Category: Customer Experience

Infographic Looks At The Science Of Native Ads – WebProNews

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In-feed ad unit adoption is growing across publisher sites with different ad unit types introduced and/or retired quickly,” said the IAB’s Susan Borst. “In addition, feed types are also evolving beyond the three main types (content, social and product), to mixed feed types that have variable aesthetics/content which don’t fall clearly into one bucket. But even with these changes over time, it is important that one thing remain the same and that is the need to evaluate the in-feed ads from the consumer perspective to ensure that they remain native, meaning that they are so cohesive with the page content, assimilated into the design, and consistent with the platform behavior that the viewer simply feels that they belong.”

They have a helpful infographic on this as well, which you can see here.

http://www.webpronews.com/infographic-looks-at-the-science-of-native-ads-2015-08

The Smart Home Market Insights

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THE EVOLVING SMART HOME MARKET: BI Intelligence Research Analyst John Greenough presented at IoT Evolution on the current state of the US smart home market. Here are some of the key takeaways:

Americans are excited and ready for the smart home. Over half of America is excited for the possibility of having smart home devices. In addition, three-quarters of Americans have wireless internet and 57% have a smartphone — two crucial components of the smart home ecosystem.
Security is often cited as the top benefit Americans want when purchasing a smart home system. 41% of Americans said the top benefit of a smart home system is security.
Cable, telephone, and security companies with a large employee base are well positioned to provide home automation systems. Smart home providers including Comcast’s Xfinity Home, Time Warner Cable’s IntelligentHome, ADT Pulse, and AT&T’s Digital Home, have allocated a lot of marketing dollars to help grow their smart home divisions. This could be especially crucial to cable companies who are continuing to lose cable subscribers to cord cutting alternatives.
The US smart home market is currently in the ‘chasm’ of the tech adoption curve. The chasm is the transitional point from the early adopter to mass market phase of the tech adoption curve. It previously occurred in the smartphone market in 2009-2010, when smartphones were proven to be a necessity and were adopted by the masses.
To reach the mass market stage, smart home device makers and providers will have to prove a need for their devices, fix the technological fragmentation, and try to drive down prices.
BII JG IoT Evolution

THE IoT ANALYSTS SPEAK: At IoT Evolution in Las Vegas, multiple IoT analysts participated in a panel discussion on the IoT market. The analysts disagreed over how many devices are going to be connected to the Internet by 2020. This has been a hotly contested topic since the IDC released their original forecast saying 50 billion things will be connected to the Internet by 2020. Multiple firms, including BI Intelligence, have reported varying forecasts which generally fall between 10-200 billion devices. Here are some of the takeaways from the discussion:

The analysts have varying definitions of what is included in the IoT, and therefore have very different forecasts. Some analysts include devices running near field communication (NFC) and RFID, while others do not. Therefore, each forecast needs to be read closely to see what devices are included. These definitions are important for clarity around what the IoT encompasses.
A few of the analysts made the point that the number of devices connected to the internet does not matter. The bigger message these analysts had was that the growth rate is the most important number. We tend to agree with this group of analysts. However, the overarching theme of the IoT is that it will be big and it will make businesses more efficient.

Congrats to TP LInk and Goolge

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We love it when clients come together and partner. Congrats to TP Link and Google on your innovation and successful collaboration.

READ THE WIRED POST

Today, the company is launching a new device called the OnHub, in partnership with router-maker TP-Link. There’s another, Asus-made device in the works. For $199, it promises to make your Wi-Fi faster and more reliable, and to give you the ability to update and fix your connection. (You know, for the rare times unplugging it and plugging it back in just won’t do.) Presales start today, and devices will ship in the coming weeks.

The most striking thing about the OnHub is the way it looks. It’s not your average router, with wires and antennas poking out from every side; it’s a large cylindrical device with a blinking light on the top, shades of the Amazon Echo or Apple’s Airport Extreme router. Its outer shell is removable, and comes in either blue or black (more colors are coming, Wuellner says, to better suit your room). It’s pretty, in its way.

This is intentional: Google doesn’t want you to crawl behind your desk every time you need to get at your router. It wants the OnHub right in the center of everything. This itself is a boon to your connection; hiding your router behind closed doors or underneath your TV is horrible for your signal. (Yes, people do that.)

“We discovered that when you put a router on the floor,” Wuellner says, “versus on the shelf, the one on the shelf performs twice as well as the one on the floor.” Wuellner’s team also discovered that making it a tall cylinder made users less likely to stack things on top of it, which also destroys signal.

If step one was to build a router people want on their shelf, not in the closet, then step two was to make it work really well. The OnHub has 13 antennas inside, 12 for casting signal and one for measuring congestion on your network. The device’s software is constantly monitoring channels and frequencies, making sure you’re connecting in the most efficient way. Wuellner says Google didn’t just want to blow your mind with antenna power, but figure out how to use it properly. “Imagine yourself in a battle with your neighbor about who can listen to their stereo,” he says. Most routers just keep cranking the volume to try and drown out the other; the OnHub wants to help everybody share.

