Why Should ETO Companies Rely on CRM Software?

Engineer-to-order (ETO) companies create value for their customers by putting specialized expertise, innovative engineering, and project manufacturing operations to work. However, many ETO firms are not yet taking advantage of the best of modern business management technology. In this series of blog posts, we consider several pressing industry issues and discuss how Sikich can help ETO companies get ahead by deploying Sikich HEADSTART for ETO, a business management solution based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

Recently, we described the digital lag in the ETO industry, gave highlights of the benefits of Sikich HEADSTART for ETO, and explored how ETO companies can gain configuration capabilities. Today, we talk about the potential of customer relationship management (CRM) software for ETO firms.

CRM that fits your ETO business

In recent years, given the strong emphasis on high-quality customer experiences as a competitive advantage and the increasingly high expectations customers have for the companies they do business with, CRM systems have become ever more powerful and richly featured. They can support large volumes of customers, transactions, and account events. Companies also use them to run targeted marketing campaigns that may involve many thousands of contacts.

However, most ETO businesses operate quite differently. For one thing, they don’t manufacture commodity products for sale to thousands of customers. A typically individualized sales process precedes the planning and production. ETO firms often serve closely defined market segments with partly customized, high-ticket items. To be of value to them, a CRM system must have the right fit with their approach to managing accounts and serving customers.

The CRM that is part of Sikich HEADSTART for ETO gives you all the tools to manage and nurture customer relationships. You can track and store product details, contracts, communications, promises, approvals, and other elements of customer engagements. From new leads that turn into prospects who receive a quote or a proposal and turn into customers, and on to delivering services, you can manage the entire life of your accounts in Sikich HEADSTART for ETO. Once created and recorded, account data lives in the solution, accessible to users across business groups. Business reporting and analytics can draw on CRM data together with any other information that resides in HEADSTART for ETO.

The best possible results from your technology acquisition

Thinking about standalone CRM vs. CRM capability embedded in your ERP system is very similar to considering configuration software. Sikich consultants and solution architects can help you make an informed decision. Potentially, deploying both a CRM and an ERP system can double your deployment and management costs. Conversely, replacing barely used CRM technology with CRM as part of ERP may greatly reduce expenses.

When companies overestimate the complexity of their processes and business conditions, they over-provision and don’t receive the benefits of their software investment. We sometimes find that organizations use barely a tenth of the functionality of their expensive CRM software, and will usually recommend switching to a solution that fits them more closely and has a better ROI.

The embedded CRM in HEADSTART for ETO gives you a 360-degree view of your customers and supports the complete account lifecycle. However, for example, if multiple sales reps on your team discuss challenging, extensive technical details with customers, a full-fledged CRM product may be appropriate. If you’re thinking of CRM as a business priority for a technology modernization, followed by an ERP deployment and an integration of the two, we can help you plan the entire initiative and keep it financially and operationally sound.

Employee productivity can improve when the software tools in your workplace are simple and few. With CRM as a component of your ETO business management system, people can enjoy working in a productive, unified technology environment. Newer employees can rely on the CRM component to assist customers without going through lengthy reviews of account histories or additional training. Both new hires and current employees moving into a customer-facing role may be motivated by their ability to be effective in working with customers today rather than tomorrow.

Your customers, in turn, can benefit from a seamless relationship experience. No matter who they talk to on your team, they will meet people who understand their relationship with the business and who can assist them without requiring them to re-introduce themselves.

Taking care of customers as a competitive advantage

ETO and CTO companies typically build their reputation and success on excellent products and long-standing customer relationships. For many of them, turnover among customers may be minimal and competitive challenges relatively uncommon. However, your customers could potentially be at risk. When key people who practically own customer relationships leave the workforce, you need to maintain the best possible quality and continuity in your dealings with these customers, or their loyalty might suffer. Using your CRM tools, you can manage team transitions smoothly, recording all account-related documents, communications, customer details, and next actions.

Those measures also make it possible for your team to take those small, extra steps and maintain your company’s unique touch in serving customers—without causing additional costs or using significant time. They can take the initiative in offering a higher-quality part, a better cost, or an earlier service appointment if they see an opportunity. When the wear and tear on machinery or machine parts requires a timely replacement or service visit to avoid production slowdowns or interruptions, they can proactively work with customers and eliminate headaches for them. Or, if the changing availability of materials or other events force a change in a manufacturing project, your employees can immediately approach customers and mitigate delays or other unwanted consequences.

When you use the CRM functionality in HEADSTART for ETO consistently in your customer engagements, over time you can elevate the skills of your customer-facing employees and develop a more flexible, individualized approach to sales, service, and marketing. Those improvements, in turn, can be invaluable as you plan your business and manage customer accounts to continue creating value. You may also find that HEADSTART for ETO allows planning and resource efficiencies that make it possible to offer your customers additional, profitable services in addition to machine maintenance.

The next step

If you want to have an exploratory conversation about our solution or arrange for a demo, here are some next steps:

• Read the previous and following blog posts in this series:
  • Technology modernization comes to the ETO industry
  • An ERP solution tailored for ETO requirements
  • Choosing between embedded or standalone configuration technology for ETO companies
  • Future-proofing your ETO business management technology
• Download our full ebook, Take Engineering and Production Excellence To The Next Level, for free.
• Contact the Sikich team.
• Watch a video about some capabilities of HEADSTART for ETO on our YouTube channel.
• Learn about Sikich CRM and ERP services.
• Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.