Manufacturing New Relationships with Customers via Data Analysis

While much of the buzz around data analysis for manufacturers has revolved around the ability to improve production via monitoring the data streaming in from machinery sensors, manufacturers can see bottom-line benefits from analyzing customer data.

In fact, 43% of manufacturers note finding new ways to serve customers as a primary focus for their business intelligence activities, according to Aberdeen Group.

And firms using marketing analytics achieve a 38% greater increase in the number of new pipeline accounts they identify than companies without marketing analytics, Aberdeen notes.

“By applying analytical firepower to current and prospective customer data, marketing decision makers can identify the best opportunities to pour into the funnel,” according to a recent Aberdeen research note. “Marketing and customer intelligence can then be applied further to determine the optimal approach for engaging these target accounts.”

And the manufacturers that achieved superior performance in traditional manufacturing metrics were also the ones most likely to integrate customer intelligence into their operational decision making, Aberdeen notes.

The study finds that:

• Top performing companies have 91% operational equipment effectiveness versus 79% of lower performing companies
• Leaders post on-time and complete shipments 98% of the time compared to 88% of followers
• The top performing manufacturers report 18% operating margin compared to 3% at lower performing firms
• Leading companies successfully introduce new products 95% of the time compared to lower performing companies that report the same 76% of the time

Furthermore, 60% of the top performing manufacturers are able to combine data sets on maintenance and repair claims, returns, early warning, safety and warranty, Aberdeen notes.

“By combining all this data, manufacturers can recognize both real and perceived quality or safety issues and take the optimal steps to correct them,” the report notes. “Warranty issues can be quickly addressed or averted altogether to improve customer experience.”

While the report notes that some companies like automotive and consumer goods manufacturers have excelled at collecting and analyzing structured data, they have typically struggled to analyze unstructured data.

Top performing companies are 31% more likely than followers to have the ability to use known customer behaviors as context for their needs.

“Finally, leaders are five times as likely as followers to have the ability to identify customer trends through social analytics and new relevant models, revealing this ability as an emerging trend among top performing manufacturers,” according to Aberdeen. “These manufacturers are able to glean patterns from unstructured data to predict future buying patterns and plan their operations accordingly.”

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