Using K-Sync as an “order now” nudge
“This is a list of your customers who haven’t ordered their usual items recently.”
Imagine how much this “order now” nudge would help your salespeople.
This is the headline of an email that the salespeople of Chicago Glue & Machine receive on the first of the month. It includes a custom list of the customers and items that the salesperson expects to be ordered on a regular basis. The alert helps the salesperson remind customers when to order. And since many customers who use adhesives don’t stock them as inventory, this friendly reminder helps prevent unnecessary emergencies or down time for customers.
How This Serves the Customer
Adam Norton, a salesperson at Chicago Glue, uses the alerts to help his customers order the appropriate amount of adhesive based on a product’s shelf life. For example, he used an alert he got this week to check in with a customer whose product’s shelf life is 3 months- this prompted a call to the customer, who realized he needed to order more of the product in advance of a job he was expecting to get in the next several weeks. This system helped the customer maintain consistent operations – and just makes life easier.
Norton says, “when you manage more than 100 accounts, small and large, it can be tough to keep track of every person’s usage all the time. The alert is a reminder that a certain customer hasn’t ordered- if I hadn’t gotten the alert, the customer could have switched vendors or run out of adhesive, and I wouldn’t have known. This helps keep track of all the accounts and treat everyone well- not just the biggest accounts.”
Philosophy
The philosophy of “order alerts” is that the salespeople know best how often their customers like to order certain products, given shelf life, order frequency, and requirements. And they are the best ones at discerning when to reach out if the product hasn’t been ordered as often as it should be. These alerts both help make your sales team stronger and keep your customers loyal.
Technical Configuration
The team at Chicago Glue decided to leverage Knowledge Sync technology to alert them of any irregularities in order frequency. The sales team provided DataQuest a list of items, the customers who ordered them, and the frequency with which the items are ordered. Then, DataQuest built a Knowledge Sync alert for each of the salespeople that lists any items that haven’t been ordered in a period that fits with the normal frequency.
These “order now” nudges help the sales team and the customer. Salespeople rely on them to serve their customers better, and customers appreciate it because it helps them manage product- it serves all parties and is easy and simple to use.