I am making my return to the stage… with Darren Herman, Donny Osmond and Tony Hsieh #iot @betheexception @thebuddygroup #IMPACT15

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My marketing and storytelling career started in New York City on America’s first social medium; The Broadway stage. Since then, The Buddy Group has flourished to help shine the spotlight … Continue reading I am making my return to the stage… with Darren Herman, Donny Osmond and Tony Hsieh #iot @betheexception @thebuddygroup #IMPACT15

9 New Predictions And Market Assessments For The Internet Of Things (IoT) – Forbes

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IDC discussed The Internet of Things Mid-Year Review at a webinar on July 23, including findings from a survey of 3,566 companies in North America. IDC defines IoT as “a network of uniquely identifiable ‘things’ that communicate without human interaction using IP connectivity.” Tata Consulting Services (TCS) issued a report titled The Internet of Things: The Complete Reimaginative Force, based on a survey of 3,764 executives worldwide. TCS defines the IoT as “smart, connected products.” The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) published The Internet of Things: Mapping the value beyond the hype. MGI defines IoT as “sensors and actuators connected by networks to computing systems” and excludes “systems in which all of the sensors’ primary purpose is to receive intentional human input, such as smartphone apps.” Finally, Business Insider (BI) issued The Smart City report on IoT initiatives in cities worldwide.

The economic impact of the IoT will re-shape the world’s economy

The IoT has a total potential economic impact of $3.9 trillion to $11.1 trillion a year by 2025. At the top end, that level of value—including the consumer surplus—would be equivalent to about 11 percent of the world economy (MGI). The Internet of Things (IoT) market will expand from $780 billion this year to $1.68 trillion in 2020, growing at a CAGR of 16.9%.  Sensors/modules and connectivity account for more than 50% of spending on IoT, followed by IT services at more than 25% and software at 15%. Traditional IT hardware accounts for less than 5%

Investments in IoT technologies by cities worldwide will increase by $97 billion from 2015 to 2019. The cities’ IoT deployments will create $421 billion in economic value worldwide in 2019. That economic value will be derived from revenues from IoT device installations and sales and savings from efficiency gains in city services (BI).

There will be almost 30 billion of IoT devices in 2020

In 2015, 4,800 connected end points are added every minute. This number will grow to 7,900 by 2020. The installed base of the Internet of Things devices will grow from 10.3 billion devices in 2014 to 29.5 billion in 2020. 19 billion of these devices will be installed in North America in 2020 (IDC).

The IoT will be primarily an enterprise market

In 2018, the IoT installed base will be split 70% in the enterprise and 30% in the consumer market, but enterprises will account for 90% of the spending (IDC). Business-to-business applications will probably capture more value—nearly 70 percent of it—than consumer uses, although consumer applications, such as fitness monitors and self-driving cars, attract the most attention and can create significant value, too (MGI).

Over the next few years, North America will still be the focal point for the IoT

The IoT has a large potential in developing economies, but it will have a higher overall value impact in advanced economies because of the higher value per use. However, developing economies could generate nearly 40 percent of the IoT’s value, and nearly half in some settings (MGI). 2020 will be a tipping point year for Asia, when it will become the geographical region with the largest installed base of IoT devices (IDC). North American companies will spend 0.45% of revenue this year on IoT initiatives, while European companies will spend 0.40%. Asia-Pacific companies will invest 0.34% of revenue in the IoT, and Latin American firms will spend 0.23% of revenue. North American and European companies are more frequently selling smart, connected products than are Asia-Pacific and Latin American companies (TCS).

The telecommunication industry leads other sectors in IoT investments

The Telecommunications, banking, utilities, and securities/investment services industries are the leading sectors investing in IoT in 2015 (IDC). In gaining benefits from the IoT, industrial manufacturers reported the largest average revenue increase from their IoT initiatives last year (29%), and they forecast they’d have the largest revenue increase from the IoT by 2018 (27% over 2015). Industrial manufacturers were also in the lead for using sensors and other digital technologies to monitor the products they sold to customers (with 40% of the companies doing so) (TCS).

IoT adoption is gaining momentum worldwide

36% of companies in North America have IoT initiatives in 2015 (IDC). 79% of companies worldwide already use IoT technologies, investing 0.4% of revenue on average. They expect their IoT budgets to rise by 20% by 2018 to $103 million (TCS).

