For many industrial companies, setting up a digital customer portal is a key building block for sales success in 2021 - and no wonder, as 70 per cent of decision-makers in the B2B environment today prefer remote formats or digital channels.
According to a survey by Tacton, the following topics are particularly relevant for industrial companies on the digital roadmap
1. digital self-service portals: less effort, more customer satisfaction
2. visual configuration and visualisation: the eye helps decide
3. subscription economy in mechanical engineering
4. end-to-end processes and seamless integrations
Of course, these developments have been accelerated by Covid. 70 per cent of decision-makers in the B2B environment now prefer remote meetings or digital channels, according to this McKinsey study. Self-service and customer portals will become a decisive success factor in the B2B and industrial environment in 2021. Many manufacturing companies want to be closer to self-service-orientated and self-service-accustomed customers by setting up and using digital portals in order to better meet their rising expectations. However, efficiency considerations through automation are also often behind this.
Success does not come by itself
- Form an interdisciplinary team
- Analyse your processes
- Understand your customer portal as a "single point of truth"
- Think about upstream and downstream processes
- Define the portal's success criteria
More time for better support
Sales employees should prioritise discussions with customers in order to realise additional sales. The creation of quotations is more of an administrative act in comparison. When implemented correctly, customer portals become the "single point of truth" for sales-relevant product and price information as well as for the customer-specific sales history. They minimise the time required, increase the reliability of quotation creation and help to leverage sales potential.
360 degree commerce projects
Today, no company can win a flower pot with a pure online shop. Traditional e-commerce frameworks have a disadvantage. They can process transactions perfectly and present a visually appealing front end. However, in an increasingly tough competitive environment, the collection and evaluation of customer data is just as much a criterion for success as high-quality product data and the complete automation of order and fulfilment processes. When companies launch e-commerce projects, other solutions will become increasingly relevant - such as CRM, PIM or ERP.
E-commerce projects therefore need to be even more integrated and holistic than has been the case in recent years. Sales and aftersales are becoming even more relevant and should be expanded digitally.
3 technical Key components
To ensure the future viability of a customer portal, companies should consider the following topics in their technical concept.
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Headless CMS
Providing content without specifying the content presentation or layout (i.e. without a head) is the prerequisite for real-time content marketing and a personalised customer experience.
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APIs
Interfaces that ensure a smooth connection to existing tools and programmes also enable a secure and scalable connection for all new developments.
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Microservices
They enable a modular response to changing technical requirements in order to map a customer journey in line with the times
And now what?
The customer journey does not end with the purchase. It takes place continuously and across many touchpoints: Desktop and mobile browser, app, voice assistance and other internet-enabled devices. A digital customer portal ensures that the experience on all these channels is consistent and brand-compliant.
However, such a portal is usually not a complete solution, as there is no single solution with seamless integration of all the necessary tools for all companies. Instead, a successful customer portal enables the interplay of an adaptable technical infrastructure and a strategic focus on digital transformation and innovation. All with the aim of staying as close as possible to the user.
That's why it's always about quickly finding a strategy that suits your own company and taking the first steps towards a digital platform. Over the past few months, TOWA has already helped companies such as Meusburger, Welser and Neutrik with precisely these considerations and implemented digital customer portals. We would be happy to present the challenges and solutions of these portals in an introductory meeting.
Our possibilities are manifold
On the basis of Spryker
for commerce projects
Based on Salesforce Community
for sales-heavy organisations
In-house development
for individual cases