Calling all manufacturers! Come join us for a candid conversation with experienced manufacturing leaders on Thursday, September 10. Hosted by industry veterans Tony Kratovil from Salesforce and Eric Dukart from Perficient, this virtual roundtable event will dive into what’s top of mind in the world of manufacturing and how companies with indirect sales channels can set their dealers and distributors up for success.

Trailblazer Roundtable: Manufacturing Channel Sales

Thursday, September 10
12:00 noon – 12:45 pm CT
Register here

Key Highlights of the Event

You’ll learn:

• How to strengthen dealer and distributor relationships to drive growth
• Current and future channel trends
• How companies are supporting their dealers and distributors through uncertain times

Featured Speakers

Our panel will include:

• Tony Kratovil, Vice President, Manufacturing Solution Leader at Salesforce
• Our very own Eric Dukart, National Sales Executive- Strategy at Perficient
• Chris Osment, Vice President of Administration at Mitsubishi Electric

Remember, you can register here for this interactive event, and don’t forget to bring your questions. Hope you can join us!

If you could turn back time, before COVID-19, what would you do differently? How would you ready your health system? Or what do you wish that you’d known or put into place?

Come join us for an exclusive virtual event for healthcare providers, featuring top industry experts from Salesforce, Perficient and The Chartis Group, on Tuesday, August 11.

Beyond Recovery: The 6 Commitments of Revenue Resilience

Tuesday, August 11
2:00 – 3:00 pm ET
Register Here

Key Highlights

Listen as our experts share six commitments that hospitals need to make their organizations more resilient in the face of pandemics – now and in the future. The event will explore these issues specially for providers:

• Why establishing 1:1 patient communication matters even more than ever
• Ways to engage patients and match care needs with capacity, in person and virtually
• Keys to improving clinical operating models and closing gaps in care
• How to deploy patient triage across virtual and physical sites of care
• Why investing in platforms that can scale today is critical for future success
• Next steps on how to get started – now

Featured speakers will include:

• Dr. Sam Bhatia, Physician Executive at Salesforce
• Paul Griffiths, General Manager – Digital Health Solutions at Perficient
• Tom Kiesau, Digital Practice Director at The Chartis Group

Can’t make the event? Simply register online, and we’ll make sure that you receive the on-demand version to listen later at your convenience. Hope to see you there!

You know it’s critical to stay connected to your customers. And if you’re in B2B, it’s vital to strengthen relationships with your partners, too.

But which tools and technologies are the best fit – and the best investment?

Why Channel Software, Why Now

Forrester interviewed Perficient for its recent report The Forrester Tech Tide: Channel Software, Q2 2020. Released last month, the report focuses on channel software and its increasing importance in winning, serving, and retaining customers – as well as dealers, distributors, resellers or other partners.

According to the report, the biggest challenge for B2B marketers this year is managing coordination with channel partners. In fact, 59% are increasing spending on channel software. Why? Most are looking to:

1. Make operational processes more efficient – and less siloed.
2. Integrate core platforms.
3. Simplify and improve experiences for partners, which can deepen loyalty and become a differentiator in highly competitive industries.

Key Takeaways in the Report

With the rapidly shifting partner landscape particularly in the wake of COVID-19, Forrester notes that:

• “Ecosystem growth requires automation.” To put it simply, daily life for some B2B organizations – especially manufacturers – is still filled with spreadsheets and file folders. Embracing digital technologies and automation for partner programs will become necessary for survival.
• “Integrated and actionable data is critical.” Most partner programs generate incredible volumes of data from different systems and silos, and more often than not, some information is incomplete or inaccurate. The result: it doesn’t provide an integrated view of each partner or real-time insights into performance as a whole.
• “Channel software is consolidating.” From an industry perspective, smart and highly selective acquisitions will continue, as industry giants enhance their platforms by bringing more specialized point solutions, thought leaders and deep expertise into the fold. Ultimately, that means more simplicity (and more features and capabilities in one suite of tools) for customers.

Leading the Way: Partner Relationship Management (PRM)

Many of these findings will come as no surprise to industry leaders in manufacturing, automotive and high tech.

“Arguably the most mature category of channel software is PRM,” writes Forrester’s Jay McBain. “It was originally developed to be a partner-facing portal and single source of truth about the channel. These platforms have evolved and work in coordination with CRM and other sales and marketing software to manage partner recruitment, training, incentives, management, and reporting.”

