Manufacturing is the backbone for any country’s economy and it makes a significant difference in its employment, GDP, import & export etc. The manufacturing industry has evolved greatly over the last few decades and technology played the role of a major catalyst for change. Despite the advancements, the challenges in the manufacturing industry continue to exist.
However, there are ways by which manufacturing businesses can leverage the latest technology advancement to face these challenges.
Let’s see the challenges faced by manufacturers and how a CRM can resolve those.
Challenges faced by manufacturing companies
Poor Project Management
To bring forth products to market, manufacturers must stick on to tight schedules and timelines. In the manufacturing industry, all projects are cost, quality and time sensitive and it is hence rigid and tightly controlled. Manufacturers who miss out deadline risk losing out millions in potential profit and revenue. Such tight control implies less ability to focus on.
Such tight control means less ability to focus on project management like updating scope and making adjustments as the project advances.
Not only most projects require a design commitment in the early phase, but there would also be little flexibility to adjust if any requirement change comes in. That can be quite frustrating for a manufacturing team to produce the best products when handcuffed by deadline constraints.
Outdated Marketing Strategies
Conventional marketing efforts for manufacturers are proving less effective than in the past. Trade publications and cold calls no more work like they used to. In the digital era, manufacturers need to do more than putting up a website and hope that prospects will be drawn towards it. Manufacturers need to make a constant effort to be position themselves as experts and be found organically through online searches. They have to invest in tactics and inbound marketing and implement robust marketing strategies to generate sales qualified leads.
Lack of better Customer service
With manufacturing businesses focusing on delivery and quality of products to maximize revenue and profit, customer service often falls by the way side. Customers who want to obtain any information must make a phone call to the company, which is a frustrating task for customers of the modern age. A manufacturing business’s customer base typically consists or service providers, end-customers, subcontractors or a combination of all these. They have different requirements, a concern when interacting with manufacturers. This raises a concern when manufacturers are unable to offer the best customer experience possible.
Inability to collaborate real-time with dealers
Manufacturing business still uses traditional methods to connect with customers and dealers by which the revenue suffers. Manufacturers and dealer organizations need to collaborate in real time as the more efficiently information is processed and employees use the data, the more productive the core business would become. These days, buyers are becoming more demanding and they expect a premium experience when buying a product.
Difficulty in increasing up-sell revenue
Many manufacturers struggle to improve sales which affect their upselling revenue. Businesses need consistent and stable sales to increase revenue and keep the company afloat in midst of a competitive market. When company’s sales decreases, every other things are at risk. The major reason for the decrease in upselling opportunity is the inability to identify right sales opportunities and convert them at right time.
Solutions Offered by Second CRM to Face the Key Challenges in the Manufacturing Industry
Efficient lead management
Second CRM helps with lead management and automated routing by consolidated leads from emails, website format, and social networks and automatically feed the information to your distributors without delay. it also keeps a healthy flow of information between your direct sales and the partner sales team helping with faster sales closing. From mobile email notifications to synchronize your email with CRM, Second CRM provides you with all the tools you require to handle sales emails in an efficient and organized way. The top CRM for manufacturers allows you to access the information even if you are out of the office.
Detailed reports for making marketing efforts easy
Marketing strategies are far different from one-size-fits-all and all the tactics that work for other businesses fall short for manufacturers. Second CRM provides detailed lead generation reports for manufacturers like where the information came from so that the marketing team can channelize their efforts to strengthen their lead generation strategies in relevant areas. With real-time analytics and insights on every deal, the sales team can track early indications affecting their pipeline and they can spend time on the right deals at the right time.
Improved customer experience
With a smart and innovative software like Second CRM, you can connect different end-customer or partner portals to it where manufacturers can offer each customer with a convenient way to place inquiries, search for solutions, request for new products, obtain updates on already assigned work order etc. Subcontractors can also track, update and accept new work assigned to them and communicate with the manufacturers through the portal. All of this information can be stored in the CRM Customer Database software and it is available to the manufacturer.
Improves collaboration with distributors and dealers
Second CRM gives you the ability to be consistent, predict and control your distribution channel. Our CRM manufacturing solution allows to you analyze and gather information from across your distributor network which allows you to identify gaps and gauge performance. Based on the insights received, manufacturers can communicate clearly and offer guidance and tools which helps dealers to succeed. The collaboration capabilities of CRM also help to educate you and to respond to distributors inquiries quickly. Defining and automating processes for improved collaboration with distributors in real time.
Uncover up-sell and cross-sell opportunities
To start with, qualified lead generation begins online as the modern buyers complete 70% of the buying process before even speaking to the sales executive. The research starts on the web, they compare prices, look up for business reviews and educate themselves on products and services offered. With the best manufacturing CRM like Second CRM, you can uncover all up-sell and cross-sell opportunities at your existing prospectus by better understanding their needs, purchase history and future potential. By mapping this information to your product catalog to run a targeted promotion, your sales team can offer relevant prospectus to your customers that have a higher chance of conversion.
CRM solution for manufacturers brings the organization to a different level where things are more organized and efficient. Marketing business needs a smart business automation solution, like Second CRM to make the business productive by automating their operations using the latest technology.
Contact us at sales@secondcrm.com. or call us at +603 8687 4433 to get a consultation session to learn how we can provide you with an optimal CRM solution.