No matter the types of components that you manufacture, you will undoubtedly want to maximise your sales prospects. If you’re to achieve this then you must focus on the factors known to have a direct bearing on customer buying decisions.
Product Quality
Every possible measure should be taken to ensure that your manufactured components are of the highest quality. This might mean producing the full range of product variants in line with strict requirements and testing for the identification of any issues. A system of continuous improvement might allow for the minimization of cost and maintenance of customer satisfaction.
Perceptions of quality will be linked with the benefits that customers realise in the use of your manufactured components. As the Austrian-American management consultant and father of management thinking Peter Drucker said, “quality in a product or service is not what the supplier puts in. it is what the customer gets out and is willing to pay for. A product is not quality because it is hard to make and costs a lot of money, as manufacturers typically believe.”
Lead Times
Customers should be assured of your ability to meet expectations in the speed of manufacturing and delivery of components. There should also be confidence in your ability to deal with changes in demand, which may be the result of varying budgets and seasonal buying patterns. Speed will be a particular priority for those businesses focused on achieving the quickest time to market.
Location
The location of your manufacturing business and distribution channel decisions will have a direct bearing on your component pricing and speed of delivery. Customers may well be keen to work with reputable local manufacturers committed to common values. Alternatively, they might want to partner with an international manufacturer, able to ensure compliance with foreign rules and regulations.
Reliability & Reputation
As mentioned, customers should be assured of your ability to meet the continuing demand for high-quality components. However, they may not automatically accept the claims that you make in the promotion of your component manufacturing services. There’s every chance that they’ll investigate the kinds of feedback left by previous customers through such verified platforms as Google My Business and Trustpilot.
With the previous point in mind, you should make the ongoing commitment to outstanding customer service. Attention should be paid to the kinds of reviews left by your customers, with improvements being made to improve your sales prospects. As the influential American business investor Warren Buffet said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
Shared Culture
The quality of the manufacturer-customer relationship will depend on their being clarity on both sides. The customer will ideally feel that you share their values and will work effectively within their established systems. There should be regular and open communication, from the initial briefing to routine meetings, with any customer issues being dealt with at the earliest opportunity.
Prices
Price is likely to be a very important factor when it comes to the purchase of manufactured components. You have to take care over price list management, not charging so much that your products are too expensive or so little as to negatively impact customer perceptions. According to American business expert Katherine Paine, “The moment you make a mistake in pricing, you're eating into your reputation or your profits.”
Everything from the choice of raw materials to the investment of time should be considered in the setting of prices for your product portfolio. You might be tempted to lure customers with discounts on bulk orders. However, you should ensure that such pricing strategies are sustainable for your manufacturing business.
Effective Product Information Management
It’s important that you communicate your ability to fulfill customer requirements with the greatest efficiency and impact. This can be achieved with a Product Information Management (PIM) tool, allowing for the presentation of detailed and up-to-date information about your range of components on all your various sales and marketing channels.
The use of such an automated system will save time and prevent errors associated with the manual updating and handling of product data. Savings of time and money can then be passed on to your customers, helping you to stand out from the competition.
Learn more about the benefits of PIM for component manufacturers.