Cost Of Living Christmas: Reason For Christmas Cheer
by Rory Traynor
We’ve written before about the issues facing the manufacturing industry. In these testing times, it is crucial that businesses in this sector have a good understanding of the risks they may be facing and knowledge of where opportunities lie.
Red Flag Alert’s in-depth data provides these insights. It helps in areas including increasing sales, account management, risk avoidance, and compliance. Here are nine reasons why Red Flag Alert is perfect for manufacturing businesses.
1. Increase Sales by Building Targeted Lists
Manufacturers that rely on a small number of customers for a large percentage of revenue can be left exposed if one of these large customers goes under. Manufacturers worried about the financial health of their clients will benefit from taking a proactive approach to finding new customers.
Most manufacturers have a good idea about the type of client that is most likely to buy from them (if not, here’s how to build a customer avatar using B2B data). They can take this information – which will include metrics like industry, company size, and location – and filter Red Flag Alert’s data to create a sales list consisting of the exact type of companies that might need their services. Sales and marketing efforts become highly targeted, and it’s easier to build a sales pipeline when having conversations with businesses that need your value proposition.
2. Speed up the Sales Process
Manufacturers often have to deal with lengthy sales cycles as they look to convert new leads – especially larger ones – into clients. However, those with access to Red Flag Alert data can use information on the prospect’s business to identify issues that may be causing them to stall on signing the contract.
If a manufacturer can see a prospect’s sales are increasing, it can strengthen its pitch and allay fears by stressing its ability to deliver products at the current requirement and future production volumes.
3. Improve Accounts-Based Marketing
An effective way for manufacturers to increase revenue is to sell more to existing customers. Using Red Flag Alert, manufacturers can monitor clients and set up alerts that show when the client might need more products – such as if sales are growing or the client is expanding into new areas.
These alerts are sent straight to the inbox of the sales team or account managers, allowing them to identify and capitalise on opportunities as they occur. Getting the sales pitch in early will decrease the likelihood of clients looking to new manufacturers to make up the shortfall.
4. Provide a Smooth Onboarding Experience
Red Flag Alert makes customer onboarding more efficient. The data can automatically populate a business’s CRM with up-to-date company information.
Additionally, the financial data provided by Red Flag Alert allows manufacturers to ensure new clients are on the right credit terms from the get-go. This allows them to minimise risk.
By providing a smooth, fast, and professional onboarding experience, businesses can make an excellent first impression that will get new relationships off to the best possible start.
5. Avoid Risk by Tracking the Financial Health of Clients
It can be devastating for manufacturers if one of their customers goes out of business and is unable to pay its debts.
While Red Flag Alert can’t do anything to stop companies going bust, it does provide users with financial information that shows when a business is experiencing financial problems.
Specifically, the flag rating system used by Red Flag Alert shows how likely it is that a business will go bust in the next 12 months. If you notice a client is regularly paying late, a quick look at this rating will show you if the company is experiencing difficulty. Alternatively, businesses can set up alerts to notify them when a company they deal with has a significant change in circumstances.
By finding out early on when clients are in trouble, manufacturers can take steps to reduce their exposure to a potential collapse, such as asking for shorter payment terms, or finding new clients.
6. Have Access to Clean, Up-to-Date Business Intelligence
By integrating Red Flag Alert data into their CRMs, businesses don’t need to worry about out of date or replicated entries.
Information is updated every day over 100,000 times from ten leading data sources. These changes are reflected and linked to a manufacturer’s CRM via the Red Flag Alert API, meaning manufacturers always have access to the most up-to-date information.
Changes are made automatically, so sales staff no longer have to waste time manually updating individual entries on the CRM. Each update is also reflected throughout the entire company, which means that everyone – from the sales team to marketing, to the CEO – has access to the same data.
7. Stay Compliant with GDPR
Since the implementation of GDPR last year, organisations are required to have processes in place for managing data.
By integrating Red Flag Alert data into the company’s CRM, business owners or those in charge of compliance can show auditors that the data they use is always up to date and well organised.
Businesses can then use this as a base to put in place processes such as ensuring any data erasure requests can be completed.
Adhering to the GDPR guidelines isn’t easy. Because of this, our team of experts are on hand during set-up to talk businesses through how they can remain compliant while using the data.
8. Perform In-Depth Due Diligence
When acquiring another company, it is crucial that the buyer can complete in-depth due diligence on its target. Red Flag Alert data helps the process by providing financial information about the target company that allows managers to make informed acquisition decisions.
Additionally, the buyer can gain insight into wider industry trends that could affect the buying decision.
Sign Up for a Free Consultation
For more information about how Red Flag Alert can help manufacturers avoid risk and grow their businesses, sign up for a free trial today.
