eMarket Integrations: Customer-Specific Pricing Rules

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Video: Clarity eCommerce Multi-Tiered Pricing

Discounts are Important

Purchase-Threshold Discounts

In a B2B eMarketplace, or any eCommerce marketplace, discounts play an important role. In B2B, discounts are often given on group buying platforms for franchise groups. In specialized marketplaces, there’s oftentimes a lot of volume or expensive items, and we’re trying to get to a certain threshold of purchasing.

Therefore, it’s a good idea to provide customers with very specific discounts based on quantity breaks, dollar amount of the order, or the customer’s span of purchases from the site within a period of time. For example, it could be based on a quarter or a year, such that based on their purchases that year, they would receive a discount if they met a certain threshold of purchasing.

In addition, it's not uncommon for certain organizations to receive a special promotional pricing based on the size of the organization or some form of sales terms based on a minimum purchase that they're going to make every year, etc.

They agree that they're going to purchase at least this much volume, then they get this much of a discount. We need to be able to reflect that within the pricing inside of the eMarketplace dynamically once the customers login and we’re able to determine that, in fact, yes, this is a customer of this certain type, and therefore, we should be providing them with this discount.

Specific and Generic Price Rules

How Price Rules Work

This customer specific pricing has many different facets to it, but it can include what are referred to as "price rules." Price rules are very powerful. The concept is that this could come in from an integration, and usually does, so the sales team might be managing this customer-specific pricing information in a CRM or in some other line of business application, like an ERP.

Then, based on the price rules that are determined for a customer account, they could be very complex where they could literally be at the product level. This customer gets this percentage off if they purchased this much total in their entire order.

Or it could be something like—if it's this month of the year and it's this exact product, they get this many dollars off, so not a percentage, but a dollar amount. It could also be things like this particular customer on all their product's gets a 2% discount, but they also get another discount if they're in this one subcategory. Then, instead of being 2%, it's 3% total off, and then if they purchased this one product, they get $10 off for every single one that they purchase.

The price rules are really powerful because they can enable these generic rules that have inheritance so that the more granular the rule is, the more it wins, in a sense, over the macro level, high level rule.

And where there isn't a more granular rule specified, the more macro high level rule wins, and so it allows this application of these multi-tiered very faceted price rules.

how price rules work

In addition, there are common pricing mechanisms within a lot of ERPs that are just simply based on customer role, and they're very generic, and they might be based on quantity breaks. So, it could be that this customer generally gets a discount of this type, and then if they purchased this much quantity, they get an additional discount applied. Or it could just be simply that the customers just straight up get a quantity discount.

These are just some of the scenarios for customer specific pricing. It really can be extremely granular per customer with just general rules where those granular rules are not in existence.

User Experience with Price Rules & Pricing Data

Present Accurate Pricing Data

accurate pricing data visual

The main takeaway is that whenever you are operating a buying group or a marketplace, or an eAuction platform, etc., and you're looking to provide these types of discounts, it can be a truly make-or-break for the offering as to whether or not we're incorporating this intelligence into the user experience.

If the customer doesn’t see their actual pricing and it’s not accurate or consistent, then they may get an incorrect impression of what pricing that we're actually offering through the marketplace. And therefore, they may leave to go check and review a competitor site that does have accurate customer specific pricing. It's just the nature of business that folks are going to tend toward moving into things that are lower cost if it's the same product.

In a similar fashion, it's also possible to offer discounts and benefits not just on the actual pricing but on the overall order or things like shipping and fulfillment portion of the order as well. Customers may have specific pricing and shipping arrangements, such as on a group buying platform, so they can get a significant discount on the shipping, and depending on their order type, they may be able to qualify for a wholesale order instead of a retail order and be able to benefit from how that works in regard to paying taxes, etc.

Of course, it’s very important that all of the rules and laws be preserved and respected, and at the same time that we are accurate about all these things. Otherwise, there are competitors who will take the business and the opportunity to present accurate pricing for the customer and other accurate terms, and they may be able to win the deal. If your marketplace software, eCommerce buying group, or multi-franchise eMarketplace platform, etc., is not accurately conveying what your pricing is and if it’s not constantly updating through an integration, you may have old data and therefore lose business from that as well.

 

Clarity Can Help

Clarity’s experts can seamlessly integrate your API, ERP, and line of business applications so that your pricing data is always accurate, up-to-date, and customers know they can place their trust in your marketplace. We are happy to discuss your current projects, challenges, and opportunities for growth, as well as answer any questions you may have. Don’t lose business to competitors; partner with Clarity Ventures and grow your business instead. Click the button below to talk to an expert, receive a free demo, and a no-obligation price quote.