Among the vendors listed in PRM, the Tech Tide category with both high business value and the most maturity: Salesforce.

Real-World Results

“It’s so important to see the world through the eyes of your dealers, distributors or other partners. When we show companies what their current partner experiences are actually like when it comes to their existing environments, login processes and so on, it can be pretty shocking,” says Eric Dukart, Perficient’s strategic Salesforce leader and national sales executive. “It illuminates a lot of existing challenges. But it reveals a lot of potential, too.”

Giving dealers a 360-degree view of customers. Streamlining partner marketing. Improving lead routing and management. Increasing collaboration for more accurate forecasting. There’s a long list of advantages when it comes to PRM – and there’s proof that it works.

In a commissioned study released earlier this year, Forrester Consulting found the average manufacturer experienced 114% ROI and benefits of $3.8 million over three years by working with Perficient. The study offers a deep analysis of the savings, costs and results associated with Perficient’s strategic approach to PRM, powered by Salesforce Community Cloud. That includes payback on investment within less than three months.

Some other benefits revealed in the study include:

• Improved data quality
• 40% reduction in support calls
• $1 million in savings for internal systems development
• Increased dealer acquisition and win rates
• Improved customer engagement
• Improved partner relationships
• Increased marketing budget efficiency valued at $1.7 million

(Tip: you can download the complete manufacturing study, The Total Economic Impact of Working with Perficient in the Manufacturing Industry, featuring real-world stories, interviews and statistics from manufacturers below.)

Any Questions About PRM? Let’s Talk.

Want to learn more about PRM or bring your existing solutions together? Feel free to reach out and contact us anytime. Tell us what’s on your mind, what you need right now or where you want to go next. Our experts will be happy to help.

Recovering, reopening and rebuilding will be a two-fold process: what now and what next.

The pandemic has created a new normal for manufacturers, and the impact of digital communication will more be important than ever before.

Join us at Tony Kratovil, RVP of Manufacturing at Salesforce, and Eric Dukart, National Sales Executive at Perficient, discuss why the right digital strategies are critical in the wake of COVID-19.

Tune in to hear these manufacturing experts talk candidly about:

• Current challenges with forecasting, collaboration and disruptions to distribution networks
• Insights for stabilizing operations, accelerating partner management, and developing a digital strategy that differentiates your business
• Q&A with real-world examples
• New Work.com resources to help manufacturers restart safely and rebuild
• Tools and solutions to move forward – fast

Reserve your seat for Tuesday, June 23, from 10 – 11 am CT.

REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR

In the meantime, you can also learn more about Work.com in our recent post: Work.com and What’s Next for Manufacturers in the Wake of COVID-19

(If you’re unable to make it to the webinar, you can still sign up to get the webinar recording delivered right to your inbox, too.) Hope you can join us!

From crisis to recovery, healthcare providers have been on the front lines for months, protecting the health, safety, and well-being of communities nationwide. But as restrictions are lifted and doors are reopened, there’s another big challenge on the horizon for many healthcare systems.

The big question: when will patients come back – and how quickly?

Early research indicates that 60% of patients are worried about returning to care sites.

As states gradually resume elective procedures and other modes of care, patients are looking for reassurance to ease their fears – and demand and capacity won’t return in equal measure. So how can providers manage those fluctuations in demand, recover revenue for non-urgent services, and build patient trust in the process?

Right Patient, Right Message, Right Time

This month, Perficient unveiled its “Revenue Recovery Jumpstart for Healthcare” to aid healthcare systems as they usher in a new reality in the wake of COVID-19.

Leveraging the power of Salesforce, these digital solutions can help hospitals solve three key challenges in the months ahead:

#1: Stay connected with patients. That includes improving digital experiences, measuring and refining engagement, and ensuring patients connect automatically with available practitioners.

#2: Manage fluctuations in demand. As elective procedures and other modes of care restart, hospitals can quickly match patients with capacity in real-time – filling in the “potholes” and mitigating peaks in demand.

#3: Increase revenue. The market for patients has been dramatically impacted by COVID-19. And with a decreased likelihood for individuals to seek care, competition will continue to rise. That means increasing patient acquisition, engagement and overall revenue will be more important than ever before.

