Pre-pandemic, the day-to-day use of a CRM for manufacturing companies in many sectors amounted to an expensive Rolodex: a quick way to look up contact information.
But the COVID-19 pandemic hit the manufacturing industry hard back in 2020. Businesses of every size and in every niche suffered major supply chain shortages—particularly companies depending on international trade—and social distancing requirements forced numerous sites to close their doors for months on end, if not permanently.
In the two years since the industry has recovered, some businesses are flourishing more than ever. How? Certainly, the pandemic has not lightened up, and thus neither have most of its accompanying restrictions.
Simply put, the past few years’ events have forced the industry to evolve, effectively changing the way manufacturing companies do business. Given that Industry 4.0 and the smart factory were already a significant rising force in the pre-pandemic market, we can see this evolution as entirely natural, albeit unexpectedly accelerated by a decade or more.
The obvious examples are remote sales and—when applicable—remote work. Sales reps had to find alternatives to face-to-face meetings quickly to continue consulting prospective clients, developing new business, and nurturing existing relationships.
But the key shift, as in virtually every industry, has been a greater-than-ever emphasis on customer satisfaction. Indeed, a seamless cross-channel customer experience and knowledgeable, personalized customer service are key competitive differentiators in a world where clients will readily pay more for a brand that goes the extra mile.
As such, the secret ingredient to many companies’ success has been customized CRM software. For manufacturing businesses at every scale, managing cross-channel sales efficiently and gaining deep insight into individual customer behavior empowers them to offer their clients a competitive, loyalty-building brand experience.