The beginning of a new decade is a time for reflection. During recent years I have concentrated on providing super-fresh aftermarket solutions to fill a huge gap. Why are ERP vendors offering customers such poor aftermarket service solutions? Is it because they are still pondering about their requirements? Is it because they are not prioritizing customer service? Whatever the reasons are, it is time for change. 2020 can be the year when you began accelerating your aftermarket operations.
Customers have clear demands. Buyers are more empowered than ever before. Information and products are not only more widespread than ever but also readily available at the click of a button. Business is not as usual. For manufacturers to compete, they need to meet their customers’ needs wherever they are, which usually is online.
It is a pivotal time in the industry with rapid change and innovation disrupting the old way of doing things. To remain relevant, you must keep pace, differentiate yourself from competitors, digitalize, modernize processes, and add more power to your software capability to make customers happy and ensure profitability. That means important decisions are ahead for you.
Businesses succeed by recognizing good opportunities, pursuing them, and utilizing them better than rivals can. Not moving forward fast enough means you get stuck in reaction mode. It is that simple; if your competitors are getting better, and you are not getting better, you are getting worse.
Content, product, and material information management are important. The trick is to find a balance that work for your business. You do not need full-scale 3D to get started and go online. Any PDF can become clickable and make it easier for customers to buy spares and enter claims. Use the material you have, go online with elegance, and improve where it matters most.
Understanding the customer journey – from the customers perspective – is imperative for creating a useful and desirable experience – one that builds retention and loyalty. That means going the whole way, from the trigger of product demand to the thinking and feeling at each touchpoint throughout the process of purchase, service, and beyond.
Vendors of aftermarket software solutions must listen to customers, do lots of research and bring it back to their apps as that is how you set up customers for the solution they deserve and continuous success. Yes, I refer to an Aftermarket Portal solution that is cloud-based with strong functionality, flexible, cost-effective, and where self-service and mobility are omnipresent.
So, why not let 2020 be the year when your company began to accelerate aftermarket performance?
Actions over everything. We are good at thinking and strategizing aka saying what we are “going” to do, which is important to a degree – but there is so much opportunity to execute fast. Thinking and doing are two different things and results in two different outcomes!
I wish all chiefs of aftermarket operations a great 2020!