This turn-key solution can be rapidly deployed by hospital systems within six weeks and includes three months of support.

How It Works: Key Benefits for Providers

Here’s a closer look at some of the biggest benefits, powered by Marketing Cloud and clinical encounter data. As a healthcare provider, you can:

• Build triggers by physician, service line, and location to optimize your system’s availability for clinical interactions.
• Automate patient engagement based on available capacity. (Systems are immediately optimized as appointments and locations go online.)
• Drive revenue whose projected ROI exceeds set financial thresholds.
• Measure and refine engagement to improve success.
• Provide outreach and increase acquisition via channels most preferred by patients, including highly targeted direct mail, promotional search and social media.

Plus, it can all be extended through call centers. Even on today’s healthcare websites, phone calls still represent up to 70% of all lead generation activity. Our experts can offer warm handoffs, provide HIPAA-compliant call recording, automate lead scoring and more to ensure you can monitor – and maximize – real-time responses to campaigns.

How to Learn More

Want to learn more about best practices for driving measurable patient volume? Or see the real-world results that we’ve delivered for other industry leaders in healthcare? Contact us using the convenient form below. We’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Remember, we’re here – and ready – whenever you need us.

Disconnected data. Supply chain disruptions. Employee wellness. Shift planning and management. Finding ways to return employees safely to the factory floor.

When it comes to reopening and rebuilding, there’s one underlying commonality for manufacturers in the wake of COVID-19. The common thread: solving for distance.

In some cases, it’s physical. How do you ensure a healthy, safe work environment in production plants, while adhering to social distancing guidelines? How do auto dealerships sell vehicles without giving customers the hands-on opportunity to take a test drive? How do you enable more oversight remotely?

In others, it’s a matter of bridging gaps – all the way from data integration to closing the distance (digitally) between customers, dealers and brands.

Why It’s a Big Challenge for Manufacturers

For manufacturers, it’s often a bigger struggle than most. Compared to many industries, manufacturers have historically lagged behind when it comes to digital transformation – often relying on spreadsheets and dealing with silos created by legacy systems. But COVID-19 has abruptly changed the playing field.

According to Forbes, manufacturing will experience five years of innovation in the next 18 months. Many will be pivoting to aggregate data with cloud platforms, along with embracing automation to optimize efficiency, reduce costs and address pain points – fast. In fact, most manufacturers are looking for solutions that can be implemented within days or weeks, rather than months.

But recovering, reopening and rebuilding will be a two-fold process: what now and what next.

The Journey Ahead: Back to Work

The first step on the road ahead: getting back to work safely.

Last week Salesforce announced Work.com – a new set of technology solutions and resources to help businesses restart safely, re-skill employees and respond efficiently on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal: help businesses of any size reopen as quickly as possible, while helping keep employees, customers and partners safe and informed. The solutions will roll out in late May and June.

What are the most notable features coming for manufacturers?

#1: Workplace Command Center
In a nutshell, the workplace command center is a single source of truth that brings together at-a-glance dashboards with real-time reports and collaboration. In one place, executives and managers can see employee wellness (by location), manage shift scheduling, track training completion, and more. Best of all, it’s customizable for your needs, so you can make data-driven decisions quickly.

#2: Shift Management & Planning
As facilities reopen, it’s key to ensure they stay open. That means coordinating facilities and employee shift scheduling will be critical – and it will require adaptations. With work.com’s shift management and planning solutions, organizations can model their workplace site capacities, ask employees when they are available and stagger arrival times to ensure proper distancing. With that visibility, shift managers can use quick tools to specify which employees, functions and projects are staffed first. Employees can confirm availability, receive automated schedule notifications via mobile, and be notified with specific arrival windows to ensure they feel safe and secure.

#3: Contact Tracing
Above all, keeping employees healthy is everybody’s top priority. That includes tracking health-related interactions to safely and securely minimize the spread of COVID-19. Designed for speed, privacy and safety, the contact tracing solution helps in three ways. Manufacturers can:

• Accelerate the process to identify people at risk using out-of-the-box assessments.
• Identify risks to communities and “hot spots” by tracing relationships across people, places and events.
• Immediately reach out to people who’ve potentially been exposed and setting them up for ongoing monitoring and check-ins.

