the following:

• Insight into the performance of your IoT devices
• Staying on top of maintenance checks
• Installing necessary system updates
• Conducting security audits

As a result, the key IT infrastructure that supports your daily business operations can run efficiently around the clock with minimal downtime, which could negatively impact productivity and revenue.   

The Internet of Things solutions can enhance efficiency through more detailed data collection and sharing. IoT applications can provide data analysis into staff productivity levels. It can highlight how long specific tasks take to complete and what work is potentially hindering a company's growth. This insight can influence critical business decisions around workflows and help organisations make better use of their employees' time and the tasks they focus on.  

IoT solutions can fundamentally improve company-wide productivity regardless of industry, from network engineering to healthcare. IoT technologies can reduce time spent on time-consuming and repetitive tasks such as data entry and allow people to work efficiently from remote locations. As a result, your staff can focus on less monotonous assignments and more business-critical projects that they'll likely be more motivated to work on from anywhere in the world.

Additionally, IoT solutions enhance operational efficiencies by improving internal and external communication and collaboration. Due to the connectivity of IoT technologies, which are expected to reach over 29 billion IoT devices by 2030, connecting with colleagues and customers has never been easier. Employees can seamlessly share data, files and other valuable insights internally and externally within seconds, speeding up various processes and efficiencies.

IoT solutions improve your customer experience

Another way Internet of Things solutions can power your brand is by improving your customer experience. We've touched on the fact that smart IoT devices can gather valuable data, such as inventory management and the performance of your permanent and contract staff and IT infrastructure. This data can open the door to user-specific insights, allowing your business to gain a greater understanding of your customer behaviour and tailor products and services to meet their specific needs.  

IoT technologies can provide data about which products are in demand. As a result, organisations can monitor and forecast inventory levels to ensure they can consistently deliver the popular products to their customer base. Using IoT applications to manage inventory allows companies to operate without the fear of running out of stock or losing customers due to a failure to provide the desired products. 

Additionally, IoT solutions can track inventory between suppliers and your customers. Using smart devices, businesses and customers can see the precise location of their products and anticipate when they will be delivered in real-time. 

The ability of IoT devices to track shipping allows companies to be transparent with customers about when they will receive their purchased goods. Allowing your customers to monitor where their products are and how long they will take to get to their door provides them with the reassurance that they can trust the business they've invested in rather than being left in the unknown on when they'll receive their products. 

These insights from IoT solutions can improve your customer experience through customer communications and marketing. Referring back to the data around popular and in-demand products, this data from IoT technologies allows companies to tailor their marketing outputs to specific customer segments, presenting them with collateral relating to the products they're most invested in. 

Knowing when products will be delivered also allows companies to tailor customer communications. Whether via email, text, chatbots or other means of telecommunication, organisations can use the connectivity of IoT devices to notify their customers exactly when their products will be delivered. 

Communicating via IoT devices allows customers to provide feedback to brands, which they can take onboard to improve their customer experiences. IoT technologies can also help organisations run online customer service and support outlets. Customers can receive technical support or real-time insight regarding their purchases from a business, resulting in an effective customer experience.   

If an organisation has a website or app that customers can access, IoT applications can ensure these platforms run smoothly 24/7. IoT technologies can troubleshoot potential issues with these online platforms to mitigate downtime, avoid revenue loss and maintain customer satisfaction. 

Embracing the Internet of Things can make and save you money

Our final point on how Internet of Things solutions can power your brand is that they can help your business from an increased revenue and cost-savings standpoint. As you read through this point, you'll realise that these financial benefits gained by embracing IoT are closely related to the previous sections we've explored in this guide. 

The automation benefits accompanying IoT solutions can significantly impact a business's cost savings. Of course, staff will still be a vital asset to a company's operations. However, organisations can save money on labour costs by automating routine tasks like data collection with support from IoT applications, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). 

IoT devices, including smart thermostats and smart lights, can save on day-to-day operational costs for companies returning to the office setting. These IoT technologies can be set to automate lighting and temperature control in the workplace, saving energy costs and energy wastage. These cost-savings may be minimal at face value, but any methods a business can take to save money should be considered.  

Companies can also use IoT solutions to automate the maintenance of networks and systems, along with customer-facing platforms such as apps and websites. This can ensure operations run seamlessly with minimal downtime, allowing businesses to save money on human-led technical maintenance costs while maintaining revenue streams.

Embracing IoT solutions can also help organisations increase revenues. As IoT devices allow for global connectivity, businesses can extend their reach to customers and clients in various markets and locations. Staff can utilise the flexibility of IoT technologies to work remotely and deliver the same level of service to customers and clients worldwide.

As mentioned in a previous section, IoT technologies can provide valuable data about real-time customer buying habits and in-demand products and services. Companies can tailor specific marketing campaigns to increase customer engagement with this insight. 

Insights supported by IoT devices can also help businesses arrange where products appear on their website and app to increase conversions. They can also transfer this data to their physical stores, influencing the store's layout based on the popularity of certain products. Using data collated by IoT technologies can personalise customer experiences and increase company revenue.   

IoT solutions can open up new revenue streams by creating innovative business models. For example, adopting sensors and tracking for product shipments and inventory management can be an additional value-added service. 

Providing customers with these real-time notifications and transparency regarding their products will enhance their experience, satisfaction and brand loyalty. The addition of these IoT applications gives organisations justifiable reasons to charge their clients more for their services. 

IoT solutions can inspire businesses to create or optimise new products and services. Using IoT applications, companies can gain insight into product lifecycles, customer behaviour, and the market's direction. With this insight, organisations can tailor their deliverables to meet customer demands and ensure the money keeps coming in.

Rounding up how IoT solutions can power your brand

In summary, IoT solutions can significantly power your brand by enhancing organisational efficiencies, improving customer experiences, and driving cost savings and revenue growth. Automating tasks, streamlining operations, and gathering detailed data enables businesses to optimise resource management and improve productivity across various industries. 

Enhanced connectivity through IoT technologies also facilitates better internal and external communication, leading to faster and more efficient processes. Insights from IoT applications can help tailor customer interactions to improve customer satisfaction levels and loyalty. 

By embracing IoT, businesses can reduce operational costs and create new revenue streams through mproved product offerings and innovative services. Ultimately, integrating IoT solutions allows brands an opportunity to thrive in a competitive market, ensuring sustained growth and customer engagement.

If you found this guide useful, read our guide on the 5 IT Infrastructure Trends You Should Know for 2024.

Power your future with IT network recruitment

If you’re searching for talent to help your business adopt IoT solutions, we can help. With over a decade of experience as specialists in IT network recruitment, we provide permanent and contract hiring solutions to global organisations. Our consultants will work closely with you, lending their industry knowledge and recruitment expertise to connect you with the people capable of taking your brand to the next level.

So what are you waiting for? Get in touch with our IT network recruitment team and see how we can help you meet your specific hiring needs.