Advertisement Larry Korak, Industry & Solution Strategy Director, Infor

Establishing new customer engagement opportunities is a top priority for manufacturers who are looking to build brand loyalty plus meet the expectations of the highly demanding Millennial consumer. The modern consumer is certainly a new breed. Researching features and pricing options online, today’s consumer — whether buying a car or toothpaste — is more informed, more discerning and quick to leap from one brand to the next. This certainly places added pressures on manufacturers. Already operating with lean staffs and thin margins, many manufacturers are struggling to answer the consumer’s expectations for faster delivery, more product choices and more value. But, there are also manufacturers who have decided to confront the challenge with full force, striving to turn their consumer responsiveness into a competitive differentiator. Some tech savvy manufacturers are embracing the consumer-centric era in manufacturing and turning to IT solutions to help them interact with consumers in a meaningful ways. These forward-thinking manufacturers are actually building customer engagement opportunities into the product lifecycle. This has two benefits: it meets customer expectations for highly configured products, plus it allows manufacturers to foster customer relationships, leading to greater customer loyalty. In today’s highly competitive market, these two benefits provide important opportunities to move purchase decision from being purely price driven. Meeting consumer expectations Not only do today’s consumers insist on speed of delivery, quality and value — they also prefer products that are highly customized. The millennial generation (born between 1981and 1998) in particular, is accustomed to “on demand” access to information, products and services, creating a highly self-focused generation with expectations for instant gratification and personalized attention. This generation has grown up with continuous internet access, online shopping and companies like Amazon and Pandora, which anticipate their preferences and make […]