You can watch a demo and learn more about the features here. At its core, work.com is designed to support recovering and reopening – putting the plans, logistics and communications in place to resume operations while protecting employees. But it is also creates the foundation for looking forward.

The “Next” Normal of the Future

As manufacturers stabilize and reopen, the next path ahead will be growth – how to accelerate change in the next normal, accelerate digital transformation, and become faster and more relevant to your customers than before the crisis.

We can create a roadmap to help you with every step.

Recovering. Reopening. Rebuilding. Wherever you are in the journey, we’re here to help. Need a hand with getting solutions in place quickly? Contact our team, talk one on one, and tell us what’s in your way. Let’s get to work.

In response to COVID-19, manufacturers are battling increased and unpredictable demands to support workers on the front lines. Together with Salesforce, we’re here to help – ensuring you have the agility, information, and tools you need to rapidly pivot operations and reallocate resources.

Salesforce Care for Manufacturing: What It’s All About

This week Perficient rolled out a free jumpstart as part of Salesforce Care for Manufacturing – a solution to assist manufacturers who are adjusting operations or using the existing capacity to produce critical COVID-19 supplies. That includes personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators, virus testing equipment, and other response items.

Free for 90 days*, this solution is designed to help manufacturers:

• Develop accurate forecasts and manage demand for relief supplies
• Collaborate with partners to improve order schedule and demand visibility
• Track and manage customer demand, fulfillment prioritization, and orders

*See what’s included and eligibility details here

1-Week Jumpstart: Free from Perficient

With over 20 years of deep expertise in manufacturing, our Salesforce experts are here to help, providing 40 hours of free consultation and configuration for Manufacturing Cloud. (By the way, we’ll be happy to set up a call if you aren’t sure where to start or whether this is right for you.)

You can get up and running in as little as one week with:

• Sales Forecasts: Utilize Manufacturing Cloud to collaborate with your sales teams and improve forecasting.
• Partner Collaboration: Collaborate with partners and improve order scheduling to better support the production and distribution of relief products.
• Einstein Analytics: Leverage the power of Einstein for real-time business insights and analytics – and keep pace with changing customer demand.

More Benefits to Help Manufacturers Manage Relief Response 

Some additional benefits include:

• Streamlined partner lead assignment
• Partner forecasting
• Automated partner and customer follow-up
• Channel sales manager dashboards
• Easily configured workflow rules

Any questions? Please contact our team and tell us how we can help. You can also access the Salesforce Care COVID-19 Response Hub anytime, which includes live sessions, webinars, technical support for new customers, and more.

Here to Help

“During this time of crisis, the manufacturing industry is pivoting rapidly,” said Eric Dukart, Perficient’s Salesforce Practice Director. “As always, we’re proud to be a Salesforce partner, empowering manufacturers around the world. But right now we’re also glad to lend an extra helping hand, equipping manufacturers with the tools they need to get critical supplies to those who need them most.”

Contact us with questions anytime. And remember – while much is changing during these times, some things are here to stay. We’re here – remote and ready – whenever you need us.

With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare systems are struggling with limited ways to direct patients to trusted (and often rapidly evolving) information.

Stressed systems. Up to 20x the normal call volume. Gathering and analyzing massive amounts of data quickly. The list of challenges goes on, but so do the resources and partners who are ready and willing to help. Together with Salesforce, we’re here to support you with a response package at no cost – designed especially for emergency response teams, call centers and care management teams for health systems.

Salesforce Care: What It Is

This week Perficient rolled out its 3-day quick start solution as part of Salesforce Care for Healthcare – a solution to aid healthcare systems responding to the COVID-19 crisis, available at no cost for six months. (After six months, you can discontinue the service or continue at the contracted price.)

We’re here to help you keep patients informed with trusted sources, as well as engage with care teams more efficiently. That includes:

• Streamlining call volume
• Prioritizing engagement activity
• Meeting patients on their preferred channels

How It Works: 3-Day Quick Start 

To help you respond quickly, Perficient’s experts can set up the following tools within three days at no cost:

• Health Cloud Security Model (including profiles, role hierarchy and permission sets)
• Health Cloud User Accounts (< 50 users)
• Health Cloud Console/Patient Card*
• 1-2 assessments using Salesforce Flows*
• Hands-on how-to demo, showing the healthcare team where to load data (partnering with DHS to author content)*
• Access control and event monitoring in Salesforce Shield*

See what’s included here >
*Limited complexity

Real-World Results in Record Time

So how does it all work in action? With help from the Salesforce Care for Healthcare solution, Women’s College Hospital was able to launch a digitally enabled COVID-19 assessment center in record time. The team built an interactive self-assessment tool and virtual assessment registration, fully integrated with the hospital’s information system (EPIC), in four days. See the Women’s College Hospital story >

If you have specific Health Cloud questions, you can also access Salesforce’s COVID-19 online resources anytime – including expert Q&A, webinars and more.

