Why Some CPQ Tools for Salesforce Are Falling Short of Customers’ Expectations

1. Why Some CPQ Tools for Salesforce Are Falling Short of Customers’ Expectations ======================================================================== CPQ systems are a must-have for organizations that produce complex, configurable products. They streamline the end-to-end buying journey, connect front- and back-office teams, and provide a smooth, accurate experience that keeps customers coming back for more. Except, not all CPQ solutions are equal. Basic CPQ solutions will undoubtedly improve your customer experience (CX), but their benefits pale compared to more advanced alternatives. Take product visualizations, for example. First-class CPQ solutions allow customers to interact with advanced product visualizations, providing an unforgettable CX that stands out from the crowd. However, many popular CPQ solutions—such as Salesforce CPQ—lack these capabilities. This article explores why CPQ tools for Salesforceusers sometimes fall short of customers’ expectations. Specifically, it covers why: •The CPQ in Salesforce offers subpar visual experiences •Salesforce CPQ’s visual limitations can be a big deal for some manufacturers •There are better options for manufacturers that sell complex, configurable products The CPQ in Salesforce Lacks Best-Of-Breed Visual Experiences Leading CPQ solutions use 2D, 3D, AR, or VR visualizations to bring their products to life. But as cool as these sound (and are), they’re not simply a fancy gimmick—3D configurations have been proven to shorten lead times and improve design accuracy. Unfortunately, Salesforce CPQ lacks 3D configurators, meaning companies that use Salesforce CPQ without additional integrations can’t bring their products to life for consumers. This hampers the CX, decreasing prospects’ likelihood of converting and negatively impacting companies’ bottom lines. If you sell a limited number of standardized products, then hyper-realistic 3D visualization could be a distraction. Salesforce CPQ will be more than sufficient to drive efficiency and sales for your organization. But if your products are aesthetically led and complicated to understand and explain, then implementing a CPQ with 3D product visualization capabilities is a no-brainer. Why Salesforce CPQ’s Visual Limitations Leave Some Manufacturers Wanting More The fact that Salesforce CPQ provides subpar visual experiences is a massive negative for some companies. Today’s consumers have more choices than ever, meaning they’re pickier than their predecessors. It’s just as easy for them to order products from another town, state, or country online as it is to nip down to a local store. This means they’ll work with providers who offer a great customer experience—not those who simply happen to be geographically convenient. Therefore, companies must always provide a stellar CX or risk losing customers to global competition. Let’s analyze why Salesforce CPQ’s visual limitations can be a big deal for some companies looking to attract and retain customers at scale.

2. Visualizations Provide an Unforgettable Customer Experience In this day and age, CX is everything—consider that global spending on CX will reach $640 billion this year. 89% of companies currently compete primarily based on CX. This is perhaps unsurprising, given that 86% of consumers will leave a brand they used to be loyal to after just two negative experiences. In fact, 32% will leave after just one poor experience. So, what exactly makes for a good CX? The buying journey needs to be smooth and error-free, with customers receiving precisely what they ordered. This is where CPQ software can help—though to varying degrees, depending on the particular software. For example, while CPQ software that lacks advanced visualization capabilities (like Salesforce CPQ) ensures a smooth buying journey, it misses on one significant competitive advantage: providing an unforgettable experience that makes customers return time and again. People Process Visual Information Better In the Information Age, consumers don’t need more information (there’s plenty already to go around), but they need better information. Or information that they can process better. B2C buying journeys are usually less information-centric—how much do you need to know about a t- shirt before you add it to your basket? However, B2B buying journeys are fundamentally different. Decision-makers want to make sure they’re making the right choice. After all, they’re spending their company’s money, not their own. Gartner reports that the average B2B buying journey involves anywhere from six to 10 decision-makers, each with their own conflicting opinions and goals. Indeed, “All of this looping around and bouncing from one job to another means that buyers value suppliers that make it easier for them to navigate the purchase process.” This is where visualization comes in. Humans are visual creatures. Consider that 90% of all information transmitted to the brain is visual and that we process images 60,000 times quicker than text. Studies show that visuals improve learning by up to 400% as words are processed by our short-term memory, whereas images go directly into our long- term memory. By providing visualizations of your products, you’ll indelibly stand out to consumers looking to self- learn and self-serve. As the adage goes, ‘show, don’t tell.’ Long, text-based blurbs describing your products don’t work nearly as well as advanced product visualizations demonstrating what they look like and how they operate. Advanced Product Visualizations Mark You Out as a Digital Leader

3. We’ve all clicked onto a website before only to find reams of dense black text on a white background. What’s the first thing you do when encountering these types of pages? You click back and make a mental note never to return. Likewise, when you walk into a dingy, dimly-lit shop, you generally turn around and head straight back the way you came in. The takeaway is clear: First impressions count. It’s not enough to implement any old CPQ. These days, leading CPQ tools provide AR, VR, 3D, and 2D visualizations of their products—meaning consumers have come to expect this type of buying experience. Companies that offer rich, immersive, visual experiences instantly mark themselves out as digital leaders. Conversely, those that use tools like Salesforce CPQ without the necessary integrations can only ever hope to be ‘the best of the rest.’ There Are Ways to Improve the CPQ for Salesforce Leading CPQ software, like Epicor CPQ, uses 2D, 3D, or AR visualizations to bring companies’ products to life. This is an incredibly powerful CX tool—consider that advanced product visualizations boost conversion rates by 40% and deal size by 105%. With an advanced, visual CPQ, you can let users customize products at will, instantly see the impact of these changes, and spin products around to get a good look at every detail before purchasing. Show prospects/customers precisely what they’re buying, reducing the likelihood of buyer’s remorse and decreasing the probability they end up returning the product. The good news is: existing Salesforce CPQ users don’t have to rip and replace their CPQ to leverage these benefits. They can download Epicor CPQ in the Salesforce appexchange to seamlessly integrate the solutions and take CX to the next level immediately.