Today’s B2B organisations are discovering their customers are just like any other – they want a more B2C-like customer experience (CX) than ever before. And this discovery is changing how manufacturers view and implement their CX strategies.
Let’s dig deeper…
Now, manufacturers need to meet the customers where they are and add value through content and personalised experiences, with all digital experiences offering high quality interactions. You don’t need to digitise your whole manufacturing operations – simply digitising your product catalogue can be a big step towards improving customer experience.
Essentially, it’s about giving your customers more autonomy – for example, allowing them to view accurate stock levels, configure product functionalities and customise pricing.
Some other ways you can create a seamless buying journey include:
To become more customer-centric, organisations must invest in modern data collecting and analytics tools that can integrate with each other and maximise productivity. For example, when your CRM and ERP systems are integrated, you can:
We found that while over half of manufacturers (54.90%) say the main objective of CX in their organisation is to broaden the revenue stream from existing customers through value added services, they’re also on the lookout for any new opportunities. In fact, 15.69% said winning new clients remains a key target for their business.
Other goals behind CX investments include increasing customer satisfaction or growing market share. Few organisations (4.90%) embark on CX programmes to enter new and adjacent markets or industries. Instead, many more (17.65%) aim to bring new products or service offerings into the current market.
Almost all survey respondents felt that coherent CX plans play a vital role in reaching their goals. More specifically, a majority of those surveyed (74.51%) said having a clear CX strategy is key in achieving their business objectives this year.
For others, CX plans that have complete clarity are somewhat important to reaching their aims in 2022 (19.61%). This shows that the manufacturers who have a clear customer experience strategy are using CX as a tool to drive meaningful results.
Momentum continues to build for manufacturing organisations who are focused on improving their CXE strategy. You can read more about the state of CXE in manufacturing (including what’s to come in the future) by downloading our report below.