2024 Tech Trends in Manufacturing: Insights to Attract and Retain Software Buyers – Gartner
or call +1 703 584 1800
or call +1 703 584 1800
December 13, 2023
Contributor: Olivia Montgomery
Manufacturing companies are transitioning from machine-based assembly lines to “smart factories”. Technology adoption is reshaping the industry. Robotics and automation enhance productivity and alleviate labor shortages, data analytics improve forecasting and mitigate supply chain disruptions, and the Internet of Things (IoT) boosts connectivity and helps with monitoring and maintenance.
Gartner Digital Markets conducted the 2024 Tech Trends Survey among more than 3,400 respondents in nine countries to understand the organizational challenges, technology adoption timelines and budget, vendor research behaviors, ROI expectations, and satisfaction levels for software buyers, and how they relate to experiencing regret after a purchase.
This article takes a deep dive into the manufacturing vertical by analyzing data from 481 software purchasing decision-makers who work in the production of industrial goods and related roles. Here are the top five buying behavior insights from manufacturers and why they matter for software providers.
Looking into the year ahead, manufacturing businesses are mostly concerned about finding qualified talent (35%), acquiring new customers or clients (35%) and training and upskilling employees (34%).
To help them navigate these challenges, the majority of manufacturers are choosing to invest more in technology. Among manufacturing industry professionals that characterize their business in a state of growth over the next 18 months, 61% indicate that their organization plans to spend 10% or more on software in 2024 compared to 2023.
The top most recent software purchase for manufacturers in the U.S. was business intelligence and data analytics software, and 79% of businesses expect a positive return on investment (ROI) within 18 months of purchasing this type of tool.
→ Why this matters to software providers:
Tech providers should develop effective lead generation strategies in 2024 to capture increased demand for software in the manufacturing vertical. Understand buyers’ challenges and priorities to identify opportunities in the industry and launch category-specific campaigns to engage and convert in-market buyers.
For nearly half of manufacturers (47%), identifying the right technology is the most difficult when planning investments in new software, followed by compatibility with their existing systems (44%).
Research shows that it takes most manufacturers 6 months or less to evaluate and pick a new software tool. The vast majority create a list of potential vendors when looking for new software and, of those, 87% have five or fewer vendors on it. Although, nearly 80% actively engage with only three vendors (i.e., get pricing, attend demos, start a trial, or similar).
→ Why this matters to software providers:
Software providers have a very short time span to reach and engage potential customers in the manufacturing industry. Make sure you make the most out of it with an effective brand awareness strategy.
First, conduct a market research to understand the needs of your audience and tailor your messaging accordingly. Then, choose the most appropriate marketing channels to reach your buyers like software review and comparison sites. Finally, provide quality content and social proof to overcome skepticism and build trust.
The process of selecting and implementing new software can be complex and, unfortunately, not satisfactory for many manufacturers—48% reported buyer’s regret from a recent tech purchase.
Most often regret is driven by higher-than-expected costs (38%) or implementation issues (35%). Poor functionality (34%) is another product-related factor that disappoints buyers, as they noted that the technology was not advanced or had fewer features than needed.
→ Why this matters to software providers:
The majority of buyers would like to test your software before committing. Offer free trial periods so they can assess usability, compatibility, and functionality of your product and gauge their expectations. This is also an opportunity to demonstrate great customer service and implementation support.
To convert free users into paying customers, it is important to be transparent about costs up front. Make sure your product profile on software comparison sites like Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice includes full details on pricing, including software subscription or licensing costs, implementation, integrations, etc.
When manufacturers were asked what they would have done differently to avoid regret when purchasing software, most respondents said better alignment of stakeholders was needed to clarify goals and requirements. This would include not only the software features they want, but also other needs such as cybersecurity.
Additionally, more extensive research is needed to create the initial list of vendors, as well as ensure the reliability and reputation of the supplier with a risk assessment.
→ Why this matters to software providers:
Many manufacturers impacted by a regretful purchase end up canceling the contract and replacing their software with that of another provider. To change course and prevent churn, map out key stakeholders in the software buying committee and ensure there’s alignment on goals and evaluation criteria.
Once objectives and requirements have been clarified, the majority of buyers rely on customer reviews to build the initial vendor list. Make sure you have a review-centric marketing engine in place to bring transparency to the software purchase process.
