Buying electronics either from a product catalog or online can be complicated. When customers can't tell what they're buying and whether it will be compatible with their systems and equipment, that creates barriers to sales for your business.
Many products have multiple components and accessories with many combinations of product codes and parts numbers. In addition, some combinations of options may not be compatible, which is difficult for manufacturers to convey – and for customers to understand – from a catalog page or static web page.
Product companies must ask themselves, are they missing sales because of their own inventory systems?
At Tecnova, we regularly see manufacturers face complex sales barriers when working with them to execute high quality digital electronics design.
An electrical component manufacturer of relay and switching components was finding that a majority of their sales calls were related to questions about product configurations and compatible accessories. The browsing and selection process was complex and convoluted, making it difficult for sales personnel to explain and sell products, and for customers to select the correct items to purchase.
For example, a push button could connect up to 9 contact blocks, however, if the push button were illuminated, only 6 contact blocks could be used – or 4, in the case of a mushroom head–style button.
A comprehensive product catalog with numerous subtle product variations can generate a substantial volume of sales support calls.
A picture can be worth a thousand sales
Through digital electronics design, Tecnova has been able to create an online application with graphical interfaces that guide both sales representatives and customers through the selection process. The proprietary PC software uses colorful graphics and images to walk users through the selection of a base part number, and then shows all compatible accessories until a valid configuration is created. Fields and images populate and narrow as the user enters his or her information.
Reps and customers can easily see configurations and select products, reducing the need to verify product information and seek answers via calls and emails.
The app can also incorporate secure access capability, giving customers the ability to log on and store their systems information. Manufacturers then can call up the customers’ stored data to offer and upsell products specific to customers’ systems and needs.
With the popularity of tablets and smart phones, this kind of technology is not limited to standard computer browsers. Tecnova has also developed portable mobile apps for both iPad iOS and Android operating systems with the same functionality. The apps are based on Adobe Flash Professional and developed for the specific capabilities of each target tablet OS, file structure, and touch-screen input. Tecnova’s mobile apps are distributed through standard cloud sources: the Android Market and Apple App Store.
Both the online and mobile apps have significantly reduced the number of sales support calls our customers receive due to improperly configured relays and switches.
If you'd like help designing digital solutions to reduce your company's sales barriers, contact Tecnova for a free project consultation.
