India is second highest in IoT-enabled customer maturity

Customer experience and call centre technology omnichannel Genesys has released The 2016 IoT-Enabled Customer Experience (CX) Report. Interestingly, the research reveals India ranks the second highest, behind China, in IoT-Enabled customer maturity compared with other APAC markets.

 The study, commissioned by Genesys in partnership with Frost & Sullivan, offers insights into how companies in APAC perceive Internet of Things (IoT) and to what extent companies are adopting it to enhance customer experience.

 The research examined the way organisations view IoT as a key enabler in enhancing CX and their readiness to take advantage of this emerging technology.

 Across India, the research revealed organisations see high value in integrating IoT into their CX initiatives compared to other markets in the region. Close to 80 per cent of respondents cited IoT as a neutral or somewhat important priority compared to other CX initiatives, and almost 40 per cent of businesses said they are thinking about how to incorporate IoT.

 “Our research found the overwhelming majority of respondents across APAC believe customer lifetime value is the most significant business benefit delivered by an effective customer experience strategy,” said Keith Budge, senior vice president, APAC at Genesys. “Indian organisations are open to implementing new technologies and have an optimistic view of IoT as a key enabler of sophisticated customer experiences. Most organisations in India are not bogged down by having to integrate IoT into existing legacy infrastructure and as a consequence, this market was ahead of the region when it comes to the adoption of IoT-enabled CX solutions.”

Gap between awareness and implementation

An IoT-enabled customer experience drives the convergence of customer journeys across digital and physical environments, in turn enabling organisations to consistently deliver personalised, predictive and productive experiences for their customers.

 Overall, the report reveals 83 per cent of respondents across APAC have some level of familiarity with IoT and nearly 50 per cent believe IoT is important in enhancing CX. Despite this, only 15 per cent of respondents across APAC have already implemented IoT. 

Budge said: "The findings underscore the role of technology providers such as Genesys in helping APAC companies roll out successful implementations and, hence, truly realise the potential of IoT to improve CX." 

Benefits of implementation

Of those that have deployed IoT to deliver better CX, more than 70 per cent said their IoT solution enables them to influence their customers’ buying and engagement decisions. More than a third of surveyed organisations recognised the very high impact IoT had on enhancing customer satisfaction.

Other benefits cited by respondents include positive impacts on brand equity (33 per cent), improvements in operational efficiency (33 per cent) and an increase in employee productivity (35 per cent).

 Across APAC, the study found businesses are realising the wide reaching benefits of implementing IoT. More than half (60 per cent) of respondents indicate at least having a starting point for their IoT journey, with 16 per cent looking to incorporate IoT in to their organisation within the year. A further 29 per cent hope to accomplish this within the next two years.

Barriers preventing adoption

Surprisingly, more mature economies – including Australia and New Zealand – are less likely to have immediate plans to incorporate IoT in their organisation to enhance their CX. 

The report identified a number of challenges preventing businesses from deploying IoT for CX, including a significant issue with organisations “understanding of IoT value proposition.” A low level of C-suite awareness about the importance or value of IoT-enabled CX solutions was also commonly cited. 

Other key findings from the report:

1.There is a strong correlation between IoT deployment and higher Net Promoter Scores® (NPS®).*

2.The perception of benefits provided by IoT-enabled CX was the lowest among C-level respondents

3.More than 70 per cent of respondents that have implemented IoT believe it has a positive impact on the development of new disruptive business models

4.The three industry sectors at the forefront of IoT-enabled CX adoption are communication service providers; logistics, transportation and automotive; and retail, travel and hospitality

 “This research helps put to rest the misconception that IoT is not ready or too difficult to build into customer experience solutions,” Budge said.

“The success of an organisation hinges on its ability to understand what customers want in order to deliver differentiated services,” said Krishna Baidya, associate director of Frost & Sullivan’s Digital Transformation Practice for Asia Pacific. “Using  behavioural data made available to organisations through IoT solutions, organisations can proactively engage customers in ways that are more personalised, convenient, and deliver more value.”

On 22 March at 9 a.m. Indian Standard Time (IST), Genesys and Frost & Sullivan will host a webinar to discuss the key findings of the report, as well as how to overcome adoption challenges and use IoT-Enabled Customer Experience as a competitive differentiator.