Attracting and retaining the right customer is the surest way to scale efficient growth. But engaging software buyers in your target industry requires a deep understanding of what they need and how they behave.
Our data highlights key buying behavior trends tech providers should watch out for to effectively navigate change in the manufacturing industry. From top business challenges and technology investments, to product expectations and regret drivers—these insights are crucial to level up your acquisition strategy and prevent churn.
Methodology
Gartner Digital Markets’ 2024 Tech Trends Survey was designed to understand the timeline, organizational challenges, adoption & budget, vendor research behaviors, ROI expectations, satisfaction levels for software buyers, and how they relate to buyer’s remorse.
The survey was conducted online in July 2023 among 3,484 respondents from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, France, India, Germany, Brazil, and Japan, with businesses across multiple industries and company sizes (5 or more employees). Respondents were screened to ensure their involvement in software purchasing decisions.
This report includes responses from the manufacturing industry only—a subset of 481 professionals.
Olivia Montgomery
Olivia Montgomery is an associate principal analyst at Gartner Digital Markets, covering IT project management and supply chains, with a focus on the benefits of a closely-aligned IT team with operations to drive digital transformation. Olivia pulls from her experience as an IT PMO leader and her humanities studies to deliver data-driven insights for small-business leaders. Her work has been published in Forbes, CIO Dive, The Digital Project Manager, and TechRepublic. When not researching tech trends, you can find her jumping horses or re-watching Jurassic Park.
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I have read, understood and accepted Gartner Separate Consent Letter , whereby I agree (1) to provide Gartner with my personal information, and understand that information will be transferred outside of mainland China and processed by Gartner group companies and other legitimate processing parties and (2) to be contacted by Gartner group companies via internet, mobile/telephone and email, for the purposes of sales, marketing and research.
We value your privacy. By submitting this form, you agree we may use your information in accordance with the terms of the Gartner Digital Markets Privacy Policy.
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Introduce yourself to engaged buyers
Gather third-party verified user reviews
Earn badges, reports and other assets to build credibility with buyers
Target buyers by category, geo, and site
Let us qualify your target software buyers
See who's researching your software, flag potential churn and activate target accounts
©2024 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
©2024 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
or call +1 703 584 1800
December 13, 2023
Contributor: Olivia Montgomery
Manufacturing companies are transitioning from machine-based assembly lines to “smart factories”. Technology adoption is reshaping the industry. Robotics and automation enhance productivity and alleviate labor shortages, data analytics improve forecasting and mitigate supply chain disruptions, and the Internet of Things (IoT) boosts connectivity and helps with monitoring and maintenance.
Gartner Digital Markets conducted the 2024 Tech Trends Survey among more than 3,400 respondents in nine countries to understand the organizational challenges, technology adoption timelines and budget, vendor research behaviors, ROI expectations, and satisfaction levels for software buyers, and how they relate to experiencing regret after a purchase.
This article takes a deep dive into the manufacturing vertical by analyzing data from 481 software purchasing decision-makers who work in the production of industrial goods and related roles. Here are the top five buying behavior insights from manufacturers and why they matter for software providers.
Looking into the year ahead, manufacturing businesses are mostly concerned about finding qualified talent (35%), acquiring new customers or clients (35%) and training and upskilling employees (34%).
To help them navigate these challenges, the majority of manufacturers are choosing to invest more in technology. Among manufacturing industry professionals that characterize their business in a state of growth over the next 18 months, 61% indicate that their organization plans to spend 10% or more on software in 2024 compared to 2023.
The top most recent software purchase for manufacturers in the U.S. was business intelligence and data analytics software, and 79% of businesses expect a positive return on investment (ROI) within 18 months of purchasing this type of tool.
→ Why this matters to software providers:
Tech providers should develop effective lead generation strategies in 2024 to capture increased demand for software in the manufacturing vertical. Understand buyers’ challenges and priorities to identify opportunities in the industry and launch category-specific campaigns to engage and convert in-market buyers.
For nearly half of manufacturers (47%), identifying the right technology is the most difficult when planning investments in new software, followed by compatibility with their existing systems (44%).
Research shows that it takes most manufacturers 6 months or less to evaluate and pick a new software tool. The vast majority create a list of potential vendors when looking for new software and, of those, 87% have five or fewer vendors on it. Although, nearly 80% actively engage with only three vendors (i.e., get pricing, attend demos, start a trial, or similar).
