New Business models like subscriptions and consumption-based pricing are catching everyone’s eye in order to build recurring relationships with customers. As a result, many industries either small, medium, or large scale are embracing technologies like IOT (Internet of things), AI (Artificial Intelligence). While this creates growth opportunities, it often strains the existing processes. This is where Salesforce automation in the customer lifecycle, such as Advanced Order Management, can help!

With the changing needs of customers, new business models and processes like quote-to-cash transform a linear process to a sequential process where customer orders can change. As a result, businesses can no longer split customers’ details from here and there. Instead, they must create alignment across all the touchpoints of a customer, including invoicing and payments.

This is the only way to build your systems to support the best relationships with your customers. Salesforce Billing from Salesforce CPQ Solutions helps you support and extend your service to your customers. It also helps with invoicing, payments, and revenue.

Below, we will review 4 components of Salesforce automation in the customer lifecycle that will help us build better customer relationships.

1. Advanced Order Management
2. Flexible invoicing
3. Simplified ERP Integration
4. Automated Payments

 

Let’s talk about them one-by-one in detail to understand what each has to offer to improve revenue.

 

Advanced Order Management (AOM)

When we talk about order management, we mean here that we are going to use automation on complex deals in Salesforce by splitting orders based on time and location.

Key Features of AOM

So how exactly can you reorganize operations and rise customer satisfaction with Advanced Order Management? Let us tally the ways.

1. Fulfill orders faster than ever – Effortlessly create orders from quotes to quickly get products and services delivered to customers.
2. Flexible for Growing Customer Needs – Now you can split quotes into multiple orders, manage the future dated order with just one point and click.
3. 360-Degree Understanding of the Customer – Rapidly create contracts with all contract terms, pricing, asset, and subscription details.
4. Link to Back Office – Synchronize order details to ERP for order completion.

When it comes to your products and services, customers want everything in a timely manner. AOM helps businesses to deliver on time with minimum effort.

 

Flexible Invoicing

Guarantee timely cash collection by automating billing for one-time, recurring, or usage-based fees. Salesforce CPQ may be the only CPQ solution on the market with the concept of time built in. One place where this idea of time is critical is for renewal opportunities and quotes. Salesforce CPQ allows you to automate these as well. When we are talking about renewals, Salesforce CPQ automatically creates a renewal opportunity and quote, so sales reps don’t need to.

In addition, Salesforce sends the team a reminder when a renewal is coming close. All they must do is jump into the new opportunity, certify the data is correct (data can be carried over from the original opportunity and quote), and then implement.

 

Simplified ERP Integration

The deployment model you select affects how you treat the integration with ERP. Fortunately, once you have the process reckoned, Salesforce or a Systems Integrator can assist you to identify the right type of integration.

The Salesforce Platform offers native connectors with major ERP systems and a list of partners who can help you figure out the best integration method. Certified Partners are listed on the Salesforce AppExchange.

 

Automated Payments

Reduce manual time by restructuring electronic payments via credit card or ACH.

Native integrations with payment schemes like PayPal, Authorize.net, and CyberSource are accessible for the Lead-to-Cash model. Currently, Salesforce Billing supports tracking and managing invoices and payments. Customers can declaratively set up debit or credit notes against invoices, and you can automate whole or partial payment processing based on your needs.

Key Features of Automated Payments

1. Process Payments – This enables you to process full or partial payments using your saved payment cards.
2. Recurring Payments – You can now automate the payment process. Directions are set up to have Salesforce Billing evaluate invoices over time and carry planned payments against the customer’s payment data.
3. Apply Credits and Debits – This includes the addition of debit and credit notes to specific invoice lines.

Here, easy transactional invoice settlement data is going to transfer to ERP for financial reporting.

 

For additional CPQ information, review my related blog posts and other resources below!

 

Additional Resources

• Connect with Customers and Close Deals Faster with Salesforce CPQ
• Gamechanger: Salesforce CPQ in the Sales Market
• Salesforce: What is CPQ, or Configure, Price, Quote?

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