Pricing Strategy & Philosophy¶
This section documents the official pricing policy and methodology for the AutoCRM system. Our goal is to provide transparent, predictable, and value-based pricing that reflects the enterprise ("SAP-Grade") quality of our solution while maintaining the flexibility of an open-source platform.
1. Market Positioning¶
Strategy: "Upper Mid-Market Value Leader"
AutoCRM positions itself as a viable alternative to large enterprise systems (Salesforce, MS Dynamics, SAP) for Czech and Slovak mid-sized companies (20–250 users).
- Target Customer: Manufacturing, Services, Field Service, and Distribution sectors.
- Our Promise: Implementation in weeks, fixed scope packages, no vendor lock-in.
- Value: We provide enterprise system functionality at a fraction of the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).
graph TD
A[AutoCRM] -->|Price| B(Mid-Market)
A -->|Functionality| C(Enterprise / SAP-Grade)
A -->|Speed| D(Go-Live 2-8 weeks)
subgraph Competition
E[Salesforce/Dynamics] -->|Price| F(High-End)
E -->|Functionality| C
E -->|Speed| G(Months/Years)
H[Cheap Box CRM] -->|Price| I(Low-End)
H -->|Functionality| J(Limited)
H -->|Speed| K(Immediate)
end
2. Pricing Model¶
We are shifting from selling pure hours ("Time & Materials") to selling outcomes via productized packages.
Core Principles¶
- Productized Packages (Internal vs. External):
- Internal View: Calculation based on cost and efficiency (target hours).
- External View: Fixed price for defined scope and clear deliverables.
- Transparency: Clients see clear "Menu" items for extensions, not just a "black box" of hours.
- Risk Management: Instead of hidden "padding", we use a transparent refundable contingency.
3. Strategic Goals¶
| Goal | Description | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Higher Win Rate | More attractive pricing due to standardization and efficiency. | 20-30% reduction vs v1.0 list prices |
| Margin Protection | Maintaining 40-50% gross margin through repeatability (accelerators). | Margin > 40% per package |
| Faster Sales Cycle | Removing lengthy scope negotiations thanks to clear packages. | Proposal cycle reduction |
| Building Trust | Transparent pricing and refundable contingency build partnership. | NPS and client retention |
4. Competitive Advantages¶
How we win tenders without being the cheapest:
- Transparency: We publish package structures and add-on pricing. Competitors often hide costs.
- Industry Accelerators: "AutoCRM for Manufacturing", "AutoCRM for Service" – we don't start from scratch.
- Delivery Speed: QuickStart guarantee (30 days) for Standard tiers.
- Local Support: Czech team, onsite workshops, local legislation knowledge (VAT, GDPR).
- No Lock-In: Open-source foundation (EspoCRM), full code handover, configuration documentation.
Sales Pitch
"Compared to Salesforce or MS Dynamics, you save 300,000-800,000 CZK per year in licenses. The ROI is 3-6 months if we save each user just 1 hour of work per day."