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THE TRUE COST OF A BAD CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IN MANUFACTURING

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Michael Brassea -

THE COST OF A BAD CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS MORE COSTLY THAN YOU THINK

The customer journey can be a long, winding road from the first contact to a
final sale. Optimizing this experience has come easy for some industries, but
manufacturers still struggle with providing a fast, accurate, and sustainable
approach. Sacrificing a good experience can cause customers to leave or
manufacturers to give big discounts just to keep customers around. Let’s take a
deep dive into what customer experience is, and how to avoid a bad one.  

What is customer experience?  

A great Hubspot definition: Customer experience is the impression your customers
have of your brand throughout all aspects of the buyer’s journey. It results in
their view of your brand and impacts factors related to
your bottom-line including revenue.  

This includes every touchpoint with your team, from marketing, sales,
engineering, and the factory floor. Every interaction leads to the customer
perception and relationship with your unique business. To sum it up, a great
customer experience is integral to the continued growth of any company. A bad
experience will have customers leaving for cheaper options, while a good one
keeps customers loyal and coming back for more.  

How important is customer experience to manufacturers?  

The COVID-19 pandemic has made many manufacturers rethink how they interact not
only internally, but with customers as well with a renewed focus on digital
transformation. When we asked C-level, vice presidents, and directors of
manufacturing operations about the most important strategic areas to remain
competitive and bolster economic growth, the customer experience was an
important aspect.  



When asked, “Most important strategic areas to remain competitive and bolster
economic growth”. Read more on the survey here 

With 49% of respondents noting the importance of customer experience it’s time
manufacturers begin taking a deep look at how to improve this aspect of their
digital transformation. Driving sales and revenue is directly impacted by the
customer experience.  

What are some common challenges in creating a great CX for manufacturing
customers? 

 * Outdated technology- Many manufacturers are still relying on outdated tech to
   provide products, quotes, and delivery. Some aren’t even offering an online
   self-service option to buy products which is where more and more buyers are
   at.  
 * Inefficient processes: This comes with using outdated technology, quoting is
   a long, error-prone process that leaves the customer annoyed and your sales
   and engineering teams scrambling to offer discounts to make sure customers
   don’t go to the competition. 
 * No omnichannel strategy: Let’s face it if you aren’t offering an online way
   to buy products, with multiple touchpoints you’ll lose to the competition who
   can. The modern buyer wants products fast, error-free without talking with
   your sales staff. This sounds like a bad thing at first but enabling an
   online store will help your sales team focus on bigger deals while leaving
   smaller ones to configure their products online and help when needed.  

What is the cost of a bad experience?  

A bad customer experience has a direct impact on your bottom line. According to
PWC: “Even if people love your company or product, in the U.S. 59% will walk
away after several bad experiences, 17% after just one bad experience.”  



Source 

Losing these customers can be the difference between rapid growth and a slow
decline in your profits. So, making sure every experience is fast, accurate, and
exciting will go a long way in growing your business. Loyalty goes a long way in
creating predictable, recurring revenue making it important to really understand
your customers’ wants and needs.  

A bad reputation 

Think about the last time you purchased something, shoes, clothes, anything. If
you weren’t buying from a place you’ve bought from before you more than likely
read reviews on the company to see if the products were worth getting. With so
many options it’s a necessity to give a good experience, with customers telling
more than 15 people of a bad experience word travels fast and profit can
decrease.  

New buyers require new solutions 

The race to reinvent the manufacturing customer experience is on and has been
accelerated in the past year, causing industry leaders to consider new
solutions to keep up. Delivering a one-of-a-kind experience for customers and
keeping a healthy bottom line sounds too good to be true? It’s not when using
Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software. Let’s take a lot at what CPQ is and how
it improves the customer experience.  

What is CPQ? 

CPQ platforms help manufacturers use self-service, guided (and remote) selling
to accurately configure complex products and services for prospective customers.
CPQ solutions help manufacturers ensure correct pricing, deliver personalized
and highly customized quotes. CPQ also seamlessly integrates into eCommerce,
CRM, CAD software, and more a smooth buying and selling process.  



4:50










How does CPQ create a great customer experience?  

Speed counts with CPQ  

Today’s buyers simply won’t wait for a quote on your products anymore. They want
to know exactly what they will get ASAP. Making configuration and pricing
choices in used to take manufacturers days, with CPQ it only takes minutes. Even
complex quotes can be created faster than ever.  

Accuracy 

CPQ captures the customer’s usage and commercial needs, and the configuration
engine does the rest. Everything is considered – your latest product and pricing
updates, local regulations, as well as your margin requirements. The software
can find the solution that best matches the customer’s needs and your business
goals. With advanced pricing models and built-in approval workflows, your team
will position and sell the right product at the right price – every time.  

Accurate, high-quality proposals with supporting documentation are generated
automatically. This speeds up the quotation process dramatically, keeping you
one step ahead of the competition. 

Meet customers anywhere 

Buyers are used to being able to buy from anywhere, at any time. Providing an
eCommerce experience for manufacturers of highly complex products is a nearly
impossible task without CPQ. Enabling customers to configure directly on your
company website with Guided Selling lets your customers see what products are
feasible fast. Giving them self-service options also enables customers to check
out quickly and get their products without interacting with anyone.  

Visuals 

Many of our manufacturing customers have found ways to shift to an online
journey, and they all share one secret, visual configuration. Visual
configuration is the combined use of Augmented Reality, 2D, and 3D visualization
software in order to be able to configure products fast, and accurately for
customers and prospects.  

The new customer experience demands visuals of the product, no one is buying
products sight unseen in 2021. With these visuals your customer isn’t left with
any question marks when they see what their final product will look like, even
configured in their real-life environment.  

What is an example of how CPQ improving speed and accuracy? 

One of our CPQ customers, Siemens had a challenge: Creating each of their highly
complex and customizable turbines to their customers’ specific needs. Quoting
took on average 8 weeks, requiring specialist engineers for every sales case.
Proposals were over 500 pages long and Siemens lacked the ability to quote
long-term maintenance costs resulting in poor aftersales services.  

With Tacton, Siemens was able to redefine how their sales team configured,
priced, and sold their products. Using CPQ enabled them to reduce quote time
from 8 weeks to 10 minutes. Leaving the sales team to focus more on customer
relationships. Engineers were able to refocus on research and development and
jump into only the most complex sales cases. Finally, the shorter sales cycle
increased the capacity for sales to find and engage with new prospects.  

In closing 

Your customers’ demands have changed and will continue to as customization
becomes the norm for nearly every purchase. Customers also want technology that
improves how they get their products, with speed, accuracy, convince, and even
visuals. Calculating the cost of a bad customer experience shows just how much a
change is needed for manufacturers. 

Manufacturing has been looking for the next solution that will enable them to
provide a better eCommerce and customer experience. CPQ software is the solution
that is bringing many manufacturers into these new and exciting spaces. With CPQ
it’s possible to connect every process, from the start of the customer journey
all the way to purchase. At Tacton we have over 20 years of experience working
with the biggest manufacturers in the world helping them transform their
processes. Check out some of our customer stories such as Plus Pack, nVent and
Pelco.  

Interested in learning more? Book your demo today!  

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Michael Brassea

michael.brassea@tacton.com

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