Retail Observer

T he answer to this question lies in our ability as an industry to tap into emotional behaviors that cause consumers to make purchases for their home and sell the experience of a connected home. Right now, the way most smart home products are marketed to homeowners and potential customers is to tell them what the device can do. What are its functions and features and how will it operate in the home? What we generally fail to do is consider what type of experience and behavior we're looking to influence within their lives and then explain how a product or system delivers something positive within that experience or behavior. People don't care about unlocking their doors with their smartphone; they care about being able to let their kids in after they get home from school. They don't care about being able to turn lights on and off via an app; they care about coming home to a place that's bright and warm and welcoming at the end of a long day. How we as an industry deliver on that makes all the difference. The promise of what is and what might be is wide. Delivering those experiences and educating buyers about how to find products and solutions that meet the needs for their lifestyles has to be front and center in all our road maps. We also need to move beyond the one product silo approach to marketing the smart home. While someone buying a smart door lock might be an entry into connected tech, the real value of having devices in your home that you can control easily from anywhere and connect to each other lies in the experiences and convenience it can create in your life. Picture pulling into your home and seeing your entryway and kitchen lights turn on, the thermostat already warming rooms and creating the comfortable and safe environment you want to come home to at the end of long day. Your smart lock senses your approach, unlocks your door giving you a hassle free entrance while your hands are full with bags and kids and the mail. Later that night, the flood sensors in your basement detect water and send a signal to the water valve to shut off, preventing potential colossal water damage in your home. Once you're in bed, you push a "goodnight" button on your smartphone app and the lights dim, the thermostat adjusts and the shades lower and all the doors in the home are locked. The promise of connected living sounds great; the first step to getting consumers to believe in that promise is to demonstrate what life looks like when things in your home can do the work for you. Then we have to explain how to get from point A to point B—once you've identified what's important, how do you help them understand how to put it all together? What types of products, systems, apps and services will best serve your family, your home, your life? The smart home industry must develop the education, tools and customer service models to support consumers once they enter the buying cycle and see the value of connected devices in their home. It's not enough to sell them a door lock – the health of the industry depends on the experience they have once they go home, and the potential other products they might add to their home once they see the benefits. So in 2016, let's move from telling consumers about our great smart home products we have for sale and start talking about experiences. Let's start telling compelling stories around how connected living and the ever-expanding Iot will deliver real benefits and make life easier and more secure. Mitchell Klein, Executive Director, Z-Wave Alliance, with more than 30 years of experience as a results-driven leader in the CE and smart home industries and has co-founded industry consulting firm StayTuned LLC and launched CEDIA's certification program as its two-term president. He is a CEDIA Fellow and committee chair and is a feature columnist for many Technology publications. MARCH 2016 RETAILOBSERVER.COM 87 RO T H E S M A R T H O M E I N D U S T R Y I S O N T H E C U S P : C A N W E S E C U R E M A I N S T R E A M A D O P T I O N A N D L I V E U P T O T H E E N O R M O U S M A R K E T P R E D I C T I O N S F O R T H E N E X T F I V E Y E A R S A N D B E Y O N D ; O R W I L L T H E N O V E LT Y O F S M A R T H O M E P R O D U C T S W E A R O F F A N D C O N S U M E R S F A I L T O S E E T H E V A L U E I N C O N N E C T E D L I V I N G ?

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