IMPACT OF CPQ ON THE OVERALL B2B E-COMMERCE EXPERIENCE!

For every business that’s a part of this highly competitive market scenario, the only certainty is the sheer uncertainty, thanks to a complete transformation of how the usual marketing, sales, and purchase processes work.

Amidst this realm of uncertain occurrences, there can be just one thing that can truly be termed as a ‘certainty- constant creativity and innovation are absolute necessities if a business enterprise is to keep up with such revolutions.

2020 was by no means a normal year. It was as far from a usual year as possible. The year also made manufacturers aware of the need for b2b e-commerce integration to make the journey of customers better and keep them informed through more efficient ways. 

Before we go into technical aspects, like CPQ software, for instance, it’s important to first have a knack of where its core purpose lies.

B2B E-Commerce

Creating a product, and then marketing and selling it to the final customer is B2C, which is the most common way a business operates. However, B2B is a model that is every bit as essential, where a business manufactures and sells products to another business.

The B2B E-commerce experience involves the creation of a digital platform where a business can reach out to a huge base of potential customers to make a sale. Reps from the customer company can check out the entire product line on the created digital platform and straightway bring the purchase in effect, eliminating the need of getting in touch and wasting precious time with sales reps.

Whenever a business makes a purchase, the sheer volume is overwhelming, to say the least. To add to it, errors in order volume or configurations are a pain to correct as well, not to mention the costs which become an unnecessary burden in their own right. 

It is this complexity that gives rise to the need for a solution that simplifies the entire marketing and selling process easier for manufacturers and takes them ahead of the competition as well. This is where CPQ software blows everything away!

The Rise and Rise of CPQ

CPQ is an abbreviation for Configure, Price, Quote. Such software is a very handy tool for B2B businesses in taking their complex products and services to prospective customers. A CPQ software takes care of a lot of things simultaneously, which includes creating appropriate quotes at just the right time to bring in more revenue through sales. 

To bring all of this into effect, a CPQ tool brings a lot of factors into play, that includes- customer data, previous transaction history, and most importantly, the business product catalog. The sheer sophistication of CPQ is enough to send things rolling for any business enterprise, because it’s a highly integrated platform that takes care of generating proposals, quotes, and price engines that are a threat to the authorization and approval workflows, respectively.

Such is the rage of CPQ, that Gartner estimated its progress at a compound annual growth rate of 20% in the year 2020.

Some other CPQ Stats

If you are still in doubt as to what a boon CPQ is, here are some more stats-

• Medium says that a huge 50% of the time gets wasted in correcting mistakes and setting up the wrong customer prospects.
• Repetitive tasks consume about 66% from the day of a sales rep, as per Zety.
• A non-CPQ user takes 73% more time to prepare a quote when compared to a CPQ user. This one’s again from Medium.
• CPQ software can reduce a sales cycle by 28%, so states Superoffice.

Role of CPQ in Providing Better B2B E-Commerce Experience

There are a lot of things to love about CPQ, and what it pleasantly does for SaaS B2B E-Commerce platforms. Here are a few of those amazing benefits- 

• Seamlessly Creating Quotes

With a CPQ system in place, it is a completely hassle-free process to generate quotes, bringing enhanced speed to things. In an era where time is short for every customer, providing them everything as quickly and accurately as possible is something that is a priority.

In case the generated quote is not in line with customer expectations, a CPQ tool can then generate a revised quote at the same pace. Understandably, the very first thought people have when the manufacturing of complex products is concerned is that this tool is limited to manufacturing. 

However, CPQ does not disappoint in delivering quick outputs as well.

• Better & Accurate Pricing 

Right at the beginning, we told you how B2B purchases involve everything at a larger scale. Similarly, the implications in such cases tend to be costly as well. Even a little diversion from the pre-decided quote and product quantity can bring things off-track in no time.

With a quality CPQ solution, there’s no need to worry about making errors in quoting process, as this is something that won’t be an occurrence as it is. Other than speed, customers get highly accurate quotes when a CPQ tool is subjected to B2B E-commerce integration. 

• A No-Nonsense Negotiation Process

The soundness of a negotiation process is one of the biggest factors that lead to a better customer experience. CPQ facilitates the integration of contract life cycle management (CLM), which can make negotiation a painless process for both the buyer and seller both.

A good CPQ software organizes the entire process of negotiation on various factors like pricing and delivery timelines among others. Sales reps can easily include the tool with their sales automation software for taking care of it.

• Highly Personalized Experiences

Every single customer that comes on a B2B E-Commerce platform has different preferences and demands. This is why it is best to substitute standardization with personalization. 

Specifically tailored quotes and product catalogs are the need of the hour, taking the overall customer experience to a new level altogether. CPQ systems with customized quotes not just allow differentiation of providing great technology, but also enables an edge over competition too. 

If you are someone already using a CPQ solution, there are high chances that you are already in love with it. If you are looking to get a CPQ tool to fall in love with, then look no place else other than KBMax!

You won’t get disappointed.