Costs and customers are the key drivers of IoT investments

Lower operational costs and better customer service and support lead the list of significant drivers of current IoT initiatives. In large companies, business process efficiency/operations optimization and customer acquisition and/or retention also top the list (IDC). Companies with IoT programs in place reported an average revenue increase of 16% in 2014, in the areas of business where IoT initiatives were deployed. In addition, about 9% of firms had an average revenue increase of more than 60%.The biggest product and process improvements reported by companies were more customized offerings and tailored marketing campaigns, faster product improvements, and more effective customer service (TCS). Cities are adopting IoT technologies because they deliver a broad range of benefits for cities including reducing traffic congestion and air pollution, improving public safety, and providing new ways for governments to interact with their citizens (BI).

Security, culture change, determining priorities, and optimizing ROI are key IoT concerns

Security issues top the list of current barriers to IoT adoption (especially with larger companies), followed by funding the initial investment at the scale needed, determining the highest priority use cases, and changing business processes (IDC). identifying and pursuing new business and/or revenue opportunities that the IoT makes possible, and determining what data to collect, are key issues. Also important are getting managers and workers to change the way they think about customers, products, and processes, and having top executives who believe the IoT will have a profound impact and are willing to invest in it (TCS). Currently, most IoT data are not used. For example, on an oil rig that has 30,000 sensors, only 1 percent of the data are examined. That’s because this information is used mostly to detect and control anomalies—not for optimization and prediction, which provide the greatest value (MGI).

Microsoft leads the IoT market

The top 5 vendors mentioned as the IoT provider companies “plan to work with within the next 2 years” are: Microsoft, AT&T, Verizon, Cisco, and IBM. For large companies (more than 1000 employees), Microsoft and Cisco lead the list (IDC).

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2015/07/30/9-new-predictions-and-market-assessments-for-the-internet-of-things-iot/

The true value of IoT enables personalized experiences to a single user, but who keeps the data? #IoT #personalization #bigdata

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HOW DATA WILL ENABLE “LIVING SERVICES” IN THE IoT: BI Intelligence recently spoke with Mark Curtis, co-founder of Accenture-owned digital design firm Fjord, about how the IoT will change digital experiences. In a recent report, Fjord argued that the true value of connected devices will be in delivering “living services” that learn and adapt to their users’ preferences and habits over time.

Curtis illustrated the concept with the example of a smart lock on a hotel door, which on its own doesn’t deliver a great deal of value. But when that hotel door is networked with other connected devices in its proximity it can tell who is entering or leaving the room based on the smartphone or device used to open the door. That recognition by the smart lock could then turn other devices in the room on or off and alert the thermostat to set the room temperature to the customer’s preferred setting. 

For that smart lock to deliver such an experience, data needs to be analyzed in the backend to understand the customer and personalize functions to his or her preferences. Curtis detailed three obstacles that enterprises need to tackle to deliver these personalized experiences:

  • Organizations need a platform with the scalability to ingest huge volumes of data that will be created by new connected devices in their networks.
  • To analyze relevant data, organizations will need to know what kind of insights they’re looking to get from their data. Today, a human often has to interpret data to find the most relevant information. That won’t be possible in the future – the exponential increase in the volume of data from more connected devices will require automating that selection process. Organizations will have to know before hand what data to segment out for analysis.
  • Organizations will have to think through how they will change services in real-time based on data. For example, customers will increasingly want to see for themselves all of the data being collected so they too can understand their own behaviors. This is already becoming prevalent with fitness trackers that allow the users to see data regarding their activity levels. Over time consumers will get bored looking at the same data all the time though. So enterprises need to surprise customers by learning what information they’re interested in and then interpret the data to deliver new relevant insights. For example, a fitness tracker could learn when the user’s activity levels typically drop and provide suggestions through a mobile app or web portal on how to be more active during those sedentary periods.

YouTube evolves app and content creators benefit

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YOUTUBE’S NEW INCENTIVES HIGHLIGHTS DEMAND FOR VIDEO CONTENT CREATORS: YouTube redesigned its mobile app in an effort to keep its top content creators from publishing videos on rival video streaming sites, according to The Wall Street Journal. The new mobile app will showcase content produced by popular YouTube personalities and will allow viewers to expand vertical videos to take up the entire mobile screen. Both capabilities aim to increase the amount of views each video will receive. The redesigned mobile app marks YouTube’s latest move in its battle to retain top video creators amid growing competition from Facebook. YouTube’s top creators post five times as many videos on YouTube than Facebook, but Facebook’s recent plans to potentially offer the same monetization scheme as YouTube has increased pressure on YouTube to keep its creators happy. While the new strategy won’t actually keep content creators from posting videos elsewhere, YouTube is trying to retain its position as the most attractive video site for these creators.

YouTube’s top content creators are an essential part of its video strategy for two major reasons:

YouTube’s top creators drive a loyal base of users to the site. PewDiePie, one of YouTube’s most popular creators, tallies nearly 40 million channel subscribers. This loyal user base will be essential as YouTube invests more in its original content offerings. Last week, YouTube hired MTV’s former programming chief to head its original content division, which plans on creating original series around popular content creators.
Popular content creators will help the company further monetize its platform. If YouTube can keep popular content providers exclusively on its platform, it could boost interest in the video streaming site’s proposed ad-free subscription service.