“Perficient is proud to be a trusted partner with Salesforce, as we all work together to support our global community during this crisis,” says Lily Doris, Perficient’s Salesforce Alliances Director.  She adds, “Salesforce consistently demonstrates their commitment to customer success, trust, innovation and equality through their 1-1-1 model of giving back. Those core values are clear with this rapid response package, free of charge to help organizations overwhelmed with customer needs and patient demands for support.”

Always Here to Help

Remember, you can learn more about Perficient’s 3-day quick start solution online, available at no cost for healthcare systems, or contact our team directly anytime.

There’s no doubt: technology solutions and user needs are often complex, particularly in healthcare. But at the end of the day, what connects us all is simple. We’re here – and ready – whenever you need us.

Yesterday I noticed this little gem in my LinkedIn feed, courtesy of author Mark Metry:

There is, of course, a bit of wry humor behind it. But there’s also a great deal of truth – and a serious reality – particularly for manufacturers.

According to a March 2020 survey by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), 78% of manufacturers anticipate a financial impact from the COVID-19 outbreak. A majority (53.1%) also expect an impact to operations. Since that survey was taken a few weeks ago, those numbers have likely already risen across the board.

Protecting health, well-being and safety is the highest priority nationwide for consumers and workforces on the front lines. That means full or partial plant closures have been necessary for many manufacturers to help curb the spread of the virus, as well as to reduce economic losses.

But as companies pivot from reacting to reducing the impact of the outbreak, the right digital strategies will become more critical than ever to emerge from the crisis stronger – and smarter – than before. 

Why Now

Simply put: digital transformation may no longer be a choice.

“Manufacturers and distributors lag behind the consumer world by at least 10 to 12 years in being customer focused,” noted one vice president in construction equipment manufacturing, quoted by Forrester Consulting in a recent commissioned study titled The Total Economic Impact of Working with Perficient in the Manufacturing Industry (March 2020). 

For some, daily life is still filled with spreadsheets and file folders. Most agree that embracing digital technologies is necessary for survival. So is adopting a customer-centric mindset. But many don’t know how to get there – or in some cases, where to start – especially now. 

Why Change: 3 Takeaways

COVID-19 has brought into focus the need for many organizations to accelerate digital transformation as they shift to remote working, revealing gaps in existing IT infrastructure, digital tools and automation.

For manufacturers, there’s also an increased need to:

1. Take the pulse of your customers. Customer expectations are always key, but now is the time to think through long-term considerations around shifts in core markets and business models as a result of the outbreak.
   
   Do you have the right information at your fingertips when it comes to your products, customers and marketing efforts? Real-time, integrated data will be critical for making smart adjustments – quickly. As customer journeys become more digital than ever before, only the most nimble manufacturers will rise above their competition. 
    
   Making the most of your marketing automation is essential for increasing efficiency, too. What are your customers’ current needs? What type of content would be the most useful for them? Consider how lifestyles and day-to-day routines have changed for your existing customers as you plan and automate campaigns. 
2. Embrace digital dealer models. How will COVID-19 change the way your products are sold by dealers, distributors or other resellers? For some, integrating e-commerce and channel fulfillment strategies will become even more important.
   
   Particularly if you manufacture equipment or other durable goods, focusing on online sales and fulfilling those orders through dealers – complete with pick-up or local delivery – offers more control, convenience and peace of mind for customers who don’t have to come within six (or a hundred) feet of a dealer. (By the way, our experts created a fantastic e-dealer fulfillment solution like this for Cub Cadet. Just ask if you’d like to see how it works.)
   
