Are You Generating the Greatest Value for (and from) Customers?
Manufacturers succeed by selling value. That’s nothing new. What IS new is how manufacturing customers define value: whether they’re an end user, a distributor, the sales agents, or the company’s own employees.
Customers crave intimacy, and your relationship can be nurtured online utilizing much more than the typical manufacturer’s brochure-styled website. Even if you do not — nor plan to — “take orders” online.
Manufacturing companies are not like Amazon, but they can learn much about building intimate customer relationships — leading to profitable growth — from the online “retail” behemoth. Amazon.com does much more than just “take orders.” Amazon’s wildly successful customer services are tightly integrated with their entire company, their customer’s experiences and their product information. Amazon has set a high bar for customer expectations, including your manufacturing customers.
The Times They are A-Changin'
Based on Forrester Research information on the impact of technology, business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce is valued at roughly $780 billion in 2016 and expected to increase to $1.13 trillion by 2020 — possibly as high as $1.9 trillion.
In the immortal words of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, times truly are changing. With software improvements and the adoption of cloud technology, manufacturers can embrace Web technology as part of their growth strategy. Moving online will be a requirement for manufacturers to stay competitive.
Using a sophisticated B2B eCommerce system means customers can access data from any device with an Internet connection. Imagine your customer sitting in an important meeting. They’re asked if a specific number of products can be delivered by a certain date. Using their smartphone, tablet or laptop, that customer could check your inventory levels immediately, and even place the order before the meeting is over. Or, perhaps they submit an immediate Request for Quote. This level of efficiency helps your customers grow, and they’ll learn to associate your company with their growth. This is how relationships are built.
What's the Return on Investment (ROI)?
Good news for manufacturers! Today’s digital technology tools offer affordable Web-based solutions for a competitive advantage through improved customer service — eCommerce integrated in real-time with back-office accounting, inventory and production.
Manufacturing companies can significantly streamline operations and reduce their own internal overhead costs while satisfying the latest paradigm — customer expectations.
B2B eCommerce is clearly a significant part of today’s strategic growth plan for manufacturers. Customers (and resellers) are looking for new ways to interact with their key vendors. While the ability to self-serve, manage information, reduce acquisition time and gather timely product information were once “nice-to-have” features, they are now required of every industry and every business type.
An additional and unforeseen benefit was discovered along the way by manufacturers: eCommerce is a means to profitably service smaller customers who, in the past, may have been considered more trouble than they’re worth.
Small orders, customer requests for information and the like, which were traditionally placed via telephone or fax, can take as much — if not more — time and overhead to process as much larger orders.
As a result, small customers often have a break-even (or worse, a loss!) impact on a company’s bottom line. The ability for small customers to self-educate and place orders themselves on a manufacturer’s website dramatically decreases the cost of serving them. Not to mention the greatly enhanced customer intimacy and loyalty we all seek.
“Instead of avoiding small customers, savvy manufacturers attract them, increase their market penetration and grow profits, using Web-based B2B eCommerce technology.”
- Executive Summary
- Introduction —
- Are you generating the greatest value for (and from) customers?
- The times they are a-changin’
- What’s your return on investment (ROI)?
- Three Ways B2B eCommerce Benefits a Manufacturer
- How Can You Meet Customer Demands for B2B eCommerce?
- Chapter 1 — Sales Growth
- Chapter 2 — Pricing Schedules
- Chapter 3 — Marketing or ERP Content
- Chapter 4 — Customer Engagement
- Chapter 5 — Multiple Locations
- Chapter 6 — Omnichannel Customer Experience
- Chapter 7 — Sales Reps and Vendors
- Chapter 8 — Customer Complexity
- Chapter 9 — Customer Service
- Glossary of eCommerce Terms
- Conclusion
