Manufacturers are ready for e-commerce.

Manufacturers
are ready
for e-commerce.

Wade – don’t dive – into digital sales

Industrial manufacturers, traditionally slow to adopt e-commerce, are now poised to either cautiously enter or fully immerse themselves in it. The COVID-19 crisis has spurred this shift, encouraging a move towards online sales and marketing platforms to facilitate a higher volume of "no-touch" transactions with both B2B and B2C customer segments. As remote working continues to be prevalent among B2B buyers and sellers, digital marketing and sales are expected to become more critical.

Increasingly, traditional methods of handling customer needs fall short for both modern consumers and service teams. Customers now expect efficient self-service options, while internal teams face efficiency challenges as customer inquiries increase. For instance, the cumbersome process of searching for a spare part on one system, ordering it on another, and accessing aftersales support through a different site leads to a fragmented, inefficient, and frustrating experience.

Industrial and e-commerce: Both a top business priority … and a challenge

% of US manufacturers agreeing digital marketing and sales is a top business priority

% of US manufacturers agreeing digital marketing and sales is a top business challenge

Industrial and e-commerce: Both a top business priority … and a challenge

What Products Should Manufacturers Sell Online Versus Offline?

Manufacturers, unlike traditional online retailers, often employ a variety of sales models, including direct online sales (where customers research and buy online) and Ro/Po (research online, purchase offline). These models necessitate the creation of an online platform that features comprehensive product data, straightforward purchasing options, and robust customer support (either via call centers or bots). This setup is designed to emulate the top-tier e-commerce experiences that customers enjoy in other industries like consumer products and financial services.

Develop the Digital Experience Customers Expect

Once companies determine which products can be sold online, they should enhance their e-commerce platforms with the functionalities that customers have come to expect. B2B customers increasingly seek a fast, personalized, 24/7 digital experience, akin to what major online retailers provide. This goes beyond mere online catalogs and pricing to include customizable configuration options and visualization tools, customer-specific pricing and products, real-time inventory availability, targeted promotions and marketing, accessible order history, product tracking, and comprehensive online and after-sales support.

% of global manufacturers agreeing digital marketing and sales is a top business challenge

B2C

B2B

% of global manufacturers agreeing digital marketing and sales is a top business challenge

Maximizing Value Through E-commerce

Implementing a successful e-commerce strategy for industrial companies is a gradual process. It's important to remember that not all elements can be implemented simultaneously. Effective e-commerce programs are developed in incremental stages, with each phase introducing additional opportunities for capturing value in both B2B and B2C initiatives.

As businesses expand their online offerings and increase the proportion of sales generated through e-commerce, they stand to gain several advantages:

They can forge new customer relationships and gather valuable data on customer needs and preferences.
They can enhance their marketing efforts with targeted strategies based on this freshly acquired customer data.
They gain comprehensive insights into both customers and distributors.
They can employ artificial intelligence to better predict and meet customer preferences and needs.

Enhancing Customer Experience by Mapping the Customer Journey

Navigating the e-commerce landscape involves several crucial capabilities, with the most essential being a deep understanding of the customer journey to improve the overall customer experience. This entails effectively marketing to all customer segments and ensuring that both employees and distributors are equipped to address customer needs and preferences. Additional critical aspects that customers expect include offering comprehensive online data, content, and pricing for products and services, implementing the appropriate technology to support sales and marketing, and ensuring that supply chains and logistics are well-adapted to the demands of e-commerce and after-sales services.