Marketing Implications of IoT
The Internet of Things relative to the notion of Quantified Self holds a number of implications. The IoT, in general, calls for a myriad of online safety and privacy concerns. When considering the notion of quantified self, one can see why there is an increased concern for the privacy of users. It is one thing to anonymously look up symptoms and self-diagnose using WebMD, or similar. However, the IoT refers to the ability to track collected information to one I.P. address. Tracking one's health via their mobile device; using a myriad of apps, each possibly requiring an account to be created using an email address, makes it extremely easy to access a user's private health information all in one place - sort of like an autobiography of a medical record.
The IoT has marketing implications on all physical versions of its online counterparts. For example, why would a gym-goer or runner purchase a Polar Heart Rate Monitor Sport Watch, when they can just use a free app on their phone. Why would they go to the doctor or purchase a blood pressure monitor, when they can measure their blood pressure using their mobile phone. The Quantified Self notion is built around the IoT - for without it, a user will be unable to keep track of their own health in such a way.
What does this mean for doctors?
With no appointments, no waiting, no queues and no real need for physical effort - the IoT has made it even easier for tech savvy users to monitor and keep track of their own health.
Back to the Marketing Implications of IoT for Quantified Self
The App Store for Apple, or the Play Store for Android allows users to browse an entire category of Health and Fitness Apps. This is the category where I have found that more apps are paid, rather than free. This, I believe, is little more than a marketing implication. That is, these paid apps imply that there is some credibility and accuracy behind its implementation. A Quantified Self user, given that they are dedicated and without much of a budget restriction, is likely to splurge on the Blood Pressure Monitor that is tagged "pro", and attached to a price tag such as "$29.99", rather than its budget counterpart with a catchy name such as "BP FREE!"
As shown in the screenshot of the play store in a previous post, we can see the users buy apps from a similar category. That is, when looking at the section for "Users who bought this app also bought...", it creates a flow on effect of purchasing behaviour among quantified self users.
The key, I believe is to create an interface that is easy to use. Do not try to create software that the hardware cannot keep up with. Make sure users can rely on your app to do exactly what is advertised in the easiest possible way, while promoting its accuracy and reliability. That way, through WoM and positive reviews, your app can become the leader in its category and, subsequently, reach the audience it was designed to.
At the end of the day, there is only so much a certain smartphone model can do with its hardware. It is up to the app developers to create a program that knows how to use this hardware for its chosen purpose. It is not that one developer's knowledge is worth more than another. Why should two apps, using the same hardware and similar algorithms differ in price in such a drastic way - to the point where for every app priced between $50-$100 you can probably find another (maybe two or three different ones) that can do exactly the same thing, that costs the user absolutely nothing.Â
How do we know it's exactly the same?
BOTH DEVELOPERS HAVE THE SAME HARDWARE TO WORK WITH.
BOTH APPS SERVE THE SAME PURPOSE - e.g. measure blood pressure
So what is the reason behind the price tag?
Because, how else will your quantified self know which one is more accurate?