→ Why this matters to software providers:
Software providers have a very short time span to reach and engage potential customers in the manufacturing industry. Make sure you make the most out of it with an effective brand awareness strategy.
First, conduct a market research to understand the needs of your audience and tailor your messaging accordingly. Then, choose the most appropriate marketing channels to reach your buyers like software review and comparison sites. Finally, provide quality content and social proof to overcome skepticism and build trust.
The process of selecting and implementing new software can be complex and, unfortunately, not satisfactory for many manufacturers—48% reported buyer’s regret from a recent tech purchase.
Most often regret is driven by higher-than-expected costs (38%) or implementation issues (35%). Poor functionality (34%) is another product-related factor that disappoints buyers, as they noted that the technology was not advanced or had fewer features than needed.
→ Why this matters to software providers:
The majority of buyers would like to test your software before committing. Offer free trial periods so they can assess usability, compatibility, and functionality of your product and gauge their expectations. This is also an opportunity to demonstrate great customer service and implementation support.
To convert free users into paying customers, it is important to be transparent about costs up front. Make sure your product profile on software comparison sites like Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice includes full details on pricing, including software subscription or licensing costs, implementation, integrations, etc.
When manufacturers were asked what they would have done differently to avoid regret when purchasing software, most respondents said better alignment of stakeholders was needed to clarify goals and requirements. This would include not only the software features they want, but also other needs such as cybersecurity.
Additionally, more extensive research is needed to create the initial list of vendors, as well as ensure the reliability and reputation of the supplier with a risk assessment.
→ Why this matters to software providers:
Many manufacturers impacted by a regretful purchase end up canceling the contract and replacing their software with that of another provider. To change course and prevent churn, map out key stakeholders in the software buying committee and ensure there’s alignment on goals and evaluation criteria.
Once objectives and requirements have been clarified, the majority of buyers rely on customer reviews to build the initial vendor list. Make sure you have a review-centric marketing engine in place to bring transparency to the software purchase process.
Attracting and retaining the right customer is the surest way to scale efficient growth. But engaging software buyers in your target industry requires a deep understanding of what they need and how they behave.
Our data highlights key buying behavior trends tech providers should watch out for to effectively navigate change in the manufacturing industry. From top business challenges and technology investments, to product expectations and regret drivers—these insights are crucial to level up your acquisition strategy and prevent churn.
Methodology
Gartner Digital Markets’ 2024 Tech Trends Survey was designed to understand the timeline, organizational challenges, adoption & budget, vendor research behaviors, ROI expectations, satisfaction levels for software buyers, and how they relate to buyer’s remorse.
The survey was conducted online in July 2023 among 3,484 respondents from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, France, India, Germany, Brazil, and Japan, with businesses across multiple industries and company sizes (5 or more employees). Respondents were screened to ensure their involvement in software purchasing decisions.
This report includes responses from the manufacturing industry only—a subset of 481 professionals.
Olivia Montgomery
Olivia Montgomery is an associate principal analyst at Gartner Digital Markets, covering IT project management and supply chains, with a focus on the benefits of a closely-aligned IT team with operations to drive digital transformation. Olivia pulls from her experience as an IT PMO leader and her humanities studies to deliver data-driven insights for small-business leaders. Her work has been published in Forbes, CIO Dive, The Digital Project Manager, and TechRepublic. When not researching tech trends, you can find her jumping horses or re-watching Jurassic Park.
Please provide the consent below
I have read, understood and accepted Gartner Separate Consent Letter , whereby I agree (1) to provide Gartner with my personal information, and understand that information will be transferred outside of mainland China and processed by Gartner group companies and other legitimate processing parties and (2) to be contacted by Gartner group companies via internet, mobile/telephone and email, for the purposes of sales, marketing and research.
We value your privacy. By submitting this form, you agree we may use your information in accordance with the terms of the Gartner Digital Markets Privacy Policy.
Download eBook
Read Now
Read Now
Read Now
Connect to millions of in-market software buyers around the globe with our all-encompassing suite of marketing services.
Introduce yourself to engaged buyers
Gather third-party verified user reviews
Earn badges, reports and other assets to build credibility with buyers
Target buyers by category, geo, and site
Let us qualify your target software buyers
See who's researching your software, flag potential churn and activate target accounts
©2024 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
©2024 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
