5 Ways Enterprise Resource Planning Can Improve Your Customer Experience

A consistently exceptional customer experience all but assures sustainable business success in 2022 and beyond. Delivering on this objective should be every business leader’s primary objective and the driving force behind most business decisions.

Modern technology is essential to delivering superior CX and meeting the bar set by market leaders in every sector. An enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution with the features that matter most for customer experience not only improves the business processes that indirectly impact CX but also empowers businesses to directly boost CX.

Here, we take a look at five powerful ways that ERP features can dramatically improve CX – an objective that will top your list of priorities (if it doesn’t already) when you consider these statistics:

• 86% of professionals engaged in, or leading, CX expect to compete based on CX. (Gartner)
• 87% of senior business leaders in the US and UK see CX as their top-growth engine but only 1 in 3 feel prepared to address it. (North Highland, via Consulting.us)
• The CX Management market in the US reached $2.9B in 2021 and is expected to grow 15.3% every year from 2022 to 2030. (Grand View Research)
• 86% of consumers would leave a brand after as few as two poor experiences. (Emplifi)
• 65% of all consumers find a positive experience with a brand to be more influential than great advertising. (PwC)

Take your customer relationship management to the next level with CRM

Most ERP systems offer customer relationship management modules for tracking customer information and interactions. A CRM system allows users to keep track of key facts about their customers throughout their journeys, including initial purchase date, item(s) ordered, order location, and returns. It also tracks any correspondence customers have with the company through all monitored channels, including service calls, emails, chatbot conversations, and account manager correspondence. CRM provides comprehensive ability into customer relationships and the ability to extract and analyze information, and generate insightful and actionable reports.

Customer account managers and service representatives can access this valuable information in one place when communicating with customers to provide the highest possible levels of service, and to avoid delivering the frustrating experiences that cause customers to turn to competitors. Sales and marketing professionals use CRM tools to conduct campaigns, leveraging what they understand about positive CX to deliver stronger offers and communications.

Get insights into the customer journey

Poor visibility into customer histories is one of the most common obstacles to improving customer experiences. Traditional data organization occurs in departmental silos, which results in disorganized, widely dispersed information. This prevents customer-facing professionals from having access to the information they need to meet the bar set by competitors.

With an ERP solution, data is consolidated by integrating multiple modules. Throughout the business, authorized users can access this data through role-based dashboards and reports. Leading ERP vendors are continually adding innovative tools to their solutions that provide real-time insights and analyze datasets for accurate predictions.

Integrate a sales portal and eCommerce stores

By integrating a sales portal into an ERP solution, businesses can provide transparency for customers into transactional details, customer histories, and order statuses. In many sales portals, customers can enter sales orders directly, view historical information, access current invoices, and pay directly via electronic payment.

Turnkey eCommerce solutions enable businesses to compete with CX standard-bearers by immediately offering the best available customer-centric features and tools known to produce high customer satisfaction ratings and loyalty. An ERP-integrated eCommerce solution shares data throughout the rest of the system so that online transactions are reflected across departments, giving all authorized users up-to-date customer information.

Streamline operations

How well a business operates on the back end impacts the customer experience. ERP solutions enable companies to accomplish a wide range of objectives that contribute to a satisfying CX. Among them, are strong employee productivity through automation of manual processes, smart inventory management, fast product delivery, and better communication tools.

Balance supply with demand for supply chain control

ERP solutions consolidate supply chain operations, including all vendor and shipment data, for visibility through instantly accessible dashboards. They allow for continuous monitoring of real-time data, alerts when there is a problem or delay, and then coordinates alternatives with suppliers and vendors.

When there are disruptions, integrated ERP solutions enable automated and simplified processes and communications across departments. For example, internal marketing and stock purchasing functions can communicate with external suppliers to ensure a steady flow of goods that meets demand. ERP solutions also offer data performance compilation and reporting tools so that executives can use key performance indicators over time to monitor and continually improve the balancing of supply and demand.

Interested in how ERP can improve your customer experience?

ECI industry-specific ERP solutions support a wide range of goals both directly and indirectly related to delivering superior CX. Talk with our representatives about your current customer’s experience and learn how the right ERP solution for your business can expedite your most challenging CX objectives.