Much like consumers want more control over the products they purchase from their favorite retailers, more customers in the manufacturing industry want a better user experience, or UX, when it comes to ordering finished goods. Examine four threats that manufacturers face from suppliers and customers due to the disruptions that this UX paradigm causes.
1. Customer Service
When all other things are equal among manufacturers, from cost effectiveness and high-quality materials to logistics and time to market, customer service is one aspect of the user experience that poses a threat to manufacturing. That's because responsiveness and resolution time are keys to customer satisfaction. If there's a problem with a product, someone with expertise in your firm must handle the issue as soon as possible.
2. Transparency
Transparency of information, much like customer service, also adds value to a manufacturer. Customers should have access to information, such as purchase history, billing information and invoice history, without having to call your company. Consider having a dedicated website or app wherein purchasers have the ability to log in to see comprehensive data about their accounts. For an even better user experience, your company can add so much more to this process. Consider parts diagrams, schematics, usage instructions, troubleshooting videos and an ordering platform. Live chat turns your customer information portal into a collaboration platform to receive direct feedback so you can improve your products sooner rather than later.
3. Predictive Selling
Predictive selling leads to more sales, but it also helps customers stay more productive by reducing downtime. For example, your firm can send an alert to a customer when a part or product is about to reach its life expectancy. That way, you can prompt the customer to order more. This becomes part of a seamless "fire and forget" system that data analysis programs can put in place. This improves user experiences because customers don't have to worry about when to order new versions of the same product.
Instead, automated processes handle that issue behind the scenes. New parts arrive before old ones wear out and cause downtime. Customers can replace the parts on a maintenance schedule rather than having a part break down spontaneously and without warning.
4. Internet of Things
The Internet of Things, or IoT, plays a major role in technical support as part of the overall user experience. Similar to computer data that sends parts ahead of schedule to prevent breakdowns, connected sensors can transmit data about the performance of a product. John Deere remotely monitors some of its equipment to allow for real-time analysis of the equipment. This allows technical support teams to diagnose any problems faster to keep downtime to a minimum. Again, this removes part of the human element from customer interaction, so this is a threat to manufacturing in that you have less direct contact with people.
However, IoT devices make sense in terms of efficiency and real-time results. Detecting inefficiency, predicting downtime and improving maintenance save customers money. It also adds value to your products.
A better user experience isn't something you necessarily build into the price of your products, but it does differentiate you from competitors. Making a better overall UX leads to loyal customers, more revenue and higher profits. Start with a UX strategy that employs technology to move forward.
Photo courtesy of Tu at Flickr.com
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