You probably know the famous 1997 “Think different” Ad campaign from Apple. If you don’t the original ad is here .  I saw it again recently and thought it still has a very powerful and inspiring message. Since I focus on Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ) I was wondering if this can be used to generate some inspiration for the CPQ field. Below is my take on it.

The idea behind the “Think different” ad campaign was to make the viewer think about the Apple brand in a new way. Remember that was at a time when Apple’s business struggled. In regards to CPQ the idea is to think about CPQ in a new way even though the CPQ business is thriving.

When I hear what is said during the 1 minute “Think Different” Ad ( —> read the text here if you like ) I see three different points that are interesting for CPQ

1. See things differently

You can’t just do what everyone else does and expect better results !

– This can mean different things for different stakeholders like e.g.

  • Vendors: develop different capabilities like smart rules (machine learning,               predictive Analytics), Industry 4.0, Visualization, new ways to think about CRM-CPQ-ERP integrations, different user interface options etc.
  • Users (Sales, Channel, End): demand simpler and faster Interfaces and functionality that make you want to use a CPQ tool
  • Consultants: Learn about more CPQ tools and don’t try to solve every business issue with the CPQ Solution that you are most familiar with

2. No respect for the status quo

CPQ is a growing area and things change often. Just look at the last ~6 months (Steelbrick got acquired by Salesforce, Configit got acquired by Polaris, Configure One got acquired by Autodesk, FPX got acquired by HGGC). As CPQ is in a growing mode there is no real status quo yet. This is a work in progress for all stakeholders (users, customers, vendors, consultants) and therefore you should not limit your “CPQ Dreams”.

3. You can’t ignore them because they change things

If you like it or not nothing speaks as loud as the things you do! Do not talk about it, do not overthink it but actually do it! With “me too” offerings CPQ vendors won’t change anything and while good marketing campaigns or sophisticated selling methods do obviously not hurt, the goal is to give a CPQ user real freedom. As a CPQ user I want to have the freedom to build the product I want, the way I want it ,when I want it and where I want it. If you give a user that freedom you cannot be ignored.

Let me close with an interesting PBS – Steve Jobs interview excerpt (see more at Wikipedia ). The Key points for me are “you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things” .

Interview excerpt PBS – Steve Jobs

“When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is – everything around you that you call life, was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. The minute that you understand that you can poke life and actually something will, you know if you push in, something will pop out the other side, that you can change it, you can mold it. That’s maybe the most important thing. It’s to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it. I think that’s very important and however you learn that, once you learn it, you’ll want to change life and make it better, cause it’s kind of messed up, in a lot of ways. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again”

If you are interested in the full story of the “Think different” campaign see also this Forbes Article