Mapping the Post-Purchase Journey

Taking a full journey approach to improving the customer experience

Meet Xometry

Xometry offers an AI-powered manufacturing platform that provides instant quoting for 3D models of projects from 3D printing to CNC machining, and connects customers to manufacturing partners with available capacity. By doing so, Xometry delivers quality production on orders of all quantities and types, with faster delivery than more traditional manufacturing supplier options, all while maintaining competitive pricing.

The Challenge

Though Xometry had successfully streamlined the quoting and purchase process to accommodate a variety of customers’ needs, the post purchase experience was still operating as a one-size-fits-all model. There was a need to understand the customer support expectations of different customer segments, so that the Xometry team could allocate resources to orders that required higher touch coordination, and reduce time spent on orders that could be better served with more automated updates and tracking.

Because of Xometry’s unique model, optimizing order fulfillment was not only about exploring customer expectations, but also understanding the needs and workflows of the diverse set of manufacturers Xometry partners with. Therefore, Identifying and prioritizing opportunities for better post-purchase experiences required a clearer picture of both customer and partner journeys.

The Solution

Xometry partnered with Nebo to close this post-purchase knowledge gap to help them make data-informed decisions on improving customer and partner support. To ensure a comprehensive exploration, Nebo took a three-pronged approach to the research. 

First, Nebo interviewed Xometry stakeholders, talked to Xometry’s customer data experts, and reviewed previous feedback collected from customers and partners. This effort helped establish a more complete understanding of Xometry’s business and research goals as well as known support challenges and knowledge gaps.

Next, Nebo designed and distributed surveys to current and churned customers as well as to Xometry’s manufacturing partners. Customer surveys explored motivations for using Xometry initially and then dove deep into the post-purchase experience by assessing expectations for post-purchase communication and support, uncovering the frequency of customer support issues, and capturing overall Xometry support sentiment ratings. Nebo analyzed survey data to identify common pain points and opportunities for improvement. By pairing our results with Xometry’s internal customer data we performed an analysis, not just of customers as a whole, but also by segment and project type. This created a clear picture of universal and differentiated customer support needs across customer segments.

Similarly our partner survey captured current sentiment around the manufacturing partner experience, motivations for working with Xometry, and comparisons with other sources of manufacturing work. Our quantitative analysis brought to life differences across partner types, and highlighted areas of the experience that could be improved to increase partner retention.

Lastly, to further understand the nuances of the Xometry experience for customers and manufacturers, Nebo conducted a series of individual interviews speaking to a range of Xometry fans and detractors across each segment. These interviews added depth to many of the behavioral trends noted in our survey data by discussing the “why” behind the decisions being made and illustrative examples of where Xometry excelled and fell short.