| Issues (What we’re hearing) | Implication | Possible Reason(s) |
| FROM PROVIDERS: | ||
| “Our corporate IoT/DT strategy isn’t getting through to the field/sales force, and they’re just not putting the message out to their customers”. | Although we’ve worked out the corporate strategy, the industry marketing/sales teams aren’t selling it to customers so they’re not buying. | The field force don’t understand the technology or how to apply it. |
| “Our customers don’t want to hear about ‘IoT platforms’ or ‘Digital Transformation’; they think it’s just hype”. | The sales teams can’t get meetings with cynical influencers or decision-makers, so they concentrate on selling what they already have and know. | Customers don’t think ‘IoT’ or ‘Digital Transformation’ will deliver value, or they’re afraid of ‘death by pilot’. |
| “Even though they want to use IoT in an application, our customers get confused by all the different ‘IoT’ offerings”. | Customers tend to delay buying if they are confused. | Unclear explanation of what is being offered, what the costs are and implementation requirements. |
| “We don’t know what are the ‘hot’ market areas to go for; IoT can be applied in so many markets and industries…” | It’s not clear where to focus the marketing / sales effort. | Insufficient understanding of the relative cost-benefit of IoT in different market areas (also, the market is immature so difficult to measure/predict). |
| “I don’t trust anyone’s industrial IoT numbers or methodology” | How can sales managers build a credible sales plan that everyone believes in? | Lack of reliable, granular market data. |
| FROM CUSTOMERS: | ||
| “We don’t know how to go about implementing an ‘IoT’ or ‘DT’ solution, nor even the prices and capabilities of the products on offer” | Customers tend to delay buying if they are confused. | The available solutions are not described or made available in the way the customer wants. |
| We can’t show a RoI / it’s not a priority. | ||
| We don’t have a budget… | ||
| We don’t have the skills to implement IoT or Digital Transformation. |