IoT Startups Need To Consider Their Business Models Carefully

With forecasts projecting that billions of new devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020, device makers are rushing to release new products they hope will corner the Internet of Things market.

This much was evident at CES this year, when dozens of companies exhibited new connected hardware for the home, car, body, factory floor and more.

Whether it’s fitness tracking, plant moisture monitoring or connected lightbulbs, each of these markets will host individual battles among IoT segment contenders, all vying with a simple goal – to sell more boxes of hardware than competitors. But this traditional retail approach to the Internet of Things opportunity overlooks several alternative business-model variants that may be far more suitable in this emerging space.

Many companies in traditional business make a product, sell it on shelves and, hopefully, make a profit. Whether it is Philips’ Hue or Parrot’s Flower Power, one can understand why technology companies are choosing the same retail approach used by food, drink and clothes manufacturers. After all, for many digital companies, Internet Of Things devices represent the first physical embodiment in the real world, following a generation in which online, intangible development reigned supreme.

But connected devices are not cans of beans or sweaters, and device makers do not need to limit their products to a single, one-time purchase event more commonly associated by perishable items. Internet-connected hardware is always-on, updateable and extendable, offering far more opportunity.

To multiply their revenue potential, IoT startups should aim instead for long-term value creation. Rather than selling customers a single, self-contained product and letting their relationship end, this means offering them the chance to engage through multiple touch points throughout an ongoing engagement.

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