   But what if e-commerce doesn’t make sense for your company? Creating a 360-customer is still key, especially when it comes to setting your dealers up for success. That typically starts with data integration, streamlined lead management and fully integrated digital marketing for a seamless customer experience. 
3. Strengthen partner enablement. If you sell products through an indirect channel, there’s no doubt: you and your dealers are in this together.
   
   Managing and strengthening those relationships will be more important than ever. For some, that may mean providing higher-quality leads and leveraging partner communities as one-stop shops for collaboration, centralized product information, up-to-date pricing and easy-to-access-anywhere sales tools. It may also involve more personalization, considering geographic limitations and local availability due to supply chain interruptions. 
    

What’s Next

You’re in uncharted waters, and it’s difficult to make changes overnight. But the good news: you’re not alone. We’re here to help.

Forrester Consulting reports that manufacturers can experience 114% ROI and benefits of $3.8 million over three years by working with Perficient. For the commissioned study, Forrester Consulting interviewed executives who are responsible for driving digital transformation, as well as improving dealer and customer experiences. Some of the additional benefits in the study included: 

• Increased customer engagement
• Improved partner relationships
• Improved data quality to create a 360-degree customer view
• Increased marketing budget efficiency, valued at $1.7 million
• 40% reduction in support calls, valued at $408,242 in savings
• $1 million in savings for internal systems development
• Faster implementation of PRM capabilities

You can download the full study below, featuring a deep analysis of savings, costs, results and real-world interviews with manufacturers. Or just want to talk? Contact us, and connect with an expert one-on-one about how COVID-19 has uniquely impacted your organization, what you’re struggling with, and the best places to start. 

Much has changed in recent weeks. But our commitment to you hasn’t. We’re here, remote and ready, when you need us.

Manufacturing is a complex industry, and with growing competition, connecting with your customers is more important than ever before. 

But it’s no small challenge to create a completely seamless experience – especially if you rely on dealers, distributors or other partners to be the biggest ambassadors of your brand. 

Finding the Right Strategic Partner

Forrester Consulting reports that manufacturers can experience 114% ROI and benefits of $3.8 million over three years by working with Perficient (The Total Economic Impact of Working with Perficient in the Manufacturing Industry, March 2020). For the commissioned study, Forrester Consulting interviewed executives who are responsible for driving digital transformation, as well as improving dealer and customer experiences. 

8 Big Bottom-Line Benefits 

The manufacturers who were interviewed: 

#1: Increased marketing budget efficiency valued at $1.7 million. 
It’s no surprise: better data leads to better customer understanding. And with better insight, you can avoid running inefficient campaigns, refine whom you target, and make more informed decisions – faster – about which programs and offers are likely to resonate with your dealers. 

Perficient worked with the manufacturers in the study to rearchitect schemas and improve the data quality in their marketing and CRM systems. As one VP of product management noted in the study: “An executive had spoken to a few dealers and heard anecdotally that one demographic was increasing. In two seconds, I pulled up my business intelligence dashboard, looked at sales, and was able to show how this group had actually been declining for the past five years.” 

#2: Avoided $1 million of internal development costs. 
Manufacturers in the study struggled to find – either internally or through job postings – the right people to analyze, architect, and roll out their partner relationship management (PRM) solutions. 

“Hiring people wasn’t an option. We would have never considered it. We just don’t attract the type of talent that somebody like Perficient gets,” noted one executive. With expert resources right at their fingertips, these manufacturers avoided the ramp-up time and costs associated with hiring and training staff. Plus, Perficient’s industry expertise helped them avoid common digital transformation pitfalls along the way.   

#3: Reduced support calls by 40% (valued at $408,242 in savings). 
By implementing new communities, these manufacturers reduced costs and improved the experience for digitally-savvy buyers who want to interact online – on their own schedules.

Another executive in the study put it simply: “Extending our data to self-service [communities] helps us provide a better customer experience.

#4: Improved lead management, gaining $587,519 in revenue. 
Better qualified leads. Better win rates. Before working with Perficient, one VP in construction equipment explained: “We’d generate thousands of leads, including inquiries from 12-year-old kids and bored prisoners, and just send them all to our dealers. Because of that, our dealers would consider our leads junk and ignore them – even the quality leads.”

Another digital marketing manager shared: “Through an API, we’re now delivering higher quality [leads] straight to our dealers’ CRMs, and they’re accepting 90% of them.” 

