Wearable Technology and Business, Can it work?

Wearable technology is increasing in popularity, with everything from smart watches to glasses being available for consumers to buy. However, it’s not just consumers that can benefit from the emerging technology of wearables but businesses too. Here we will look at some of the ways different business sectors can exploit wearable technology.

Wearable technology like Google Glass is starting to be used by businesses across a number of sectors.

Image source: flikr.com

 Gathering information

Wearable technology like Google Glass is known for providing users with instant access to all of the information they need. Who’s to say that businesses couldn’t use this technology to gain access to valuable information about their customers?

For instance, imagine a salesperson walking into their client’s office. Using wearable technology, they may be able to bring up a whole host of useful information about their client, such as their last order details, how satisfied they are with the service they received and other details that could be used to aid their sales pitch.

Gathering information via wearable technology will allow businesses to build up a better profile of their customers so they can tailor their products, services and marketing strategies to meet their needs.

Engaging with / marketing to consumers

Wearable technology provides huge opportunities for brands wanting to engage with and marketing to consumers. Being able to leverage these platforms will be the difference between the brands that succeed and those who become irrelevant.

Wearable technology provides a number of opportunities for brands looking to market to customer in-store. For example, when customers enter a store wearing their technology, it could show them a whole host of product details and offers, helping to influence their purchasing decisions.

Businesses could even use the customer data they have collected to tailor marketing information to individual users via wearable technology, giving them a better chance of engaging with customers and boosting sales.

Wearables can be used for improving marketing, productivity and even training.

Image source: flikr.com

Improving productivity

But it’s not just marketing and engagement that wearable technology is good for. It can also be used by businesses wanting to improve their productivity levels.

By providing workers with wearable technology, businesses can ensure that they have access to all of the information they need to get their jobs done quickly and to a high standard. This can be applied to a wide range of sectors from construction to customer service.

The great thing about wearable technology is that workers who wouldn’t be able to keep checking a smartphone or tablet can use it. For example, whilst a forklift truck driver wouldn’t be able to use a smartphone whilst they were driving around a warehouse, they could utilise wearables to help them locate pallets and work more productively.

Training

In a similar way, wearables could also be used for training purposes. In addition to providing information, with something like Google Glass, managers could also remotely look through employees’ eyes and assess their progress.

Current uses of wearable technology

Whilst wearable technology is still relatively new to the market, a number of sectors are already using it including healthcare, construction and education.

Healthcare – At Stanford University Medical Center, practitioners are currently using wearable technology as part of their treatment programmes. The technology allows them to get real-time information about their patients and enables them to carry out treatments more effectively.

Construction – It has been reported that some machinery operators are now wearing fatigue-monitoring sensors that can detect when their head or body starts to slump, helping to eliminate accidents and improve health and safety. Wearable technology is also being used in this sector for tracking and productivity too.

 Education – Some teachers are now delivering online courses with the help of wearable technology, which allows them to transmit their demonstrations, tours and lectures to a global audience.

Conclusion

With so many benefits, it is no wonder that so many businesses are keen to exploit this new technology. We look forward to seeing how wearable technology continues to progress and the new applications it offers to businesses across all sectors.

Image credits: Prepayasyougo and shinya