The ‘Internet of Things’ has become a buzzword for an increasingly networked world where everything from the garage door to the coffee machine is assigned an IP address. As the IoT matures, and the range and complexity of connected devices multiplies, there will be an increasing need for installation, activation and troubleshooting. The current Support of Things (SoT) customer support models must be reevaluated in light of the inevitable shift to self-service, a move necessary to enhance customer experience and reduce costs.

TechSee has conducted a wide-ranging survey among more than 1500 consumers in the US, to explore customer experiences and preferences when installing new home electronic devices. The results indicate that self-installation – the process that enables customers to install home electronic devices without requiring the help of a technician or a contact center – was preferred by 3 out of every 4 survey respondents.

According to the data, 2/3 of consumers have self-installed home electronics in the past 12 months, highlighting the fact that market adoption is growing rapidly in this nascent market. However, despite the consumer desire to self-install, they did not find the process easy, with 30% of consumers having to give up mid-process and contact a customer service agent for assistance after failing to self-install successfully.

The survey further explores consumer sentiment toward preferred guidance tools, where visual guidance has emerged as the solution of choice for 71% of customers, and smartphone was selected as the preferred channel for receiving instructions. Furthermore, the survey results highlight virtual assistants as an essential technology for self installation, with 28% of respondents already willing to get assistance through tools such as Alexa, Siri, and chatbots.

Download the survey results for complete insights on the process of self installation.