From creating the first wire-frame of the platform to the Allchemist launch, our main goal was creating a tool to help people in the paints & coatings industry do things they are the best at, with full power and efficiency.

In order to develop the most frictionless experience we had to talk with you – ask you about your business processes, your challenges, and obstacles you are facing daily in your workspace.

After the launch of Allchemist, communication with the industry hasn’t stopped. Now we are listening to your direct user experience feedback too.

This is what most of you working in sales, technical support or business development recognize as the biggest stumbling blocks in your workspace.

Which one resonates with you the most? 

1. Sending the same PDF docs back and forth & answering to the same questions daily

This one is well known to professionals working in the chemical industry. Sales representatives and technical experts deal with it the most and they deal with this daily. It takes a lot of time and energy, numerous telephone calls, e-mails, and PDF docs back and forth to accommodate the customer. 

This kind of process is not considered as customer-centric and it eats up a lot of non-added value time for both sides involved.

2. Long sales cycles

A lot of managers are on the mission to shorten sales cycles. The chemical industry is not the only one that wants to cut down the time it takes for successful prospecting. If you do more in the same amount of time, you profit more. The logic behind it is simple, but when it comes to its execution, there seems to be a lack of firm plans.

Not long ago at a conference about the digital disruption in the coatings industry, I had the pleasure to participate in a debate with professionals from some of the major European chemical suppliers. 

The biggest challenge that they saw when it comes to shortening the sales cycles is the fear of losing quality service over quantity. That is something you are not willing to give up, and that’s more than understandable.

3. Not enough qualified leads

Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her solve a problem or achieve a goal, not of selling a product or service. – Brian Tracy

One of the main focuses of the chemical world is generating new and high-qualified leads. 

Customers (formulators) are searching for materials online, long before they contact you or your competitor. Ideally, you have to “catch” the lead at the perfect time in the customer journey. How to do that seems to be an ongoing challenge in the chemical industry. How successful is your team when it comes to generating and qualifying relevant leads?

How well are you able to “catch” a lead at the right time? What does your path to purchase look like? Do you still rely merely on the “Contact us” forms? 

4. Getting the right information to the right customer at the right time through the right channel

How do you provide relevant information to customers when they need it? How do you personalize the customer experience with your product selector/finder? How do you inform customers about innovative materials (for instance more sustainable material alternatives)? 

This seems to be an ongoing challenge for the chemical industry.

5. Business is moving to slow

The inefficiency of processes affect many aspects of the business and as a result:

-Prepared Samples are not sent out fast enough (waiting for labeling)

-Some products are waiting too long for the documentation

-Data is scattered all over the organization (it takes to long to gather certain data from different data points) 

6. Technical experts are overburdened = can’t help customers on time

This one is closely connected to all of the above. It seems to me that in the end, every deal depends on technical experts. They are the ones who have expert knowledge on how to help customers solve their problems. Besides, in many cases, sales reps seek help from (overburdened) technical experts. 

All these challenges negatively affect customer experience and often result in lost opportunities. 

Do these challenges resonate with you? Would you add an additional one?

Please share your thoughts with me on LinkedIn.

Are you interested in how can you overcome your biggest challenges of sales and marketing cycles with Allchemist?

We know how to help you. It’s easy and affordable. All it takes is a very little effort and highly flexible investment.

Allchemist is made for the paints & coatings professionals; those who want to develop or improve formulations more efficiently and those who want to accommodate their customers faster and in a customer-centric manner.

Talk to me to see if Allchemist is the right fit for your company’s needs.

I will show you how to get the most out of the Allchemist platform. Feel free to find a slot in my calendar.