Thought Leadership

Solving the Dynamic Customer Dilemma: Packaging and Pricing the Way People Want to Buy

Gotransverse on Apr 05, 2017

Customer demands are changing and new technologies are causing the demise of long-profitable industry behemoths who can’t keep up. Recent news that the old-school retail leader, Sears, has suffered the same fate of so many other companies who lacked the vision and agility is not surprising. As Augie Ray, a Research Director covering customer experience (CX) for Gartner, recently wrote, “Those brands that best succeed in the future will be the ones that invest in understanding customers’ changing needs, recognize the evolving customer journey, and innovate to satisfy those needs.” 1

Customer Choice and Buying Power

Today’s consumers have more choices and buying power than ever before, and according to Forrester 2017 Predictions, “40% of consumers have a high willingness and ability to shift spend.”2 With this in mind, it is easy to understand why businesses are focusing on creative approaches to price and package their offerings in ways that are most compelling to attract and keep buyers.

However, even the most “customer-obsessed” go-to-market strategy can fail if it can’t respond to market dynamics. Changes in demand and supply, as well as customer behavior, can quickly render an existing product catalog obsolete. Airlines and ride-sharing companies already leverage “surge” pricing successfully. Businesses in other industries are learning from their example. In fact, recent research from Gartner suggests that, “by 2018, 40% of B2B digital commerce sites will use price optimization algorithms and configure/price/quote tools to dynamically calculate and deliver product pricing.” 3

Dynamically calculated pricing that instantly adjusts to fluctuating market demand may be the holy grail of billing systems, but it’s one that is not easy to achieve in a dynamic environment. New technologies such as IoT applications, evolving security protocols, predictive AI data and CX microdesign create additional complexity. To solve for this, companies are turning to intelligent billing solutions to meet the challenges of changing customer preferences.

Improving Customer Experience Drives Revenue

Knowing that businesses don’t rule the markets anymore, courting customers with signature moments designed to create authentic connections to your brand are key to driving customer retention and increasing revenue per customer.

In fact, Forrester released estimates that an additional $5.57 in revenue is generated per customer by increasing the CX Index average by just one point. That’s about $2.56 billion in additional revenue generated from almost 460 million customers according to their study.4 Customer experience has a significant impact on driving revenue, and billing is a critical touchpoint of every customer experience.

Using an intelligent billing solution that can accommodate creative packaging and pricing scenarios makes meeting the needs of dynamic customer demands easier. As the rate of change in the marketplace increases at an ever-faster pace, businesses must keep up or sacrifice their customers to their quicker competitors. The first to market and to meet the demands of savvy, technology-empowered customers will be the winner, and the losers will forever be playing catch up.

Those businesses that maintain “customer-centric DNA” will also be reducing their revenue risk. One poor experience can trigger a shift in spend, potentially permanently, to a competitor. This year Forrester predicts “firms will experience 25% to 50% increases in revenue risk as more customers operate as free agents.”2 This means that more companies will have to focus on responding quickly to market demands in order to maintain customer retention rates.

Addressing Dynamic Markets with the Right Technology

While it’s easy to recognize how customer experience drives P&L and revenue, the pain of slow legacy processes often can’t keep up with modern CX-driven strategies. Outdated technology systems that aren’t designed to handle anything but the most basic product offerings get in the way taking full advantage of the opportunities shifting markets present.

Time sensitive opportunities are lost forever when pricing managers can’t package and price offerings the way markets want to buy. Billing should never be a hindrance to market innovation. Instead, it should be an enabler to moving a business and its customers forward in a positive relationship. An intelligent billing engine drives the ability to package, price and bill customers, whether B2C or B2B, any way they want.

Intelligent Billing Helps Companies Adapt to Fluid Markets

Intelligent billing offers the ability to package and price any product or service any way the market demands. By driving a more customized and configurable customer experience, Gotransverse’s intelligent billing solution offers a solid foundation upon which to dynamically adjust to customers and markets quickly.

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