Case 06 · UX Research
CH.3 · New B2B business research → launchB2B Home IoT Opportunities
From research to business — SmartThings into B2B
Found B2B opportunities through snowball research in Korea and the US, then turned them into a business with smart-apartment UX — 130,000+ households on SmartThings.
Context · Problem
To take B2C-focused SmartThings into B2B, we first had to find where the business opportunity was.
An undefined market
We started without knowing who to sell to, or with what value.
A complex ecosystem
Many stakeholders — developers, constructors, architects, IoT integrators, installers, managers, home-network suppliers, telecoms and residents.
Two countries
Korea and the US differ in housing and decision structures, so the answers don't carry over.
Role · Approach
Snowball research that grows from a hypothesis
Role: B2B IoT research lead; smart-apartment IoT UX (company-wide project, for the Mobile division)
- 01
Hypothesis and pilot
Started from a hypothesis → first internal workshop (2018.11) → pilot IDIs (US 9, Korea 6).
- 02
Redefining the domains
At the US workshop (2018.12), the Korea creative workshop (2019.01) and a second internal workshop, redefined the research domains as stakeholders, devices and context, and business logic.
- 03
A large main study
Ran IDIs, shadowing and home visits at a scale of US 25+16 (San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, LA) and Korea 24+16.
- 04
Synthesis workshops
Wrapped up conclusions and opportunity areas at synthesis workshops in the US (2019.02) and Korea (2019.03).
Key Design · US stakeholders
US — developers decide
- 1
Large multifamily developers
In the US, large multifamily developers were the key target who decide on smart-home adoption.
- 2
Everyone else advises
The owner (investor), design team, contractors and property management propose or advise to the developer.
- 3
Cost, energy and ROI
Winning developers over hinged on proving cost and energy savings and ROI.
- 4
Opportunity — US MFU
Multifamily units (MFU) became the US B2B opportunity area.
Key Design · Korea stakeholders
Korea — constructors decide
- 1
Constructors decide
In Korea, the constructor was the key decision maker for adopting Home IoT.
- 2
Before sale and after move-in
Before sale, developers, architects and home-network suppliers work with the constructor; after move-in, the residents' committee and management company take over operations.
- 3
Air quality matters most
For Korean residents, air quality was the strongest value.
- 4
Opportunity — Korean smart apartments
Smart apartments became the Korean B2B opportunity area and went on to become a business.
Impact
- 130K+Smart-apartment households on SmartThings
- ₩100B+Annual revenue contribution from sales support
- Designed and applied SmartThings–smart-apartment integration UX with builders and apartment software companies, and built a pilot program for sales (2020 – 2021.10)
- Completed SmartThings–smart-apartment integration, connecting 130,000+ households
- Contributed ₩100B+ in annual revenue through sales support, and helped grow home and living appliance sales to apartments
- Owned smart-apartment SmartThings UX data, led UX for Samsung's building energy service (BEMS), and joined company-wide NEOM City concept work
- Three smart-apartment GUI designs registered; B2B IoT UX patent filed
- 2020 iF Design Award (Immersive Home Experience), 2019 Good Design Award Silver (Samsung Home IoT Resident App)