Data is embedded in almost every part of our lives. Your smart TV can make movie recommendations based on what you’ve viewed previously. Your smartwatch can track how many steps you take in a day. Even your smart fridge can notify you when you’re out of a certain item and add it to your grocery shopping list. All this data is used to make our lives easier and more efficient. That is the beauty of the Internet of Things (IoT). 

This increased connectivity is also helping businesses operate with the same perks. In this guide for IoT in business, we’ll discuss the main Internet of Things business benefits, how to decide if IoT is right for your business, and how SIMON IoT can help provide you with the right solution.

IoT Benefits For Businesses

There’s a reason why so many businesses have jumped on the IoT train at such a fast rate. IoT devices take the guessing game out of what’s going on in your business. They tell businesses what is really happening instead of what they hope or assume is happening. How? Through IoT devices that can communicate with one another. IoT devices can record, interpret, and transfer data to increase efficiency, inform new insights, and give businesses the information they need to make informed decisions. Here are five key benefits of IoT that almost any business can take advantage of:

Improved Customer Experience and Service

With more data and insights, comes more power to better cater your business to your target audiences. IoT insights allow you to see how your customers are using your products and/or services. Businesses can then use this data to give customers a more personalized experience (i.e. think back to our smart TV example and how it makes recommendations for you after gathering data on what you’ve previously watched). Happy customers equal higher customer retention rates and more money through the doors for your business.

A Better Bottom Line

IoT can also be used to increase your bottom line in a number of ways depending on your business’s industry and needs. Some common ways IoT can reduce business costs include creating a more efficient inventory management system, lowering maintenance costs, optimizing energy usage, and keeping track of valuable business assets (more on this shortly). 

Tailored Marketing Efforts

IoT technology also has great ripple benefits into other areas of your business. For example, the same data and insights you might be using to give your customers a better user experience might also help your marketing team know what they should market to potential customers. This leads to better marketing campaigns with higher results and less spend to get them for your company.

Asset Tracking and Security

Does your business have expensive assets in multiple locations? IoT can help you keep track of all of them in an easy and secure way. Businesses with heavy supply chains are one of the biggest adopters to IoT for asset tracking. IoT devices can not only keep track of where your assets are located but also reduce business liability with security cameras, alerts, or alarms. 

New Business Models

While the most obvious use cases for the Internet of Things business revolves around efficiency, productivity, and process monitoring, more and more companies are also evolving the way their entire business operates with IoT. For example, a business might have gained insight from their IoT devices that their product or service has a large barrier to entry because of its initial cost. This might make business leaders rethink their revenue model and offer a free trial before buying or a subscription type model so potential customers are more informed and empowered to buy into the business.

These are just a few examples of how IoT is transforming the world of business and not an exhaustive list by any means. Keep reading to learn more about how to best implement an IoT solution for the best business results.

How To Decide If Your Business Should Use IoT

Like with most things in life, it’s important not to just jump on the bandwagon because everyone else is doing it. While most businesses will benefit from implementing an IoT solution, you should take the time to really think about what you want out of it. Ask yourself questions like:

Once your business has defined some of the answers to these questions then you’ll be on your way to implementing a successful IoT solution that can create a real positive impact on your business operations. 

Here’s a quick step-by-step checklist to follow to implement a successful IoT solution:

The TLDR for Internet of Things business opportunities? IoT can help your business improve customer experiences and service, reduce business costs, tailor your marketing efforts, track your business assets, create new business models, and more. Ready to get your business started? Keep reading to see how the SIMON IoT team can help.

SIMON IoT Can Help

SIMON IoT has helped businesses small and large across many different industries get set up with an IoT solution. Businesses in healthcare, retail, fleet management, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and more can all benefit from a customizable IoT data plan to meet your needs and fit your budget.

Unlike some of our competitors, we provide IoT solutions, not IoT complications. Whatever stage of IoT deployment you’re at, we can help you get online with the simplest, fairest IoT pricing available. Contact us today to get started.