The magical moment that delights every customer happens when sales, service, and marketing intersect perfectly for super-responsive ease. Leading North American faucet maker Moen is delivering those moments, having digitalized sales, service, e-commerce, and marketing operations for greater efficiencies that increase sales and customer loyalty. Gina Carlson, vice president of Technology at Moen, recently spoke at the SAP Sapphire Orlando event, where she outlined the company’s customer experience (CX) journey.
“Our investment in CX technology has been all about aligning with our business strategy and vision in a customer-centric way,” said Carlson. “Connecting data on a centralized platform across the sales team, contact centers, and marketing has resulted in higher sales and close rates, more responsive customer service with faster resolutions, and a competitive advantage for our brands.”
Connected Data Is Foundational to Customer Loyalty
Moen is among the cadre of respected brands that rely on SAP Customer Experience solutions to help deliver innovations for achieving high-growth plans. In fact, the company’s strategy reflects a market-wide sea change in how CX itself has transformed from a siloed tactic to strategic business must-have. While Moen’s foundational B2B connections remain strong, similar to many manufacturers, the company has moved closer to customers including retailers, contractors, plumbers and other service providers, as well as consumers. The initial impetus for the company’s CX investment was focused on sales team digital communication readiness with customers.
“While we began by thinking about the selling process alone, we quickly realized that if we can connect all this data – interactions between sales and service, customer and consumer data, and marketing campaigns – that would drive our entire business strategy forward to build customer loyalty,” said Carlson. “From an investment perspective, we far exceeded our initial revenue goals for the first three years. Our call agents can handle more calls and have added important cross-selling responsibilities. Marketing-wise, we can better target people who are calling into our contact centers, providing prospects like trade partners with personalized content. Due to our early success, we continue to invest in this strategic platform. We now have loyalty programs driving customers to purchase products that will deliver continuous value to them.”
Digital Innovations Drive Business Opportunity
Moen is a prime example of how leading-edge manufacturers are taking advantage of digitally-fueled growth opportunities. When cloud-based platforms connect information from front-to-back office processes, new business models emerge. For example, Moen has expanded offerings into areas such as smart home technology, introducing new revenue models by monetizing customer data to sell products like scented shower head subscriptions. On a daily basis, service agents have easier access to a digital knowledge base of Moen’s products, while sales people appreciate a mobile-first experience when they’re on the road.
“We took our service agents 100% digital with a knowledge management solution that details SKUs down to the part level,” said Carlson. “They can answer questions faster, even digitally sharing images with customers to help identify parts and products. If customers share a competitor’s product image, our agents can offer a discount to replace it with a Moen product. We’re also exploring the best methods of supporting installation and replacement questions, including step-by-step video instructions or referrals to local plumbers for customers who want field service.”
Data Exchange Gets Closer to Customers
With its strong customer partnerships, Carlson said that Moen has a better sense of what’s selling in specific markets. Online customers can easily find the product they’re seeking on Moen’s Web site, along with local retailers that have it in stock. Moen also has dedicated sales agents for e-tailers and retailers, with service agents in select markets to help in-aisle purchasing. Homeowners working with their general contractor can find Moen product information in showrooms, supported by local sales teams who update displays based on sales demand. Minus a direct relationship with consumers, one of the biggest benefits of digitalization has been the continuous exchange of information with retailers.
“Now that we have the tools and technology, we’re looking ahead to become more sophisticated in finding out more from retailers how customers are experiencing our products,” said Carlson. “They can provide us with feedback to helps drive some of the service aspects of what we provide or what we should be doing.”
CX Becomes Competitive Advantage
According to Nitin Badjatia, head of Solutions and Marketing for SAP Service Cloud and SAP Sales Cloud, customer service can no longer operate as an island, disconnected from the rest of the organization. In an era where products and services are introduced at the pace of innovation, modern customer service is intertwined with the entire value chain.
“Manufacturers are only getting closer to their channel partners and consumers,” said Badjatia. “To foster customer loyalty and keep up with fast-changing market demands, organizations need to create meaningful connections throughout the customer life cycle. It’s why we developed the intelligent SAP Service Cloud, to provide customer service with fast and accurate insights that will not only help resolve immediate issues, but also protect the brand promise and secure future growth.”
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This also appeared on SAP BrandVoice on Forbes.