Expectations around the Internet of Things abound, nowhere more so than among chief marketing officers. They and their peers in the executive suite are challenged to view IoT as the “innovation of things” when it comes to rethinking their business models, differentiating their brands, gratifying customers and gaining new competitive advantage.

The cover story for the latest issue of PeerSphere—the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council’s quarterly eJournal—reveals the immense opportunity and revenue potential for organizations that are able to develop IoT strategies that integrate seamlessly into their customers’ lives. However, as Bain & Co. reports, only 90 percent of the companies they surveyed are only in the planning phase with respect to IoT implementation, revealing that there is still much work to be done internally before they begin to reap the financial benefits of these solutions.

Just as digital posed many hurdles for marketers in its infancy, IoT presents many challenges for marketers looking to benefit from its capabilities. In addition to the need for enhanced technical skills and data/analytics capabilities, cost and data security issues hinder advancement for many organizations, and making customers aware of the true benefits that these technologies can bring to their lives will be fundamental in order for many organizations to take the next leap toward IoT innovation.

However, the companies that have managed to incorporate IoT technologies successfully are already seeing the early benefits in the form of cost savings, operational efficiency, improved products and services, and deeper engagements with customers.

The feature article includes insights from a number of global marketing executives who are gaining ground with respect to IoT, including the benefits their organizations are experiencing and the challenges they are working to overcome. It also touches on a new study being conducted by the CMO Council and the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network—titled “The Impact of Connectedness on Competitiveness”—which looks to reveal the different ways that enterprise connectedness among strategic audiences can enable companies to compete more effectively and produce greater business value.

The latest issue of PeerSphere is available today and covers topics such as:

• The top questions to ask before investing in virtual reality


• How marketers can demonstrate value to the C-suite


• How to measure the ROI from your most important influencers


• Q&A articles with marketing leaders at SAP Hybris and Barnes & Noble College


• Insights from marketing leaders at Airbus Group, GE Oil & Gas, Philips Lighting, Nuon Energy, Whirlpool and more
  

PeerSphere is available on a complimentary basis to CMO Council members courtesy of our sponsor, Thomson Reuters. For more information or to view the issue online, visit https://cmocouncil.org/thought-leadership/peer-sphere.

About the CMO Council

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is the only global network of executives specifically dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide range of global industries. The CMO Council's 12,500-plus members control approximately $500 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include more than 65,000 global executives in more than 110 countries covering multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, India and Africa. The council's strategic interest groups include the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE), Mobile Relationship Marketing (MRM) Strategies, LoyaltyLeaders.org, CMOCIOAlign.org, Marketing Supply Chain Institute, Customer Experience Board, Digital Marketing Performance Institute, GeoBranding Center and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). More information on the CMO Council is available at www.cmocouncil.org.