Customer-facing?
As an engineer, very often I grab items from McMaster-Carr because it’s easy to quickly drill-down to what I’m looking for, get a 3D model and drawing, and ultimately procure that item quickly. Do you want your company to be that go-to place for your product or service? If the answer is yes, there are some really important and difficult questions that you must ask yourself.
Does making your product configurator customer-facing add value to the user experience? In our single-click “Buy now, deliver it to me yesterday” culture, this feels like an easy answer. If you dig deeper, it may not feel as straightforward as first considered. Many factors are at play here.
By focusing on customer-facing, are we missing opportunities for improvement internally? Keep your eye on the ball - constantly look at what will add the most value to the organization as a whole.
How complex is our product? There may be highly technical options that are best conveyed in a personalized, one-on-one manner.
Are there key pieces of information about the application that could drastically impact the performance of our product? The customer incorrectly ordering a piece of equipment creates a bad customer experience, and then results in costly replacement or field service costs, which ultimately does you no favors in regards to your reputation.
Are there certain upgrades that may be obvious in a back and forth exchange over the phone or a zoom call, that may get lost if a user is off fending for themselves?
Are our customers ready for the shift from reaching out to someone and being walked through to being left to their own choices to purchase your product? Various sectors and industries are faster at adopting technology than others.
How much capability are you wanting to offer to your customer? Bear in mind that the features you add will require another degree of polish than what you’ve offered your internal users, your distributors, your original equipment manufacturers and your key customers. Also remember: if you do add value and make it available to the customer, your ability to walk back this functionality in the future could create serious fallout with your relationships. Make sure that this technology shift is something that you’re willing to commit to on a long-term basis.
Some of these questions may be easy for you, and some may not. If you and your stakeholders approach them openly and honestly, you may be surprised at the answers you find. Whether you decide to move forward with a customer-facing solution or choose to focus internally, contact us today to help you move your implementation forward.
