CRM for Manufacturing: Why and How?
Why are manufacturing businesses opting for CRM software? How are your colleagues using CRM in the automotive industry? How did they choose the right person for the job? To discover popular themes, we asked a couple of our manufacturing customers about their experiences. Here’s what we found:
Why CRM in the Manufacturing Industry?
When it comes to software, the manufacturing industry is financially sound. The customers we talked with were all aware of ERP’s influence. They were already familiar with ERPs and recognized their meaning. After finding that the ERP lacks skills for deep customer service, they started looking at CRM solutions.
Many of our manufacturing customers expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of sales roles for tracking pipelines, controlling prospects, handling communications, and promoting technological support. With internally siloed information and no way to easily access information on the go, the ERP’s lack of data openness and accessibility provided more work for each team member.
When some consumers bought ERP solutions, they were given a CRM as an add-on. The issue was that the CRM add-ons were not stable enough to justify the extra expenditure. When they realized the problem, they decided to wait and look into CRMs on their own.
How Do Companies Find Manufacturing CRM?
To better understand our customers’ search for CRM, we asked them how they found it. Three recurring trends emerged:
- Googling “manufacturing CRM”.
- Speaking with colleagues in the field about their experiences
- Looking for whitepapers, consumer stories, and other educational resources on the internet
These strategies are unsurprising, given that 81% of people conduct online research before making significant transactions, and peer reviews are among the most critical influencers of such purchases. We were shocked to learn that the majority of our clients have never considered hiring a CRM contractor. Consultants are helpful when looking for a CRM because they can quickly narrow down alternatives by weeding out “junk” CRMs that won’t comply with current programs.
A good contractor would have a thorough understanding of the initiatives that work well together and which systems are flexible enough to provide the desired results.
They will help companies make CRM purchasing decisions to invest in the approach that is most likely to succeed.
Fortunately, our customers were referred to us by their colleagues and identified us after doing preliminary testing so that we could find some viable alternatives for them right away.
What were the CRM criteria that manufacturers were looking for?
As discussed in the first section, our manufacturing customers realized they wanted something to link sales and service, improve data integrity, and make data available across divisions. They had to be able to track accounts, addresses, and leads and feed details back to management using input from the sales and support divisions.
Demand forecasting was essential to some consumers, while smartphone functionality was more important to others. These distinctions highlight the critical argument that, while CRM for manufacturing offers a strong foundation for better operations, the nuances of what each customer requires will remain as unique as their business.
That means the right CRM for one company may not be the best match for another, but there are certain features that both manufacturers should consider before beginning their quest.
What factors did they consider when selecting the best CRM for manufacturing?
Our consumers had a solid idea of what they should be searching for after conducting internet analysis, peer reviews, and CRM meetings with our team. At a high stage, some CRMs suits the bill, but the determining factors were the following:
- ERP Integration Ease Price
- Adaptability for specialized tasks and speed of execution
- Maintenance is easy.
- Apps that aren’t included in the standard package
- Encouragement
The numbers six and seven on this chart stand out for the following reasons: Although most of the runners-up integrated with the ERP and were generally adaptable, product completeness was still a significant deciding factor. Although his business did not need any “fancy” functionality, one customer pointed out that some of the solutions they explored still required plug-ins for the simple features they desired. This was a deterrent because it meant they would have to spend more time and money to get started with the product.
Aside from full features and functionality, the customer appreciated our integrity (Thanks!) and felt safe entrusting their help to us. Purchasing software, especially software linked to another big machine (ERP, email, marketing automation, and so on), is not a simple process.
There are updates to remember, preparation to worry about, and obstacles to conquer. A reliable service team can relieve those stresses by serving as an implementor, teacher, deployment consultant, and general software analyst over the software’s life.
Contact our knowledgeable team to learn more about the CRM production choices. We’ll set up a free consultation to find out what’s bothering you and suggest a solution.