Destroying Customer Trust is as Simple as…

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If you shopped for a motorcycle, would you ever stop to consider that a Harley-Davidson wouldn’t deliver the power and style that Harleys have come to represent in our collective subconscious? Likely not, because you trust the brand to deliver on its promise of cruising down the open highway with a 100-horsepower engine underneath you.

Every bike Harley manufactures delivers on its brand promise, and as a result, its customers and advocates trust it to continue delivering. This dynamic is the cornerstone of the “trust economy,” a term coined by Rachel Botsman in a 2012 TED Talk. Positive interactions with a brand result in building trust. Negative interactions result in erosion of trust.

Understanding and joining this trust-based economy is relatively simple in concept: deliver on your brand’s promises to your customers. They key, according to Ray Wang, analyst for Constellation Research, is building trustworthy brand experiences—and not engaging in activities that destroy trust.

“You’re not competing with other companies; you’re competing for time and attention,”says Wang. “And that competition is for experiences and outcomes.” When a customer’s experience and the outcome of an interaction deliver on the brand’s promise, that builds trust.

Wang cites Airbnb, a digital startup whose entire value proposition has become a model for the trust economy. “Airbnb doesn’t sell rooms. They don’t sell nights. Their entire value is as a trust network.” Customers can trust the rooms they rent, and landlords can trust customers, for the same reasons: the compounded outcomes of past experiences on both sides. Customers and landlords both review interactions, building positive (or negative) trust profiles on both sides.

So how does a business compete in this trust-based economy? Deliver on your brand promises, Wang says. Here’s how in five simple steps.

Personalize experiences. Know who your customers are and what they want, and create experiences for them that deliver on your brand’s promises. For every interaction that accomplishes this, you build trust.
Operate with transparency. “Always operate with an understanding that everything eventually becomes public,” Wang says. That way nothing inadvertently sabotages your efforts.
Build credibility. Wang outlines a series of questions to ask: do you promote trustworthiness through external certificates? Do you promote trust through customer testimonials? Do you run truthful marketing campaigns? These seem simple, but if the answer is “no,” you’re damaging your customers’ trust.
Make it easy to complain. Companies often turn away from customer complaints, but Wang explains, they serve double duty: they’re data points about where you’re failing, and offer the ability to complain (and to feel heard) actually builds customer trust.
Guarantee satisfaction. The natural corollary to offering a forum for complaints—and delivering on the brand experience—is making sure that you can always guarantee a customer will be satisfied.
The trust economy can be hard to navigate, especially for companies that aren’t familiar with the principles of providing great customer outcomes and experiences. For those companies looking to avoid being left behind by the companies already offering these experiences, a great place to start is Ray Wang’s entire webinar, available on demand.

https://community.dynamics.com/b/msftdynamicsblog/archive/2015/06/17/destroying-customer-trust-is-as-simple-as-avoiding-these-5-easy-tips?CR_CC=200470740&WT.mc_id=DynGB_en_us_media_OUT_RW1TrustEconOut1_Blog&DYNCRM-DISP

#YouTube over #Facebook when it comes to video until FB figures out TV

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Creators look for reach and ubiquitous  distribution. As soon as FB figures out their role in TV, the pendulum will shift.

VIDEO CREATORS HEAVILY FAVOR YOUTUBE OVER FACEBOOK AS A PUBLISHING PLATFORM: Although Facebook has recently made some headway in narrowing the video viewing gap with YouTube, content creators have continued to find more success on YouTube, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. In recent months, Facebook has boasted an average of 4 billion daily video views, equaling estimates of historically dominant YouTube. While Facebook’s strong numbers have persuaded many premium content providers to publish content on the social media platform, YouTube content creators post five times as many videos on YouTube than on Facebook, according to the report.

Video content creators prefer publishing more on YouTube than Facebook for two distinct reasons:

First, YouTube users come to the site to watch videos. While Facebook’s audience is first and foremost a social audience, YouTube’s estimated 1 billion users access the site exclusively for its video content. This gives YouTube creators a dependable audience base. For example, 68% of top YouTube creators posted content on both YouTube and Facebook in May, but videos consistently garnered more views on YouTube than on the social media platform, according to Tubular Labs data sited by The Wall Street Journal.
Plus, YouTube allows creators to monetize their content. The video streaming giant allows creators to keep 55% of revenue generated from ads, allowing creators to profit off of their videos. Although Facebook announced plans to introduce the same ad revenue split, it has yet to fully roll out the program. Creators thus have little incentive to develop content specifically for Facebook and its evolving video format.
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