Analyzing Customer Data from Internet of Things
According to Gartner, 8.4 connected “things” will be used in 2017, representing 31% increase compared to 2016. Statista predicts that by 2025, the Internet of Things (IoT) connected could reach 75.44 billion. If you still think that the Internet of Things does not concern you, it is time to review your thoughts.
The Connected “Things”
The digital world converges with the physical world, and this emerging practice, called the Internet of Things, or IoT, represents the next phase of customer analysis, where virtually all existing objects can be connected via sensors and data, other objects, environments, people, and of course, the Internet.
In general terms, IoT can be described as the interconnection and interaction of the digital and physical universes, where uniquely identifiable embedded technology connects and integrates physical objects with information networks via the existing and emerging Internet infrastructure.
The Internet of Things is a platform that connects people, objects and environments to serve, inform and ensure a high level of visibility, commitment and innovation.
Customer Engagement
This problem can be approached from different perspectives, because its manifestations are numerous and varied. For example, one of the IoT’s keys values is enriching experiences and personalizing commitments.
Following are some examples to illustrate this:
Many of us use a portable fitness device to monitor our performance. This “gadget” would give full measure if the data collected by its biometric sensors could connect to a post-surgical recovery program in order to inform the surgeon in real-time of the progress of the cure, comparing for example the progress data to other patients. The practitioner could thus propose more effective ways to accelerate the healing process and patient mobility while avoiding increases in the long-term insurance premium.
In this case, the connection between data, objects and the Internet would transform the patient’s experience while reducing health expenditure, both short-term and long-term. This example immediately reminds me of how the insurance industry can also benefit from the Internet of things. For example, the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) can follow the behaviour of a driver to enable the driver to benefit from lower contributions; but this is only the tip of the iceberg.
Service Planning
With the Internet of the objects, we will finally be able to understand the “offline” customer journey, using many devices which, without being designed to save lives, are none the less able to make the daily life a little easier. Imagine that you can send a customer an alert like this:
“Today Thursday and, according to your diary, you will be at home this weekend, but you do not have any fruit or fresh vegetables in your refrigerator. Your usual selection has been added to your shopping cart, just check this order and confirm it with one click.”
Would this be helpful? Of course, the challenge lies in the unprecedented volume of data that this evolution will generate.
Our customers are already flooded with data and we need to help them separate the wheat from the chaff. Service providers must do everything they can to know what their customers want, then work backwards, as we do for ecosystem planning, with the ultimate objective of analyzing the commitment.
The Internet of Things is not an isolated phenomenon: it will be accompanied by new generation contact centers which will be characterized by a decreasing volume of calls but an average increase in processing time. Indeed, proactive consumer support through the Internet of Things will result in more and more complex calls.
For companies, this evolution will not only require the use of complex analytical solutions, but will also stimulate a desire for complementary solutions for case management, knowledge management and even a certain “gamification”.
