In recent years, the manufacturing industry has experienced a significant shift in customer expectations. Manufacturing customers, whether Business-to-business (B2B) or Direct-to-consumer (D2C) now want a seamless and engaging online shopping experience, offering the convenience and immediacy they have become accustomed to in other areas of their lives.
They expect intuitive, user-friendly websites that provide detailed product information, real-time inventory updates, and personalized recommendations. They want e-commerce platforms to feature easy navigation, secure payment options, and self service areas.
Meeting these elevated customer expectations not only strengthens customer relationships but also positions manufacturers for success in an increasingly digital and competitive marketplace.
"In the world of manufacturing, the game is changing. It's more than who can produce the most units at the lowest cost. Today, it's about who can connect, customize, and communicate most effectively with customers."
Join me and our panel of experts to discuss: “How crucial to manufacturing customers are personalized experiences, online ordering with automated e-commerce capabilities, and self-service areas, and why?”
What the customer wants….
Convenience and comfort
In today's fast-paced world, customers expect convenience in every aspect of their lives, including purchasing industrial goods. Online ordering allows customers to place orders at any time, from anywhere, without the need to wait for business hours or make phone calls. Features like saved payment information, order history, and one-click reordering make things quick and easy, allowing customers to focus on their own business activities without unnecessary delays or hassles.
“Embracing the revolution of automated ecommerce platforms and self-service capabilities isn't just a logistical upgrade—it's a fundamental rethinking of interacting with your market. These tools aren't just about efficiency; they are about transforming the buying process into a seamless, almost invisible journey that feels as natural to the customer as picking a product off the shelf.”
Ivan Adriel, Growth & Strategy Director @ Granite
A tailored experience
Personalized experiences cater to the unique needs and preferences of individual customers. By leveraging customer data and analytics, manufacturers can offer tailored product recommendations, pricing, and promotions, enhancing the overall shopping experience and increasing customer engagement and loyalty.
“Personalization is a great tool to help clients find the products they need faster by reordering product listings based on previous site visit data as well as sending personalized content emails with tailor-made product offerings. Marketing automation will then help with important information on maintenance or other purchase-specific additional information.”
Roel Kuik, Kentico Practice Lead at Aviva Solutions
Autonomy and empowerment
“By demonstrating an understanding of individual customer needs and preferences, an ecommerce site can enhance buyer loyalty. Combine that with self-service options such as user profile centers for checking order status, returns, and rebates, and you will empower your users. Together, these elements can provide an excellent customer experience and turn your customers into brand advocates.”
Brian McKeiver, Co-Owner @ BizStream
Self-service areas give customers greater control over their buying journey. They can access information, check inventory levels, and place and track orders at their convenience, enabling them to plan and manage their operations more effectively. This enhances the supplier-customer relationship and brings a sense of autonomy and satisfaction among customers.
“Even B2B buyers now expect to perform typical scenarios themselves in a customer portal. And given the diversity of B2B customers (by geography, size, frequency of purchase), performance marketing for this group should receive special attention."
Adam Böhm, Division director @ ACTUM Digital
What’s in it for the manufacturer?
Competitive advantage
“When COVID came along, many companies took it as a trigger for moving online. Back then, it was enough to "have an eshop". This approach is no longer sufficient. The competition in the online world has grown, and to get the expected results, companies need to be aware of their customer journeys, have a targeted marketing approach for each customer segment, and use marketing tools appropriately.”
Adam Böhm, Division director @ ACTUM Digital
In today's competitive marketplace, the purchasing experience plays a pivotal role in shaping a customer’s perceptions of a brand. Manufacturers that prioritize providing a seamless online experience can distinguish themselves from their competitors. A streamlined online ordering process, intuitive navigation, tailored product recommendations, and self service areas contribute to a positive experience that fosters trust and satisfaction.
Customer insights
“The manufacturing industry is constantly changing, and ecommerce platforms are playing an increasingly important role in providing valuable customer insights. These platforms do much more than facilitate transactions; they serve as a rich source of data on customer behavior, preferences, and purchasing patterns. This wealth of information is a goldmine for manufacturers, enabling them to make well-informed decisions that significantly impact their approach to product development, marketing strategies, and inventory management.”
