VP of Client Engagement at rSTAR Technologies.
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There has been a significant increase in CX automation adoption among manufacturers, especially in customer service delivery, rebate management, IVR deflection and predictive analysis. As a disclosure, my company rSTAR is one provider of these CX solutions. This adoption has been triggered by the need to meet modern-day customer demands and deliver a frictionless customer experience to increase the bottom line in a highly competitive industry.
The past year was profitable for forward-thinking manufacturers that adopted these technologies, and this year promises limitless possibilities for manufacturers and customer experience professionals. In this article, I will outline some strategies for manufacturers seeking to effectively leverage four emerging CX solutions.
1. Automated Rebate Management
For a long time, the complexities and time-consuming nature of manual rebate management systems (the ubiquitous spreadsheet) and the resultant loss of customer loyalty contributed to customer churn. However, automated rebate management systems have reshaped manufacturers' management of supplier agreements, accruals, and rebate claims.
The benefits of automating rebate management systems are many. Besides eliminating the time, money and energy waste associated with manual rebate management systems, a strong automated rebate management system has the capacity to:
• Reduce dependence on human input to process rebate data.
• Reduce the human error associated with manual rebate systems.
• Increase partner loyalty.
• Increase manufacturers' bottom margin.
2. CRM Integrations
CRM integrations provide better customer data visibility, improve customer service and enhance the chances of delivering a frictionless CX experience. With the increased elimination of data silos and visibility gaps, manufacturers embracing strategic integrations will find themselves in a much stronger position to leverage data effectively for customer service processes.
CRM integrations empower manufacturers to have an integrated customer service system that allows the company to attend to customers from any point in the customers' journey. With an integrated system, companies can benefit in various ways, including the ability to:
• Access to end-to-end data visibility across all customer touchpoints
• Effectively integrate front and back offices.
• Extend CRM data to build customer and partner portals
• Improve customer service efficiency, address service issues in a timely manner and improve collaboration between service and other departments.
• Personalize account engagement and customer service delivery.
• Better manage lead opportunities.
3. Manufacturing Cloud Solutions
Disparate data and visibility gaps have been a manufacturing headache for years before the introduction of manufacturing cloud solutions. It's now easy for manufacturers to integrate their data into a single source of truth, have 360-degree visibility of customers and streamline customer service operations.
Advancements in manufacturing cloud solutions keep offering more possibilities for the many benefits manufacturers can get from optimal data visibility. When properly implemented and integrated with other technologies, a manufacturing cloud solution should combine automation, IIoT, ML, AI, interconnectivity, chatbots and real-time data analysis to yield unimaginable outcomes.
These outcomes include 360-degree visibility, predictability, effective rebate management, sales agreements, advanced account and product forecasting, warranty/service, field service tracking and more. Although some manufacturers are already ahead, implementing this solution and reaping the benefits, 2023 should see many more manufacturing cloud possibilities unfold.
4. AI and Machine Learning
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in manufacturing did not just transform "dumb" factories into "smart" factories. It also improved customer service delivery, product quality, output time, business operations' downtime and predictive maintenance. With the launch of platforms such as ChatGPT and Bard, manufacturers will have more tools offering solutions to customer service and sales teams especially.
There has been an increase in the adoption rate of AI and ML in manufacturing companies since even, which has helped companies' ability to extract and analyze data from customer interactions to support market predictions and informed decision making.
With more advancements in the AI and machine learning domains, there will be more avenues of application in customer service and manufacturing and, thus, better outcomes for manufacturers.
Technology adoption in customer experience delivery is no longer optional.
Over the coming year, embracing innovation, consolidating your customer service solutions and taking that big digital transformation step can make a difference in your market share. Companies that fail to innovate have already resigned to playing catch up. I hope this article offers some helpful strategies for manufacturing companies seeking what to look for in an advanced CX solution.
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