[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/06\/10\/customer-experience-in-manufacturing\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/06\/10\/customer-experience-in-manufacturing\/","headline":"The customer experience in manufacturing: Taking cues from utilities","name":"The customer experience in manufacturing: Taking cues from utilities","description":"Manufacturers can improve CX taking lessons from utility companies, which have leveraged innovative technologies to meet customer needs.","datePublished":"2021-06-10","dateModified":"2023-04-10","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/john-fisher\/#Person","name":"John Fisher","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/john-fisher\/","identifier":76,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e941367ebd4abdd1152170e7e0aa5f0b4610c4e083ddc749621ecb251d94834?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e941367ebd4abdd1152170e7e0aa5f0b4610c4e083ddc749621ecb251d94834?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Utility_1200x375.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Utility_1200x375.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/06\/10\/customer-experience-in-manufacturing\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/sales\/crm\/","name":"CRM","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_relationship_management","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q485643"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/customer-experience-general\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},"Energy and Utilities","Industries","Milling & Mining"],"wordCount":851,"keywords":["Industrial Manufacturing","Manufacturing","Utilities"],"articleBody":"What happens after your customers buy your products? Is that the end of the transaction? Hardly.Today, a customer\u2019s relationship with your business doesn’t end at the completion of a sale. Rather, your relationship with customers is ongoing. The first sale is just part of the lifecycle. The customer experience in manufacturing is all-encompassing, as it is for all industries.However, few industries have mastered the customer experience lifecycle like utilities.Customer experience in manufacturing: Staying connected\u00a0The nature of the utilities business requires that companies remain highly connected to their customers. Utilities maximize their returns when they can minimize customers\u2019 energy use.That means it\u2019s in utilities\u2019 best interest to prevent or quickly resolve customers\u2019 energy problems. Unnecessary or accidental energy use costs the customer and the company \u2013 and this cost is rising. Consider the risk and toll of brownouts and rolling blackouts, which happen when utilities aren\u2019t prepared for spikes in demand.Keeping conscious about energy use is at the forefront of everyone\u2019s mind. So, utilities have worked hard to make it easy for customers to stay connected and learn exactly how much energy they\u2019re using.      Customer self service + utilities: Definition, benefits, pitfalls                Utilities need to take self-service beyond the basics with innovative, value-added features that put customers first. Bring customer self-service back from the dead by making it mobile, entertaining, and secure.      Then, they pair that with tailored tips on how customers can reduce their energy use for greater savings. Many utilities have found success providing this information in online customer portals that also connect customers to service and support.Ready access to customer data also empowers utilities\u2019 service representatives to better serve customers. Reps have a complete history of a customer\u2019s energy use as soon as they\u2019re connected to the customer, whether that engagement takes place over the phone or in an online chat. This underscores the importance of multichannel customer service options.      What does customer aftercare mean | Definition, examples, benefits                Customer aftercare refers to post-sale customer service. It includes all of the steps, actions, communications, and processes that take place after a sale to keep customers satisfied, engaged, and loyal.      Improving customer experience in manufacturing\u00a0Manufacturers have a lot to gain by compiling and providing access to relevant customer data in a customer portal.Consider this: How much faster could your customer service reps help customers if they began every service engagement knowing what products that customer has bought from you or your certified dealers?You can also improve the customer experience by proactively providing customers with tips and advice on how to make the most of your products and services. Many manufacturers are enhancing their customer portals by offering relevant product information, such as user manuals, and embedding access to comprehensive spare parts catalogs for products owned.Details matter: CX, manufacturing, and the role of IoT\u00a0The Internet of Things (IoT) empowers your business to gather data on machine use, including how often and when customers run your machines.When your devices are part of an IoT-enabled network, they can provide vital insights on their own performance, including downtime and repairs. These insights empower your reps \u2013 or your dealers\u2019 reps \u2013 to visit a customer with immediate and intimate knowledge of that customers\u2019 machine use, recent purchases, challenges they\u2019re facing with your machines, and so on.It\u2019s hard to make a convincing sale or improve the customer experience in manufacturing without up-to-date information on how your products are being used or operated. Even worse, consider the consequences of trying to sell to a customer who is currently struggling with the machines they\u2019ve already bought from you. Your reps \u2013 and your overall business \u2013 walk away from that engagement looking out of touch at best.Why should anyone buy from a business that doesn\u2019t seem capable of telling its customers apart? IoT helps manufacturers avoid customer churn.      IoT in insurance: Radical change, powerful potential                IoT in insurance can add customer value, improve executive strategies, and move companies from passive risk-taking to active risk management.      How manufacturers can harness the power of IoT for better CXThe IoT and other intelligent technologies enable manufacturers to proactively engage with customers, so they can help them resolve their problems quickly or prevent these problems from ever happening at all.For instance, what if you set up a sensor that could automatically reach out to customers whose machinery unexpectedly goes offline? This sensor could direct your customer to machinery manuals, help documents, and customer support channels. You could even set it up to alert employees at your own company about the outage and spur them to reach out to the customer personally.Customers come to you with their experiences from other industries and businesses fresh on their minds. Other industries, such as utilities and retail, have practically reinvented themselves to meet customers\u2019 needs with innovative new offerings. Manufacturers must do the same in order to remain competitive.  B2B buyers want a B2C experience \u2013that’s why top sellers are using a hybrid commerce game plan.Get it HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"06","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/06\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"10","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/06\/\/10\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The customer experience in manufacturing: Taking cues from utilities","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/06\/10\/customer-experience-in-manufacturing\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]