Smart Connected Devices – Product and Marketing Guidelines

Smart device adoption hinges on more than just innovative technology. Our research-backed guidelines reveal how to develop and market IoT products that address the unique needs, concerns, and desires of different consumer segments.

As connected products continue to permeate our homes and lifestyles, designing and marketing smart devices is not only about getting the tech right. It’s about understanding people – how they live, what they value, and what drives their choices. 

This article is bassed on our research into smart device user behavior, which surveyed 948 consumers across Europe. The study examined how lifestyle, values, and demographic factors influence IoT adoption, offering insight into both barriers and motivations.

In previous articles in this series, we looked at which devices consumers own and love, how lifestyle and values affect adoption, and how personas can guide your product strategy. Now, we turn insight into action – offering product development and marketing guidelines to help you create smarter devices for smarter users.

The single biggest predictor of adoption is usefulness. Consumers need to see clear, practical value from the devices they bring into their homes. Focus on developing practical design solutions that enhance the device’s functionality. Of course, always test your solutions with real users and apply the relevant findings. 

Further, our research showed that customers value aesthetically pleasing and attractive products, so ensure your products demonstrate visual appeal. This is especially important to Curious Curtis and Ambassador Amanda (check out the article about smart device user personas here), who are most likely to live a trend-seeking lifestyle and purchase smart connected devices.

Users compare your app’s UX to all the other digital solutions on the market, so applying tested, modern UX practices is crucial. Make your user experience intuitive and user-friendly. Focus on efficiency and provide an appealing look and feel. You’ll get a sleek interface your consumers will find irresistible, no matter how tech-savvy they are. Streamlining the onboarding process will ensure all users can set up and control the device easily. 

Also, provide diverse customization options – allow users to personalize device settings, interfaces, and functionalities to align with their unique preferences and needs.

For reluctant users: Implement automation features gradually to allow customization and build user trust. Reluctant users are least likely to be tech-savvy, so it’s important not to overwhelm them with options. Tone down the complexity and ensure the basic functionalities are easily accessible.

For smart-device enthusiasts: Make sure your smart devices seamlessly integrate with other devices and platforms in the user’s ecosystem. This ability to interconnect enhances the devices’ overall functionality and utility.

As environmental concerns become more prominent, offering sustainable options can set a brand apart in the competitive market, appealing to the growing demand for eco-friendly products. Embrace social responsibility holistically but authentically, and smartly engage in important conversations by creating product lines that financially support causes customers care about.

For green smart devices users: Embrace eco-friendly material sourcing to appeal to users who value environmental sustainability and global welfare.

Integrating a social component into the software can help build a community, encouraging interaction and enhancing app usage. Emphasized connectivity and shared experiences among users contribute to the overall appeal of smart devices.

For smart-device enthusiasts: Community-building components often integrate social media, collaborative platforms, or communication tools, which allows IoT enthusiasts to become part of niche groups. Features that enable them to share insights or exchange information can be a stepping stone in turning curious users into ambassadors.

Building additional value into your digital product, such as inspiration or creative functionalities, educational content, or community-building components, enriches the connected experience and increases the perceived usefulness of a device.

For smart-device enthusiasts: Thanks to in-depth data analytics and machine learning algorithms, devices can learn from user behavior over time. Providing practical, personalized recommendations based on anticipated user needs and automating new actions makes for a superb user experience.

Different segments of the IoT consumer market require distinctly different marketing approaches. Based on our research into consumer personas, we’ve developed specific strategies for both reluctant users and power users.

To engage reluctant consumers, create a communication strategy that addresses their reservations and makes the devices more approachable. Focus on the benefits, build trust, and provide a user experience aligned with their comfort levels.

These users generally don’t find smart devices as useful, so it’s important to focus on the practical benefits of using them in everyday life. For example, emphasize how these devices can save time, enhance convenience, or reduce costs.

Marketing tip: Demonstrate the usefulness of smart connected devices in the real world through relatable use cases or attractive live events such as pop-up stores. Make sure to highlight how these devices seamlessly integrate into everyday life.

As these users believe the risk for their privacy is high and display low trust in IoT companies, it is important to address their concerns. To build trust among reluctant users, highlight your robust security measures and the company’s commitment to protecting personal data.

Marketing tip: Accessible consumer support can help address any customer concerns and issues promptly, contributing to a positive user experience, and building trust.

Offer budget-friendly products that cater to essential user needs. Highlight the cost-effectiveness, be clear about the product’s capabilities, and demonstrate how an initial investment goes a long way in terms of convenience and savings.

Marketing tip: Reduce the perceived risk and encourage users to get acquainted with the product through trial periods. That way, reluctant users get to test the devices with the assurance that they can easily return them if they’re not satisfied.

Power users know the essentials and want a holistic experience that makes their lives more fun, convenient, and cool.

Power users know what to expect from smart connected devices in general, but they still want to see the personalized, practical benefits demonstrated in an exciting way. Emphasize predictive automation (anticipating, offering, and automating a new action based on previous user behavior) as an exciting trend that provides users with an unmatched user experience.

Marketing tip: Design a marketing campaign to showcase advanced customization features, communicating a one-device-fits-all approach. Ensure the campaign is modern, trendy, and fun because our power users are also fashionable.

Experienced users want to connect with like-minded individuals to share their knowledge and get inspired by more passionate users. A quality smart devices community keeps the users connected, informed, and empowered, while contributing to the adoption of smart connected devices and their market success. A community-driven approach offers valuable market insights, revealing emerging trends and preferences.

Marketing tip: Introduce the premium tech product in a limited edition and create a sense of urgency and exclusivity to encourage early adoption. Continue to target that community with your marketing activities. For example, provide early access to updates or private events to nurture brand relationships and motivate the customers to engage with the product more.

Collaborate with content creators, influencers, or experts in relevant fields to provide exciting content and experiences for smart device enthusiasts. This could include exclusive features, expert insights, or limited-time partnerships.

Marketing tip: Power users care about fashion, so make sure you choose the content creators you’ll cooperate with carefully. Tech experts provide more authority, but may only reach a part of your audience. On the other hand, lifestyle influencers probably have a wider reach, but may offer less-reliable testimonials.

The most successful IoT products find the right balance between technical excellence and effective marketing communication. By applying these guidelines with your specific audience in mind, you can create smart connected devices that not only perform well but also resonate with your target consumers on a deeper level.

When you align your product development and marketing strategies with the needs, values, and lifestyles of your target consumers, you can overcome adoption barriers and create compelling IoT experiences that drive both user satisfaction and business growth.

This article is part of a series based on Infinum’s comprehensive research examining factors that influence smart device adoption. For more insights on consumer lifestyles, personas, and IoT adoption trends, download the full research report.