Smart hardware from the hot hold to the sale of the five hurdle

September 20, the author was invited to participate in Sohu IT-sponsored intelligent hardware Offline Salon, from the intelligent hardware production, research and development, sales of several senior people to share their views on the industry, products. The author combines the salon and its own understanding to sum up, intelligent hardware from the hot to the sale of the five hurdle.

One is user demand: Users need more than data, facts and simple control, but practical solutions.

The current intelligent hardware products, focus on the product itself, pay attention to the needs of less users. To provide users with more data, through the analysis of data to provide a practical solution, and some products provide inaccurate data, such as some bracelet. Some products, simple installation of the control module, through the mobile phone, such as the control is called intelligent hardware, such as mobile phone control turn on the light, simple and rough, did not solve the user's real needs.

Intelligent hardware, should not be the starting point, should not be the endpoint, it is just a process tool, through intelligent hardware, to provide users with life solutions, to provide a new life philosophy, lifestyle. Therefore, should not for products and products, for technology and technology, but should not give users more information anxiety, more operational problems and not accustomed to. The correct way is to fully understand the needs of users, through products to solve the user's pain point, without significantly changing the user's life habits, under the premise of helping users to have a healthy, convenient and comfortable lifestyle.

The second is the development of products: the need is not rapid iteration, the ultimate thinking, but a better experience, more scenes and a greater space for the industry

The use of Internet thinking to create products, often the concept of early, the product jump ticket frequency, production difficulties more; the product has just made, it was Shanzhai, copy. Giant card position, the monopoly of product development space, there have been "do more platform, do less product" strange phenomenon.

The rapid iteration and extreme thinking in Internet thinking are not applicable. Intelligent hardware as a result of technology and quality requirements, products from the project to launch the market, the cycle is long, rapid iteration difficult, there are quality word-of-mouth risk. Product development based on user needs to grasp. Users focus on, often not one or two functions of intelligence, but a better experience, enough of the application scene. Only the monitoring function of the product even if the ultimate how, if there is no regulation of air quality function, for users, and not much practical value. For small entrepreneurs, it is the best of times and the worst of times. There is plenty of room for innovation, and the advance layout and location of the Giants gives small entrepreneurs the prospect of either dying or being acquired.

The third is the sales channel Ridge: Online publicity is easy to sell difficult, users pay attention to experience, O2O is a good way to sell.

The current problem is that the sale of intelligent hardware, often in the official web site, or the Beijing-east, the cat and other platforms, online channel sales mostly, offline channel expansion less; to sell the concept of products to the majority of users, giving users the actual experience less.

Online publicity, easy to quickly cover the larger crowd, play a good effect. But online sales have some drawbacks. How can it be easy to buy when the user doesn't know what the smart hardware does or how it will experience? Offline experience is an integral part. Therefore, the intelligent hardware sales should consider Shenzhou Digital, suning, gome, even operators of the business Hall. In these 3 C, digital Office stores, through experiential marketing, it is easier to convert customers into real users. Therefore, online publicity, offline sales O2O mode is a better way. When the product formed a certain sales scale, through Word-of-mouth dissemination, online sales will have a certain space.

Four is the profit model ridge: "Hardware free" to elevate the industry threshold, product brand, software and services have not been recognized

Under the propaganda of Internet enterprise, the concept of "hardware free" is deeply rooted. See Smart hardware products, many people from the price of their BOM, make a judgment on the value, did not give the brand to leave room. And that the hardware should be 0 of profit at the same time, the value of software and services and not enough recognition.

Internet companies try to profit through value-added services such as the information behind the hardware, the realization of advertising, or the user behavior data that is precipitated by the built-in software. However, for some simple products, there is no room for change. On the other hand, when product sales are small, use pre-sale. Once the scale, will face inventory control problems, for small entrepreneurs, burning money and risk tolerance limited, still need to profit from the hardware, hardware free of charge is the giants of the game. High profit era has not experienced, 79 yuan millet hand ring products have been priced massacre. Next, the profit model will be the biggest test. Entrepreneurs just want to get investors money, or want to do it for a long time, is a problem.

Five is the industry law: in the influx of hot money, disorderly competition, high expectations of users, but also need to abandon the impetuous, down-to-earth practitioners

Since the four quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year, smart hardware quickly fire up, capital inflows, faster than the pace of industry development, investors in Sichuan to find projects. For a time the industry's competition is growing rapidly, and before there is a decent product, a lot of practitioners have emerged. Improper publicity, the user expected to raise expectations, often experienced when the sense of the smart device is not feeling: This is also called smart devices? Where is the intelligence?

The development of the industry is regular and gradual. Large to industrial development, small to a technical innovation, product innovation by the user widely accepted, all need a certain amount of time. After more than 2013 years of incubation, the intelligent hardware business has still not been able to market deeply. Entrepreneurial teams are mostly small teams that have a wealth of hardware, software or Internet experience, but are not good at marketing, branding, PR, channels and corporate governance. Intelligent hardware manufacturing industry chain is still in the running-in period, product problems are inevitable, users also need to "education" and "training", products below expectations is inevitable. Too many practitioners, mutual plagiarism does not matter good and bad, competitors are not friends, but this era. Need is, more practitioners can abandon the impetuous Internet thinking, do a useful product. Time is fair, and it makes real value stand out.