Innovation Sourcing Among Smart Home Companies

Smart home companies keep coming up with new technologies that redefine how we live and take action about our security, temperature and general home automation systems.

Challenges with getting the right product out there to amount to getting feedback from customers who use smart home products. Unlike what we are used to in conventional product development when it comes to getting feedback of the sales of a smart home product, it's the sales team, the sourcing and procurement team and the engineers that take center stage.

At the meeting to get feedback from consumers, this is where innovation is born in the company. After the procurement and sourcing of the S&P team like Tesla, for example, engineers develop a product, sales and marketing team takes care of the product promotion, it's now down to receiving feedbacks.

Any smart home company hoping to boost their ratings and grow must look towards such type of meeting with customers. If they want to take it a bit further, they can include the suppliers as well. But nothing beats first-hand information from people who use this product. It's what spikes innovation in creative tech talents internally.

Apple home kit and Amazon Alexa all went through these stages to become the product they are today. An innovation of this sought still hasn't changed, and it continues to grow for smart home startups as well.

The number of homes calling for home automation services, better home security, and a connected home is continuously growing. Various companies have fallen into the mix, producing almost the same product. The number of companies we know producing open house door, refrigerator door,” water is leaking, lights on “and temperature change are alarming systems is enormous. Some of these companies started from manual control systems to full automation that includes voice control systems like SIRI.

For any smart home company, the most crucial thing is driving home the competition with a uniquely innovative product that sends a shockwave into the industry and leaves competitors surprised and say "how do we beat that?" or going into research to beat that.

In most cases like this, just the research and development team can't do it on their own. Additional input is needed if the right innovative technology is to be sourced, the right tech talents are to be employed or outsourced to, it all starts off internally as we mentioned earlier.

Innovation sourcing when its done internally requires an investment in a new design of the product. That sets another angle in the product development. New models might come from sales or marketing insights towards how others view the product in question. It might also involve looking at competitors' design and aim to replicate such in a different way.

Also, technological advancement can spike new invention and creation. Learning of new tools that are better suited to your already existing tool can be one of the best ways to source innovation. An example when companies like Techmate, Oomi, Dandelion, Athom, Ubios, Pura Scents replaced their Infrared systems with Bluetooth and later on WiFi and hotspot came into the field. A product using the earlier could be upgraded to the latest.

Product promotion using marketing techniques is another way of sourcing innovation in a product. Most companies do it by engaging customers via online media platforms and traditional media via interactive discussions on smart home products.

When a firm decides to take its innovation sourcing outside of the platform, it has found it extremely necessary to do so. Otherwise, it won't continue to grow and declare bankruptcy. At such points, few firms would prefer to take the bull by the horn and venture outside.

At this point, they will be looking at the best way to source innovation outside their known environment. Some of the few ways they will be using include:

Looking at sales conversion

Every firm is worried about sales irrespective of what their net worth might say. For a smart home company like MOF Technologies, Arctic, ninja blocks, Su-Kam Power Systems, Genus Power Infrastructures, Hind, Rectifiers, Uniline Energy Systems,V-Guard Industries, the best places to source information is to look at products in your category that have recorded huge sales and study how they have managed to do it.

Amazon Alexa is generally a smart home kit that allows you, for example, monitor the delivery guy as he comes into your home to drop your package while you aren't around. Such type of innovation is what smart homes companies should be sourcing.

Attending symposiums

Great ideas come through when smart home companies attend symposiums that showcase different home technology that improves automation, home security, etc. Even if the organization's product is going to be showcased in such an event, it's the perfect platform to see innovations that would challenge your company to do better.

Smart home tech eco-system

Companies should always be in touch with the reality of what is happening around them, and especially their industry. Building a robust ecosystem allows companies the luxury to ask questions about industry standards and innovations.

Crowdsourcing

Finding value in people with vast experience in smart home technologies can come through online sourcing of information and discussions. People with immense knowledge about Smart home technologies is all a company needs to bring back innovative ideas into its product.

Sourcing from research and development institutions

Our universities take research very seriously; new ideas come from students who have through a study on particular industries like the smart home industry, developed a theory. Partnering with platforms like that leaves your company with something to take home at the end of the day.

The global tech community relies on research a lot to fulfill their mandate. If companies happen to find one to partner with and share ideas, they are on the right track in discovering something new.