#5: Improved data quality for a 360-degree customer view. 
By tracking and consolidating transactions across channels, you can better personalize customer interactions, increase cross-sell opportunities, and strengthen loyalty. 

The manufacturers interviewed in the study did just that – partnering with Perficient to clean and enrich their CRM databases, create account governance standards, and increase overall customer understanding. 

#6: Increased customer engagement. 
High website bounce rates often indicate that a company’s content and/or user experience are missing the mark. 

Additional efforts included helping these manufacturers overhaul their existing website design and establish more flexibility for content creators. The results: faster page optimization and lower abandonment rates. 

#7: Improved partner relationships. 
In the study, improved lead qualification and automated routing resulted in increased sales, as well as reduced the time and effort spent on bad leads. By providing dealers with these higher quality leads and by improving their warranty claim programs, all of the interviewed organizations felt their relationships with partners improved immeasurably as a result. 

#8: Gained a trusted strategic partner.
And last but not least, making the right architectural decisions now has a far-reaching impact in the future. 

These manufacturers wanted a partner who would not only implement PRM solutions, but set up their organizations for long-term success. As one VP noted: “There’s this level of trust where there isn’t a line between Perficient and my organization. We’re all one team. We didn’t have any developers or architects at my organization that could do what we needed, so I used everyone at Perficient. They became another department for me.”

Now … What Could Those Benefits Do for You? 

Check out the full study below featuring statistical results, real-world interviews and more. Or if you’d like to talk directly with one of our manufacturing experts, let us know. 

Tell us what’s on your mind, what you need, and where you want to go. We’ll help you get there.

More customer expectations. More data. More connected devices.  
 
It’s all increasing rapidly, driving the need for digital transformation. But while most manufacturers acknowledge the importance of this transformation, over the past few years only 5% of executives have been happy with their current digital strategies (Forbes).  

Why Manufacturing Is Different 

The standard definition of digital transformation is simple: the process of using digital technologies to create new – or modify – business processes and customer experiences to meet changing demands. But how do you define digital transformation at your own organization? And why makes manufacturing so unique? 

6 Challenges Featured in Forrester Study 

“Manufacturers and distributors lag behind the consumer world by at least 10 to 12 years in being customer focused,” stated one vice president of product management quoted in The Total Economic Impact of Working with Perficient in the Manufacturing Industry, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Perficient.  
 
Forrester Consulting found the average manufacturer experienced 114% ROI and benefits of $3.8 million over three years by working with Perficient. For the study, the firm interviewed executives in the manufacturing industry who are responsible for driving digital transformation and improving dealer and customer experiences.  
 
The most common challenges: 
 
#1: Transforming a digital vision into a roadmap.  
Finding or hiring people who know both the manufacturing industry and what’s needed to modernize processes is a growing challenge. According to one executive: “There weren’t a lot of people in my organization who could understand the vision of what we were trying to achieve – integrating data and connecting systems to truly develop a 360-degree view of everything.”  
 
When it comes to turning a digital strategy into reality, working with a partner who’s been down the path before can help many manufacturers save time and money. But agility – and seeing the big picture – is also important. “We had our roadmap, but technology and priorities change as you start executing,” said one CRM director.  
 
In other words: finding a partner who’ll adapt to your needs is critical, too.  
 
#2: Overcoming organizational and technical barriers.  
Most manufacturers agree with the value of digital transformation and improving CX – they just struggle to put it into practice at their own organizations.  
 
As one executive shared: “We had four different homegrown CRMs that were working independently of one another. None were linked.” Another explained that some team members didn’t appreciate the value of a CRM system: “It was a free-for-all. People would create contact records and give them code names. Data was only providing value for the person who entered it. There was no accountability.”  
 
There’s no doubt: with different systems and standards, connecting the dots can be a complex undertaking. But the results can dramatically improve onboarding, planning, dealer enablement, communication, marketing effectiveness and more.  
 
#3: Using data to drive success.  
For many manufacturers, manual processes and inadequate governance policies result in data that’s incomplete, duplicated or otherwise unhelpful.  
 
Data can be your most valuable tool. And the cleaner it is, the better the outcomes will be for your organization. Case in point: by tracking and consolidating transactions across channels, manufacturers can better personalize customer interactions, which can increase cross-selling opportunities as well as overall lifetime value.  
 
