Media release Merkle and Covestro: New milestones in the digital B2B customer relationship

New milestones in the digital B2B customer relationship

Anhand von Kundeninterviews hat Namics sechs Personas und ihre individuellen Customer Journeys identifiziert.

Dax Ascender relies on excellent digital customer experiences for further growth.

Frankfurt / Zurich, 17 October 2019

Namics, the leading full-service digital agency in Switzerland, is supporting Covestro in its strategic digitization initiative. Based on the research-based approach "From Insights to Action", Namics is developing the global company website into a preference-based product and experience platform. Covestro, the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality polymer materials, sets the benchmark for an excellent customer experience. The cross-target group consistency of the Customer Experience and Customer Journey is new in the B2B environment. In addition, customers can contribute their own wishes and ideas to the further development of the website. Namics developed the Customer Experience (CX) Factory for this purpose.

Namics has taken over both the consulting and the development of the strategy and is now supporting the implementation of the two to three year project. The new product and experience platform, which combines marketing and product information with ordering services and sales support, went online in mid-2019. Customers can also view and order all Covestro products centrally in the new Solution Center. Based on the CX Factory, the system will then be continuously optimized.

Daniela Stofer, Client Service Director at Namics

"We have created a complete digital customer journey based on the From-Insights-to-Action approach in order to work consistently customer-centric. The project ensures that in future all parties involved on the customer side can actively participate in the process when it comes to deciding on a Covestro product. This not only makes Covestro itself a winner in the digital change, but also the customers".

Fabio Baerwald, Product Owner Covestro Solution Center

"We are convinced that an individually tailored customer experience is a decisive advantage in our market environment. With this project, we are breaking new ground and setting ourselves apart from the competition. Our new platform is an essential building block in our strategic digitization initiative. It enables us to tailor our offering perfectly to the needs of our customers".

Customer research as a basis

In an extensive research phase, Namics conducted numerous interviews with clients in various countries, held several workshops with Covestro employees and analyzed a large number of best practices. The aim was to identify and understand customers not only as companies, but also in their individual roles. A buyer, for example, has completely different interests when visiting the Covestro website than a designer or an innovation scout. From the results, the digital specialists developed six personas with individual customer journeys. For each customer group, the right contact points were then created for a seamless user experience - from branding to product information processes and the

Online shop with new Solution Center to digital customer support via video chat and invitations to specialist events.

A product and experience platform based on preferences in the centre

The global website serves as a central customer information hub with personalized services, campaigns and interaction options. Every customer receives exactly the information they need. For example, the buyer can compare and order products, while an Innovation Scout receives detailed information about various materials and their properties. The information offered is supplemented by customer-specific digital communication channels. In Europe, for example, the focus is on YouTube or LinkedIn, while in China the focus is on WeChat.

Technology: tailored to the Customer Journey

The technical processes are also adapted to the possible user interaction at the various contact points. A central data basis is essential. SAP Customer Experience (formerly SAP Hybris) forms the basis for the complex product information management and product content management (PIM/PCM), which will be newly set up. Sitecore will be used for future international marketing activities. Namics will implement the project agil according to Scrum. Thus, the digital specialists can always test the progress directly with the customer panel before going live.

The CX Factory: involving the customer in the development process

In order to create and maintain a consistently excellent customer experience, Covestro continues to listen closely to its customers. Namics has built the new CX Factory for this purpose. It continuously tests the current progress of website development via a customer panel and incorporates new customer requirements into the development team. The CX Factory also ensures that there are no gaps between individual digital contact points and that the customer experience is consistent.

From vision to reality

Covestro's new digital offering combines the company's business, customer, technology and branding goals. The preference-based product and experience platform helps generate more sales and increases efficiency through better systems and processes. On the customer side, it enables demand-oriented product information and product consulting. Technologically, the platform offers an architecture with sustainable and future-proof systems that is geared to the user experience. In branding, it strengthens brand values and distinguishes Covestro as a best-in-class B2B customer service provider in the industry.