Configure price quote (CPQ) software cuts through sales difficulty to help leading corporations...
Definition
The meaning of CPQ is Configure Price Quote. The acronym is used to describe a system to support sales by guiding selling, governance of pricing and automation of document creation.
Configure Price Quote (CPQ) is the combination of techniques, strategies and technologies that companies use to manage and customize products throughout the customer lifecycle, with the goal of improving customer service and assisting in customer retention and driving sales growth.
CPQ systems compile product and pricing data across different channels, across the company, which usually include the product management, sales, marketing and R&D.
A CPQ systems can also give customer-facing staff detailed information on buying preferences thru a guided sales process.
CPQ has historically been used by larger enterprises, but the market is now moving toward small and medium sized businesses mostly due to cloud technology lowering the overall cost.
At the most basic level, CPQ consolidates product information, pricing and documents into a single “CPQ database” so business users can more easily access correct information. Business logic explains dependencies and ensure product correctness, pricing alignment and unified quote documents.
Over time, many additional functions have been added to CPQ systems to make them more useful. Some of these functions include automating various workflows, various calculations, advanced pricing structures and pricing models. Analytic capability gives managers the ability to track customer preferences and product inefficiencies based on information logged within the system.
Sales automation: CPQ tools with sales automation capabilities can automate customer interaction offering a 24/7-service for advance product enquiries. For example, as sales prospects come into the system, it might automatically send the prospects marketing materials, budgetary pricing indications typically via email, with the goal of turning a sales lead into a full-fledged customer.
Workflow automation: CPQ systems help businesses optimize processes by streamlining mundane workloads, enabling employees to focus on creative and more high-level tasks.
Lead management: Sales leads can be tracked through CPQ, enabling sales teams to input, track and analyse data for leads in one place. This is often combined with online presence of the configurator.
CPQ Analytics: Companies are keen to capture customer sentiment, such as the likelihood that they will recommend products and want to measure the overall customer satisfaction to develop marketing and service strategies. Companies can integrate CPQ data with other customer data from sales or marketing departments to provide a consistent view of the customer. Analytics in CPQ help create better customer satisfaction rates by analysing user data and helping create targeted marketing campaigns.
Geolocation technology: Some CPQ systems include technology that can create geographic sales campaigns based on customers' physical locations. This is important to make the product offering more adapted to the country or region. Geolocation technology can also be used as a networking or contact management tool in order to find sales prospects based on a location.
Some major players within CPQ systems are Apptus, Salesforce and Oracle. Other providers are popular among small to mid-market businesses, but these three tend to be the choice for large corporations with simple configuration problems. Some CPQ providers offer more advanced solutions for specific business segments such as Tacton that offers advanced CPQ with primary focus on the manufacturing industry.
The types of CPQ technology offered are as follows:
On-premise CPQ: With this system, the information about the company needs to be managed, controlled, backed up, and maintained using the CPQ software. With this approach, the company acquires licenses in advance rather than purchasing annual subscriptions from a cloud CPQ provider. The software resides on the company's servers and the user pays for upgrades. In addition, a longer installation process is usually required to fully integrate a company's data. Companies with complex CPQ requirements can benefit from a local deployment.
Cloud-based CPQ: Cloud-based CPQ, also known as SaaS (Software as a Service) or on-demand CPQ, stores data in an external remote network that employees can access anywhere, anytime. Sometimes an internet connection is established with a third party who oversees the installation and maintenance. The cloud's fast and relatively simple provisioning capabilities address companies with limited technological expertise or limited resources.
Companies might consider cloud CPQ as a more cost-effective option. Vendors such as Tacton charge by the user on a subscription basis and offer the option of monthly or yearly payments.
Data security is a major concern for companies using cloud-based systems because the company does not physically control the storage and maintenance of their data. If the cloud provider gives up the business or is taken over by another company, a company's data can be compromised or lost. Compatibility problems can also occur when data is first migrated from an in-house system to the cloud.
Finally, the cost can be an issue because paying subscription fees for software can be more expensive over time than with on-premise models. On the other hand, with a hosted SaaS solution improved functionality is constantly added to the CPQ platform.
Direct sales: Traditionally, data intake practices for CPQ systems have been the responsibility of sales and marketing departments. Sales and marketing teams procure leads and update the system with information throughout the customer lifecycle, and with the help of CPQ they gather data and revise customer history records through calls, meetings and technical support interactions. The CPQ system provides accurate pricing, correct product selection and impressive quotes.
Digital twin CPQ: CPQ can interact directly with customers thru a 24/7 business portal. CPQ gives the customer the possibility to investigate and understand the product offering prior to contacting a sales representative. This gives the company the possibility to find new lead thru automated channels and it give the customer a digital sales companion to guide thru the early phases of the sales journey.
Mobile CPQ: CPQ applications for smartphones and tablets are a must for salespeople and marketing professionals who want to access customer information and perform tasks when they are away from their office. Mobile CPQ apps use features that are only available on mobile devices, such as mobile devices. For example, GPS and voice recognition capabilities enable sales and marketing professionals to access customer information from anywhere.
Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Practices: A CPQ system in a B2C environment helps monitor sales as they go through the sales funnel and enables a business to solve any issues that may arise during the process. CPQ systems in the B2C market help improve the transparency of leads and thus increase the efficiency of the entire sales process.