As another executive noted in the study: “When someone calls in, we should know more about our relationship with that customer than they do. Having that will help us provide a better experience, but also, we can take that knowledge and improve our products as well.”  
 
#4: Dooming new projects to fail without the right expertise.  
Without the expertise to deliver the proper analysis, architecture, and implementation, modern systems and projects can quickly fall short of expectations.  
 
“Our marketing team was very passionate about using marketing automation, but we couldn’t accurately model the value out of the tool,” said one CRM director. “We could spend an awful lot of money on it, implement it, and then it wouldn’t really give the marketers what they expected. It would probably cause more harm than good.”  
 
Remember, setting your organization up for success isn’t simply about determining what tools you need – it’s about why and how they should work together.   
 
#5: Coordinating with dealers to pursue leads.  
Dealers, distributors, and partners are no different from your sales team when it comes to leads. They expect them to be well-qualified and quickly ignore them if the lead quality falls short.  
 
“[Before working with Perficient], we’d send 100% of leads to our dealers, but dealers, who had grown to not trust them, weren’t calling or qualifying the leads,” noted a digital marketing manager at a heavy equipment manufacturing company. “Using this new process and technology, we went from a 2% win rate to about 16%.”  
 
Bottom line: delivering high-quality leads typically results in higher sales – and more efficient processes, too.  
 
#6: Improving dealer relationships to drive business outcomes.  
Most manufacturing executives rely heavily on dealers for data access and sales, creating a unique set of challenges. “We tend to leverage partners more than internal resources. Because of that, it creates a natural gap in the data we need,” stated one director. “We can’t force our partners to provide us with probability and opportunity data.”  
 
Without tools to better manage a dealer ecosystem and the revenue from it, many manufacturers struggle to keep both dealers and customers satisfied. But by implementing foundational solutions like streamlined lead management and self-service communities, manufacturers can better address those needs – which, in turn, will strengthen relationships and increase sales. 

Learn More: Inside the Study 

To learn more, download the complete study below, featuring a deep analysis of the savings, costs, and results of Perficient’s partner relationship management (PRM) solution. Or have any questions? Contact us anytime. Our experts will be happy to help!

In the manufacturing industry, partner ecosystems create unique efficiencies for reaching and serving customers. But they can also create unique complexities – especially when it comes to customer data and digital experiences.  

According to Forrester, 71% of buyers choose a dealer, distributor or other partners after a digital-only journey. That means it’s more important than ever to engage customers early – or risk losing out to more nimble competitors. Of course, for most manufacturers, it isn’t simple. Digitally transforming often means making dramatic changes in several dimensions, including data, technical expertise, marketing interactions and more.

For many, it also means finding resources outside the day-to-day operations. In other words? It means finding the right partner.

Why Perficient, Why Now

In a commissioned study released today, Forrester Consulting found the average manufacturer experienced 114% ROI and benefits of $3.8 million over three years by working with Perficient. 

For the March 2020 study, Forrester interviewed several executives who are responsible for driving digital transformation and improving dealer and customer experiences. Common challenges ranged from disconnected data to struggling to find the right expertise to turn their digital vision into reality. 

“There weren’t a lot of people in my organization who could understand the vision of what we were trying to achieve – integrating data and connecting systems to truly develop a 360-degree view of everything,” said one VP of product management quoted in the study. Another executive shared: “We had four different, homegrown CRMs that were working independently of one another. None were linked.”

Additional challenges included improving dealer relationships, difficulties with coordinating leads and implementing new projects without the right expertise.   

Real Benefits for Manufacturers

Forrester Consulting was commissioned to conduct a Total Economic Impact (TEI) study to examine the potential return on investment that manufacturers may realize by working with Perficient. The study offers a deep analysis of the savings, costs, and results associated with Perficient’s partner relationship management (PRM) solution.  

Some benefits revealed in the study from Forrester include:  

• Improved data quality to achieve a 360-degree customer view 
• Increased marketing budget efficiency valued at $1.7 million 
• 40% reduction in support calls 
• $1 million in savings for internal systems  
• Increased dealer acquisition and win rates 
• Faster implementation of PRM capabilities 
• Improved customer engagement and partner relationships  

Read the full study, The Total Economic Impact Of Working With Perficient in The Manufacturing Industry (March 2020), below to see real-world interviews, statistical results and more.