Manufacturing

Manufacturers must find ways to build brands and create end-user demand for their products, even when they don't sell direct. Due to consolidation, their product lines are expanding, and it is increasingly difficult to differentiate those products. Many manufacturing companies struggle with the volumes of content that accompany the successful launch of any new product, and are being forced by retailers like Wal-Mart to supply their information electronically.

Examples of content-centric applications being deployed by FatWire's Financial Services and Insurance customers:

Product Information Management / Catalog Management
Manufacturers are dealing with fractured brands because their products are described and promoted differently across their own sites and those of their distributors and retailers, as well as in stores. And the information about these products changes frequently; on average, information for 50% of products changes each year. On top of these management headaches, manufacturers need this information to differentiate their own products from those of their competitors.

A product information and catalog management application based on FatWire Content Server enables manufacturers to:

  • Aggregate product information from suppliers and a variety of internal systems.
  • Allow product managers and marketers to surround the raw data with rich and compelling product information, like images, differentiators, instructions, and user guides.
  • Publish product catalogs to multiple sites and to print, and syndicate to distributors for usage on their sites, to ensure consistency.
  • Manage product information and deliver it electronically to mass-merchandisers.

Customer Examples:
Crompton Corporation

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Targeted Marketing (B2C and B2B)
Manufacturers often lack knowledge of their customers since they don't often have direct customer interaction. This can make it difficult for them to build brand loyalty and upsell or cross-sell their customers. They have to compete for the mindshare of their dealers and distributors and face channel conflict when trying to broaden their reach.

Persuasive targeted marketing applications let manufacturers:
  • Conduct targeted marketing campaigns that drive buyers to the desired point of sale (retail store, distributor, Web site, etc.).
  • Use the Web to provide value-added services to lock in distributors or retail customers.
  • Deploy customer sites that allow existing customers to have the best ownership experience, thereby increasing the repurchase rate.
  • Target specific segments or products to sell direct, and assign others to channels

Read more about the eMarketing Solution >>

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Call Center Knowledge Base
Manufacturing firms have large volumes of product information that frequently changes. Service and support centers have call resolution times that are too high because support center staff have difficulty locating the right information quickly. Customer satisfaction suffers if inaccurate information is disseminated and there are often inconsistencies in information received between Web, call center, and stores.

FatWire's eService solution:

  • Provides customer service reps with the information they need to resolve customer issues.
  • Organizes information so support staff can get to it with the minimum number of clicks.
  • Allows product experts to easily keep the information up-to-date.
  • Analyzes information usage to discover where additional content is needed to facilitate calls.

Read more about the eService Solution >>

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Product Launch
Manufacturing companies generate reams of information associated with new products. As marketing and engineering teams generate this content, the processes associated with creating and disseminating this information can become onerous. Once produced, the information needs to be communicated to several audiences and successfully convey product differentiation.

A content-centric application to manage product launch activities enables manufacturing companies to:
  • Launch product-branding sites targeted towards distributors, resellers, retailers, and consumers to establish a brand and influence purchases.
  • Ensure new product information is disseminated consistently to all third parties.
  • Provide an approval process and an audit trail of all information that is disseminated.

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Corporate and Product Brand Site
Manufacturing companies often use their company Web sites to establish relationships with customers and to build brands. Yet many corporate Web sites that were handcrafted in HTML early in the Internet boom haven't been updated or improved. Maintaining legacy sites in a patchwork way is expensive for IT and does little to leverage the Web to improve the company's image or bottom line.

A new corporate Web site based on FatWire Content Server can:

  • Project the company's unique values.
  • Ensure consistency with the offline image and brand.
  • Allow business experts to provide the level and style of information that captures the interest of prospects, customers, partners, and public

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