CX is now a core operational capability for Indian manufacturers

Business buyers today want consumer-like experiences. If they are unhappy with the experience, technology has made it very easy for them to take their business elsewhere. A manufacturer’s customer journey is often complex, involving multiple players and middlemen in the value chain. Until recently, it was considered acceptable for manufacturers to not know their end customers or how they use their products. That is not an option anymore. This is perhaps why 67 per cent of Indian manufacturers want to invest in new CX technologies, according to the Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report. To thrive in the new customer-centric paradigm, manufacturers need to play their cards right on several fronts. Many of them are beginning to realise the business impact that CX can make, with 87 per cent saying CX improves customer retention and loyalty. 

The value of delivering a superior customer experience lies not only in the revenue it can generate but also in its ability to streamline operations and improve efficiency. Investments in technology such as automation, analytics, and Artificial Intelligence (AI), are necessary for a seamless customer journey, and they deliver immense productivity gains while saving effort and costs. It’s the customer experience that can help manufacturers do more with less. Here’s how. 

Intelligent CX tools to scale operations and boost revenue 

AI adds an intelligence layer that helps manufacturers recognise and anticipate customer needs. In the CX context, this means being able to identify knowledge gaps and customer-facing issues before they spiral into bigger problems and reduce manual and repetitive work. 

Customer-facing teams in manufacturing organisations often spend too much time sorting through thousands of product documents to find the right information on parts and machines. Legacy software and processes lead to long wait times for customers who can’t afford to wait when a machine has broken down.  

Intelligent CX tools powered by generative AI can turn around legacy systems to bring about quick, fast, and efficient avenues of customer support. For example, generative AI is instrumental in scaling support teams by analysing customer sentiment, intent and interaction history to craft perfect replies for agents to review and send. It can also turn the most frequently used product documents into help centre articles that empower customers to troubleshoot on their own, saving agents time spent drafting content from scratch. When paired with an AI agent, customers can receive personalised assistance 24/7. 

Additionally, AI-powered self-service portals are a great way for manufacturers to eliminate manual work. A simple form submission can collect all the necessary information, including uploaded photos, to automatically kick off backend workflows that trigger the claims process or ordering of replacement parts. Customers can get easy answers to common questions without the need for human intervention. 

Take Impossible Foods as an example. The manufacturer best known for its Impossible Burger used AI-powered bots to quickly scale customer support when a new partnership with Burger King introduced the Impossible Whopper, which drove a landslide of new customer communications. After the Burger King launch, Impossible Foods focused heavily on ticket deflection initiatives and introduced intelligent chatbots, where 50 per cent of the ticket volume was handled through the help centre, ticket forms, and bots. This helped streamline the manufacturer’s operational efficiency greatly. 

This efficiency is critical to manufacturers who want to scale up their CX operations without adding excessive cost and complexity. According to Zendesk’s CX Trends Report, 60 per cent of manufacturers say intelligent bots help reduce the number of customer interactions they have by deflecting simple questions. Additionally, 66 per cent agree that AI-powered bots have driven large cost savings over the past year.

CX as a competitive advantage

Having robust CX tools that provide a unified customer view allows manufacturers to deliver richer, more meaningful customer experiences because they are able to better understand their customers and their needs, identify gaps in their support and provide personalised service offerings. Services can be bundled, helping manufacturers scale their servitisation strategies based on historical customer data. 

Introducing digital remote assistance can also help companies further set themselves apart by offering faster resolution and minimising customer downtime. Customers today want instant, tailored information. They expect manufacturers to anticipate their needs before they happen, leaving CX no choice but to respond to customer expectations. However, over half (58 per cent) of the manufacturers surveyed globally are lagging behind in providing the instant experiences their customers expect. Manufacturers recognise this gap in expectations and delivery, which is why 74 per cent of them are actively investing in technologies and tools that automatically capture and analyse customer intent signals. 

Such data-driven intelligent tools can lead to enhanced personalisation, proactive service, increased efficiency, and, in turn, improved customer loyalty. Being able to analyse organisational data across systems can help manufacturers gain a comprehensive picture of the performance of their CX strategies and how it is impacting other parts of the business. The invaluable customer history and feedback obtained from comprehensive CX platforms can help manufacturers understand performance across brands, channels and geographies, allowing them to tailor for each customer segment’s needs. 

Creating top-notch customer experiences can be a challenge when budgets are tight. The good news is that there are intelligent CX solutions readily available in the market. Manufacturers have the ability to shape the future through data by optimising operations, creating innovative products, and improving the customer experience. AI-powered CX has significant potential in improving operational efficiency for the manufacturing industry and those who don’t invest risk losing a competitive edge.