Emily Hossellman, Director of Marketing, Centercode, provides insight on several key industry trends for Parks Associates’ 20th-annual CONNECTIONS Conference, which will be held May 24-26 in San Francisco:
How is your company engaging consumers through new technology solutions?
As a beta testing company, Centercode's core purpose it to help companies engage their 
customers and use that feedback to improve their products. We're working with IoT companies of every shape and size to connect them with their target market and get feedback on their product before launching it to the world.
This is particularly important with IoT products, since they're complicated devices that are looking to address issues in new markets. Because the IoT space is new and growing rapidly there aren't established market expectations for these products. If a company launches a product that doesn't align with customer expectations, the product will be a failure.
Integrating the voice of the customer into the product development process helps companies get early, detailed feedback from real customers so they can make sure the technology product they launch delights their target market.
What is the biggest change you have seen in the past year in the connected home and entertainment industries?
The biggest change I've seen in the past year is the decreasing tolerance for friction in the customer experience. Customers have higher expectations for IoT devices -- wanting them to solve all their problems while still being intuitive and simple to set up.
At the same time the press is shining a bright spotlight on the industry, looking to see who will come out on top as the big players. If a product launches and doesn't meet the high expectations of its market, the company loses its momentum and the spotlight moves on to someone else.
Because of these forces, it's more challenging than ever to launch an IoT product that impresses and delights your customers.
What do you think is the biggest driver for the connected consumer market?
The biggest driver for the connected consumer market is to make the complex look effortless. IoT companies are breaking new ground and creating products nobody could even imagine just a few years ago. They're adding technology to aspects of our lives that nobody expected technology to touch. As a result they need to create customer experiences that integrate these groundbreaking products seamlessly into people's everyday lives.
What is the greatest challenge for the connected home industry in the next year?
The greatest challenge for the connected home industry in the next year is to tackle the interoperability hurdle. The industry has yet to coalesce around a single standard or framework. This creates fragmentation in the industry and frustration for the consumer. If the industry can move towards a single standard or ecosystem, it will help these products make the jump from early adopters to a more mainstream audience.
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Hossellman will speak on the session “Support Strategies to Integrate Smart Devices in the IoT” on Thursday, May 26 at 10:30 a.m. Other speakers on the panel include Asurion, iQor, and OnProcess Technology.
For more information on CONNECTIONS, visit www.connectionsus.com or register by clicking here.
