At CES 2015, a number of home IoT devices were announced and many will work with Apple’s HomeKit when they are actually released. Some will also work standalone and others will work with the equivalent of a “HomeKit Bridge” linking other proprietary and standards-based products and controllers. The key problem is that none of the vendors offered a “vision” or roadmap that would fulfill a “Whole Product” requirement.
The Whole Product
As a reminder, the basics of a Whole Product are that it provides a complete solution for the target customer and none of the vendors announcing products had one to offer. They can work on a standalone basis, but that is simply not sufficient.
The Problems
There are six key issues/problems that need to be addressed before we can have a shot at a reasonable start to a Whole Product:
- Multiple Controllers
Each additional point solution almost always requires an additional controller … Does a buyer really want 3 to 5 controllers? All the Ccrds? All the outlets occupied? - Multiple Wireless Standards
In addition to another controller and variety of additional wireless “standards” might be needed for the next point solution … ZigBee, Z-Wave, Insteon, WiFi, HomeKit (Apple), Thread (Google), Clear Connect (Lutron), Bluetooth, etc. … Multiple wireless standards in a home can cause frustrating and difficult to resolve technical issues. - Privacy
Where is your data and who is looking at it? So far, only Apple has publicly committed to abstaining from looking at what you do with HomeKit. At the other extreme is Google, whose business models is to track what you are doing … Always. Where are you going? - Security
Hacking into your home network might not seem an obvious threat, but it is a real one and private clouds from multiple companies providing consumers the sensors and controllers might also be hacked.“Any device connected to the Internet is vulnerable to being hijacked. As we purchase more smart devices, they increase the number of entry points an intruder could exploit to launch attacks on or from.” — Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez.A company like Apple has hundreds of people solely devoted to keeping things secure at many levels. How many do you have? - Fault Recovery
What happens when power or network connections are interrupted, or when an “over-the-air” update or modification from your service provider, or IoT sensor/controller provider causes a loss of connection? If you are away from home how can you be sure all is secure and everything is working? - Uncertainty / Risk
Critical to the success of any high technology product is reducing the uncertainty / risk of purchase. You need to do everything possible to reduce uncertainty related to the problems and issues noted above. Otherwise sales will suffer as your target market is slowed or frozen by uncertainty.
Wait a minute you say, these are all product and service problems, not marketing’s responsibility. Who do you think will get the blame when products fail in the market?
The Plan
A good plan here has three key components:
- What I can do for you now
- What I will do shortly
- My vision long term
Now
As stated earlier, all of these products work on a standalone basis, but that is not enough in many instances (door locks and garage door openers are an exception, since they are a core of security). As a data point, why do so many consumers buy sedans rather than coupes when the average occupancy per vehicle is 1.3 persons? Answer: Because they “might” need to carry more people sometime …
This means you need to explicitly state what happens if another vendors product needs to be incorporated into the consumers home. Whatever standard your company has embraced, what happens when another standard is needed for the consumers next element? Providing and answer here is a first step to reducing uncertainty.
Shortly
What will my company be doing in the near term to remove additional issues that can’t be addressed quickly? It could be additional products most needed by your initial customers using your current approach or providing a way to fold in other standards via Apple’s HomeKit or other umbrella standard. This is a second step to reducing uncertainty.
Vision
The term vision has a bad reputation because you need both good products and a vision. Many companies seem to forget the “good product” part. It is critically needed here because it can reduce the perception of risk among your potential buyers. This needs to be an “end game” statement and content supported by every product or service you bring to market.
There is not now, nor will there never be, a homogeneous standard solution for the IoT in the home. Find a way to assure your potential buyers that you will embrace many solutions in some manner that will be as transparent to them as possible.
This is the third step in reducing uncertainty.
The Simple Solution
If you are in the Home IoT market, you would be foolish to ignore Apple’s HomeKit. It will provide a solution to the first four problems noted above. For example, make your controller HomeKit compatible, as SmartHome/Insteon has done, and life becomes much easier.
Remember “Home” is not just a single family dwelling … It includes condominiums, apartments and dorm rooms … For the last three, portability is key as your customer moves from one place to another and can take your products with them.
At every step make sure you communicate with “one voice” at all touchpoint: website, collateral, presentations, social media, media mix, customer support, etc.
Once you have done this, you can then focus on the fifth issue … Fault Recovery. In my mind, it is the “killer” product/service solution and the key to those who will ultimately prevail in the market.
This is just an outline. A good set of marketing requirements and a good product roadmap is needed. I know what to do. Do you? If you want some answers, contact me and we can have a discussion.