For all the advancements in CPQ technology, without the proper management, a CPQ system can become little more than a glorified database in with product information is stored.
Companies may struggle to achieve a single view of the product portfolio. Challenges also arise when systems contain inconsistent data or outdated information. These problems can lead to a decline in customer experience due to lack of trust in the CPQ tool.
CPQ systems work best when companies are able to keep the product information up to date without involvement of consultancy services.
Components of CPQ
At the most basic level, CPQ consolidates product information, pricing and documents into a single “CPQ database” so business users can more easily access correct information. Business logic explains dependencies and ensure product correctness, pricing alignment and unified quote documents.
Over time, many additional functions have been added to CPQ systems to make them more useful. Some of these functions include automating various workflows, various calculations, advanced pricing structures and pricing models. Analytic capability gives managers the ability to track customer preferences and product inefficiencies based on information logged within the system.
Sales automation: CPQ tools with sales automation capabilities can automate customer interaction offering a 24/7-service for advance product enquiries. For example, as sales prospects come into the system, it might automatically send the prospects marketing materials, budgetary pricing indications typically via email, with the goal of turning a sales lead into a full-fledged customer.
Workflow automation: CPQ systems help businesses optimize processes by streamlining mundane workloads, enabling employees to focus on creative and more high-level tasks.
Lead management: Sales leads can be tracked through CPQ, enabling sales teams to input, track and analyse data for leads in one place. This is often combined with online presence of the configurator.
CPQ Analytics: Companies are keen to capture customer sentiment, such as the likelihood that they will recommend products and want to measure the overall customer satisfaction to develop marketing and service strategies. Companies can integrate CPQ data with other customer data from sales or marketing departments to provide a consistent view of the customer. Analytics in CPQ help create better customer satisfaction rates by analysing user data and helping create targeted marketing campaigns.
Geolocation technology: Some CPQ systems include technology that can create geographic sales campaigns based on customers' physical locations. This is important to make the product offering more adapted to the country or region. Geolocation technology can also be used as a networking or contact management tool in order to find sales prospects based on a location.
Types of CPQ technology
Some major players within CPQ systems are Apptus, Salesforce and Oracle. Other providers are popular among small to mid-market businesses, but these three tend to be the choice for large corporations with simple configuration problems. Some CPQ providers offer more advanced solutions for specific business segments such as Tacton that offers advanced CPQ with primary focus on the manufacturing industry.
The types of CPQ technology offered are as follows:
On-premise CPQ: With this system, the information about the company needs to be managed, controlled, backed up, and maintained using the CPQ software. With this approach, the company acquires licenses in advance rather than purchasing annual subscriptions from a cloud CPQ provider. The software resides on the company's servers and the user pays for upgrades. In addition, a longer installation process is usually required to fully integrate a company's data. Companies with complex CPQ requirements can benefit from a local deployment.
Cloud-based CPQ: Cloud-based CPQ, also known as SaaS (Software as a Service) or on-demand CPQ, stores data in an external remote network that employees can access anywhere, anytime. Sometimes an internet connection is established with a third party who oversees the installation and maintenance. The cloud's fast and relatively simple provisioning capabilities address companies with limited technological expertise or limited resources.
Companies might consider cloud CPQ as a more cost-effective option. Vendors such as Tacton charge by the user on a subscription basis and offer the option of monthly or yearly payments.
Data security is a major concern for companies using cloud-based systems because the company does not physically control the storage and maintenance of their data. If the cloud provider gives up the business or is taken over by another company, a company's data can be compromised or lost. Compatibility problems can also occur when data is first migrated from an in-house system to the cloud.
Finally, the cost can be an issue because paying subscription fees for software can be more expensive over time than with on-premise models. On the other hand, with a hosted SaaS solution improved functionality is constantly added to the CPQ platform.
CPQ examples in practice
Direct sales: Traditionally, data intake practices for CPQ systems have been the responsibility of sales and marketing departments. Sales and marketing teams procure leads and update the system with information throughout the customer lifecycle, and with the help of CPQ they gather data and revise customer history records through calls, meetings and technical support interactions. The CPQ system provides accurate pricing, correct product selection and impressive quotes.
Digital twin CPQ: CPQ can interact directly with customers thru a 24/7 business portal. CPQ gives the customer the possibility to investigate and understand the product offering prior to contacting a sales representative. This gives the company the possibility to find new lead thru automated channels and it give the customer a digital sales companion to guide thru the early phases of the sales journey.
Mobile CPQ: CPQ applications for smartphones and tablets are a must for salespeople and marketing professionals who want to access customer information and perform tasks when they are away from their office. Mobile CPQ apps use features that are only available on mobile devices, such as mobile devices. For example, GPS and voice recognition capabilities enable sales and marketing professionals to access customer information from anywhere.
Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Practices: A CPQ system in a B2C environment helps monitor sales as they go through the sales funnel and enables a business to solve any issues that may arise during the process. CPQ systems in the B2C market help improve the transparency of leads and thus increase the efficiency of the entire sales process.
CPQ challenges
For all the advancements in CPQ technology, without the proper management, a CPQ system can become little more than a glorified database in with product information is stored.
Companies may struggle to achieve a single view of the product portfolio. Challenges also arise when systems contain inconsistent data or outdated information. These problems can lead to a decline in customer experience due to lack of trust in the CPQ tool.
CPQ systems work best when companies are able to keep the product information up to date without involvement of consultancy services.
