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7 Ways CPQ Software Helps You Win at the Customer Experience

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KB Max
7 Ways CPQ Software Helps You Win at the Customer Experience

Got a great product? 

So does everyone else.

These days, having a fantastic product and plenty of options to configure it with is not enough. Your customers want to enjoy the process and feel good about what they’re buying from you.

You have to create an experience that makes the purchase feel compelling and worth the money.

Research by Gartner shows that 81 percent of companies compete mainly on customer experience and are constantly striving to improve it. Crafting an extraordinary customer experience has never been more critical. 

If you offer product customization or personalization, you’ve got a fantastic opportunity to set yourself apart by upping your CPQ game with the right software to support it.

Here’s what CPQ software is and how it can help you win at the customer experience in an era where everyone specializes at being different.

What Is CPQ Software?

 

CPQ stands for Configure, Price, and Quote. It’s the process by which customers select options to configure or customize a product, receive real-time feedback about how selections affect the price, and are quoted when all options have been finalized.

This process used to be mostly manual, handled by legions of sales reps who consulted arcane Excel tables or parts catalogs. It often required multiple phone calls and days spent finalizing all of the options. There was plenty of room for mistakes, miscommunications, and frustrated customers to vanish.

These days, CPQ software can automate much, if not all, of that process. Rather than relying on connecting with another human, customers can access a product configurator that tallies up their preferences in real-time. The final quote can be generated by a computer and emailed automatically. A sales rep can monitor the whole process behind the scenes from the backend, stepping in whenever the customer wants them to.

Signs Your Business Needs CPQ Software

CPQ software is essential if you sell products that require configuration, or if you wish to offer more advanced customization options to your customers. Without it, you risk inaccurate quotes, convoluted processes, and a lack of efficiency that will affect your revenue.

It’s definitely time for you to invest in CPQ software if:

  • Your configuration interface is a paper form. What’s so exciting about filling out a form? Absolutely nothing. You’re missing an opportunity to put a visual configurator in your customer’s hands that excites and converts.
  • Your reps rely on Excel sheets. Excel has long been a staple of the quoting world, and it shouldn’t be. Whether deciphering unintelligible keywords or hunting for a part number that’s one digit off from something totally different, there are just too many opportunities for mistakes to happen.
  • The sales cycle takes weeks or months to complete. Playing phone tag, finding the right Excel sheet, or otherwise manually handling the configuration process slows everything down to a crawl. In contrast, CPQ software can speed it up to a matter of minutes.
  • The team seems perpetually bogged down. Do you rely on one or two people to approve all quotes? Does your sales team spend more time fighting with Word to format proposals than working hands-on with customers? It’s time to automate.
  • Customers seem to walk away at the same point in the cycle. CPQ software provides real-time updates as customers choose options, keeping them engaged right through to the bitter end.

7 Ways CPQ Implementation Supports a Winning Customer Experience

The very real benefits that CPQ software delivers to your team and office aren’t the only reasons why it’s a smart idea to invest in it if you offer customized goods. Beyond greater efficiency and the end of those dreaded Excel sheets, implementing a CPQ solution will also result in more and happier customers.

Whether you’re simply looking for ways to deliver more value to your customers or undergoing a full-blown digital transformation, here are seven ways that CPQ software can support the creation of a winning customer experience.

1. Awesome Product Visualizations

How do you set your products apart online when everyone has the same professional-level photographs up on their site?

Easy. Make yours 3D and interactive.

Many CPQ solutions come with a 2D or 3D product visualizer that lets customers see their product from every angle. This is especially valuable when your products are made-to-order since it eliminates any guesswork as to what colors or materials will look like. 

You can see an example of it for yourself right here!

2. Engaging Options

It’s well known that spending is primarily an emotional activity rather than a rational one. Likewise, research shows that the more time we spend personalizing a product and interacting with it, the stronger the emotional attachment becomes. This is true whether the product is right in front of us or only conceptualized via images.

A product configurator with lots of toggles and switches, chock full of options to ponder, does more than allow users to build exactly what they want. It keeps them interacting with a product and building that connection. They upsell themselves.

3. Improved Transparency

While you’re presenting plenty of options to play with, make sure you’re doing it squarely. According to research by the Aberdeen Group, 73 percent of organizations cite price as the most common reason customers walk away. Sticker shock is no fun. 

Implementing CPQ software can help you avoid this. By making prices clear, you’ll maintain the level of transparency that customers expect.

4. Fewer Barriers

CPQ software shines in its ability to automate much of the configuration and pricing process. Rather than going back and forth with a human rep, a configurator can present real-time options and real-time information that makes carrying out the transaction easy.

However, barriers around the actual transaction aren’t the only ones that get eliminated. A configurator can also:

  • Make your products more accessible to the 53 percent of users who shop on mobile.
  • Allow you to offer customization in-store via a tablet or computer.
  • Automate quote approval and invoicing to streamline the customer’s actions from end to end.

5. Better Access to Reps

Did you know that sales reps spend only about 36 percent of their time engaged in selling-related tasks? The rest of their time is eaten up by administrative work related to their sales – like paperwork and proposal generation.

CPQ software can change this. With the rote tasks automated, sales reps or managers can monitor each transaction, stepping in the moment a customer indicates the need.

6. Shorter Wait Times

Research by Deloitte indicates that 48 percent of customers are willing to wait longer for customized or personalized products … but why make them wait if you don’t have to?

You know what it’s like to eagerly check the mail every day in anticipation of your latest online purchase. Harness the power of CPQ software to automate from payment to production, and you’ll get products in people’s hands faster.

7. Fulfilled Promises

Allowing customers to configure products is great – but only if you can deliver on those promises. That’s why you need CPQ software to support your team.

Make sure that what ends up in your customers’ hands is exactly what they ordered. CPQ software:

  • Eliminates invalid configuration combinations.
  • Reduces errors in the ordering process.
  • Prevents orders from getting lost.

Don’t DIY Your CPQ. Create an Awesome Buying Experience Instead.

Having a great product isn’t enough when everyone’s got one. As technology has gotten more powerful, differentiation for brands increasingly rests with the experience they can offer their customers and the customization options they can provide.

However, if you offer customized or configurable products, don’t try to go at it by hand. CPQ software is one of your most powerful tools for creating an awesome, customized product and an even more awesome customer experience.

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