IoT GUIDE

Explore more than 20 case studies showcasing how ThingWorx 8 makes it easy to develop powerful IoT solutions that deliver transformative business value.​

I’m sure all of us, as consumers, have experienced the ‘fire and forget’ sales strategy (see this great HBR article for an explanation). Whether it was a boxed software sale, the door-to-door vacuum sales representative or the sales person at the perfume counter, the common goal was to make the sale and move on to the next customer. In this model, there was little investment into your experience, how much you use the product or service post-sale and if you are even satisfied with the experience.

The Internet of Thing is vastly changing our shopping experience in a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) world.  In addition, those changes are seen when you take a step back to Business-to-Business (B2B) for the Industrial IoT solutions and platforms themselves. Making the change in buying experience even more impactful is the inclusion of SaaS or subscription software into the equation.

Did this IoT solution provide the value I had planned?  How well did my team adopt the solution?  Was I able to move beyond an initial proof of concept to usage at scale? If the answer to any of these questions is no, it’s highly likely that:

a) you will not be renewing your subscription

b) your onboarding and adoption experience was subpar

c) you never heard from the company again after the sale or

d) all the above

76% of businesses say IoT will be critical to future success but 90% believe their IoT programs are advancing too slowly[1]

In this fast-moving IoT industry, you as the consumer don’t have the time or the budget to waste a year of ‘shelfware’ and not get the value you desire. While you are stuck at the starting line or hit a wall in the proof of concept stage, your competitors are already going to market with their IoT strategies.

As cliché as the phrase sounds, there is a Win-Win:

• As the consumer, you need to see clear value from the IoT solution quickly, continue to see value and enable transformative value to surpass those that are stuck in the proof of concept stage and achieve your desired business outcomes.
• As the software provider, you need to ensure your IoT users see you as adding significant value so not only do they renew, but more importantly, you deliver on the promise of the solution and that leads to more happy customers.

So how does this Win-Win happen? By leveraging a Customer Success organization.

As a consumer, you have a team by your side that’s sole focus is to ensure you are successful with your investment. If you don’t “win”, they don’t “win”. Customer Success organizations combine services that are focused on the successful adoption of technology, combining training, implementation, and an emerging team, Customer Success Management.  In this new team, Success Managers are specifically focused to be your advocates into the provider, proactively monitoring your actual software usage, and connecting you to the right resources to drive specific, tangible business outcomes. Kronos uses the analogy to think of Customer Success Management as the GPS in your car, guiding you to your chosen destination efficiently based on your preferences and is always “with you in the car”.

As a business, Customer Success is your window to how the customer is actually using your products.  Customer Success Management organizations are focused on keeping the “pulse” of customers through innovative dashboards from companies like Gainsight. Companies that embrace the overall customer experience and measure customer satisfaction will come out ahead in the end.

Learn more about delivering exceptional customer experiences and seven steps to delivering a consistent experience in this article from Gregory Schern, Director of Customer Success at PTC.

It is no longer about the “fire and forget” sale, it is truly about building a relationship with the consumer and being invested and dedicated to their success. For new ThingWorx 8customers you can now experience IoT success on day one, with new and innovative offerings from Customers Success at PTC.

This article was originally posted on the Thingworx blog. 

About the author: 

Stacie Kaufman 

I'm passionate about IoT, Cloud, AR/VR and new technologies and joined the PTC team back in 2010. I currently work in marketing for the Customer Success organization primarily focused on PTC Cloud and Customer Success Management. Outside of PTC, I enjoy all the outdoor activities and craft breweries Colorado has to offer.