Roman Hutnyk, CEO & Co-Founder @ Bits Orchestra
Customer insights provide manufacturers with invaluable information about their customers’ behavior, preferences, and purchasing patterns. From this they can gain a deeper understanding of their needs which helps them tailor their offerings, strategies, and initiatives to better meet customer expectations.
Customer insights also inform decision-making related to product development, inventory management, and resource allocation. Leveraging customer insights empowers manufacturers to enhance customer satisfaction, drive loyalty, and achieve sustainable business growth.
The missing piece of the puzzle for manufacturers
“Modern B2B manufacturing companies invest countless hours and millions of dollars into building detailed profiles of their customers, collecting data across every step of the buying journey. However, using that data to increase online conversion rates is often the missing puzzle piece due to inadequate or poorly implemented digital experiences.”
Justin Sanders, VP of Strategy @ BlueModus
Digital experience platforms (DXPs) can significantly help manufacturers meet and exceed customer expectations by providing a unified and integrated approach to managing all digital tools and interactions.
Xperience by Kentico, for example, offers all the built-in tools and API extensibility they require to build the perfect digital experience ecosystem for their organization. With all content stored in one place, they’re able to create seamless, personalized, and engaging customer experiences across multiple channels. And, by integrating their favorite ecommerce capabilities, customers get the convenience and comfort they have come to expect.
When a manufacturer’s customer relationship management (CRM) system is hooked up to their product information management (PIM) tool, which in turn is hooked up to their inventory system, their content management tool (CMS), and all their customer insights, that’s when exceptional customer experiences become possible.
"Today's customers, especially in the world of large B2B purchasing, expect the ability to operate autonomously within a vendor's ecosystem while being served the content that matters most to their business. Nearly as important as the buyer's journey, high-performing marketing and ecommerce teams can't realize their potential without the right tools to maintain and market complex product offerings."
Justin Sanders, VP of Strategy @ BlueModus
A manufacturing story of self-portal success
For its many customers, the E.ON CZ website is the main touchpoint with the company and plays a vital role in its overall digital ecosystem. There was a pressing need for a fast digital service to facilitate access to the company’s self-service portal. They were also struggling with a complicated website structure and required better control over content management.
Kentico success story
Customer-centric digital experience for E.ON
Kentico brought simplified content management to E.ON through its Page Builder, which empowered the in-house team to manage and personalize content efficiently.
The platform’s A/B testing capabilities were utilized to optimize page elements, such as CTA buttons and headlines, and users were categorized into contact groups, allowing for tailored content delivery based on whether they were clients or visitors.
Built-in personalization tools adjusted headlines, links, and buttons automatically to boost conversions, while tailor-made autoresponder emails were set up to enhance customer interaction.
As a result of these enhancements, E.ON CZ experienced a substantial improvement in their digital metrics.
Their Net Promoter Score (NPS) increased by 22 points in the first six months, indicating higher customer satisfaction.
The website’s performance on Google nearly doubled, reflecting better user engagement and site efficiency.
In total, 121,000 leads were acquired via the site in the first half of the year, and the company saw improvements in cross-sell and upsell results.
The switch to Kentico has enabled E.ON CZ to provide a superior, customer-centric digital experience.
Read the full story here
“For manufacturers, investing in these technologies is not about keeping up with trends but about creating a future where their business is indispensably integrated into the lives of their customers.”
Ivan Adriel, Growth & Strategy Director @ Granite
The experts have spoken
There you have it. The new generation of manufacturing customer expects manufacturers to up their game and there is very good reason to do so.
If you’d like to dive deeper in the manufacturing customer, what they really want, and how to provide it, then download our in-depth ebook, “Driving growth and customer loyalty in manufacturing”, where you’ll explore:
A peek inside the head of a manufacturing customer
A step-by-step guide to your digital transformation
The real benefits of a customer-centric approach
Key considerations for choosing the right technology
Real stories of manufacturing companies that have successfully modernized their websites: AEG Powertools, Smiths Interconnect, and Konica Minolta, Inc.
Subscribe to the Kentico Xperience newsletter
You'll receive our newsletter once a month with all the updates you need to know to keep you in the loop with the Kentico Xperience community. Just the hits—guaranteed.