Overview
Make the buying decision easier by ensuring pricing, plans, approvals, and contracts are quick and straightforward to navigate.
Make pricing, packaging, and purchase paths transparent to remove uncertainty. Equip buyers with clear ROI, business cases, and stakeholder-ready materials to accelerate approvals.
Maintain momentum from evaluation through checkout by aligning pricing to value realization, reducing checkout friction, and simplifying billing so buyers can become customers quickly and easily.
Metric | IBM goal | |
|---|---|---|
Time from activation to self-serve purchase | Time from a trial user reaching the aha moment to successfully completing a self-serve purchase (including provisioning) | 50-100% of trial duration |
Activated trial-to-self-serve-purchase rate | % of activated trial users (users who reached the aha moment) that successfully complete a self-serve purchase | ≥70% |
Key moments
The Buy experience is a sequence of moments in which people move from realizing your product's value to completing a purchase.
Design these moments to remove friction, build clarity, and guide forward action. Make pricing, packaging, and purchase paths clear and simple so buyers can choose the right option and complete checkout with confidence—whether self-service or sales-assisted.
Maintain momentum by eliminating delays and reducing uncertainty at every step.
When teams align on key value moments and design them as a cohesive journey, buyers progress smoothly, confidence increases, and intent strengthens.
Key moment | Definition | Touchpoints | How to optimize |
|---|---|---|---|
Confirm intent Am I ready to buy? | When buyers determine that they are ready to recommend a purchase. This often involves conversations with stakeholders, budget owners, procurement teams, and/or internal champions who must all align before a purchase can proceed. | – Trial-to-buy prompts – Sales consultation – Business case development – ROI calculators – Customer references – Executive summaries | – Clarify expected outcomes, costs, risks, and next steps. – Reinforce the value already demonstrated during evaluation. – Reduce uncertainty around the purchase decision. |
Justify investment Is this worth the cost? | When buyers assess whether the expected value justifies the cost and commitment. | – Pricing pages – ROI calculators – Business value assessments – Procurement reviews – Contract terms and conditions – Customer success stories | – Communicate value, pricing, and total cost of ownership clearly. – Provide credible evidence that outcomes justify cost and implementation effort. |
Select plan Which plan is right for me? | When buyers compare plans, capabilities, usage models, and costs to determine the best fit. Pricing and packaging should allow target customers to achieve meaningful value at an attainable entry point. | – Pricing and packaging pages – Plan comparison tables – Usage calculators – Product configuration tools – Sales guidance – Marketplace purchase options | – Present clear, transparent pricing and packaging aligned to customer needs and outcomes. – Make differences between plans easy to understand. – Guide buyers to the best option for them. |
Commit with confidence Can I complete this purchase without surprises? | When buyers secure approvals and decide how they will complete the purchase, whether through self-service checkout, partner channels, procurement processes, or direct sales engagement. | – Self-service checkout experience – Procurement workflows – Approval processes – Contract review – Partner-assisted purchasing – Sales-assisted purchasing – Security and legal review | – Reduce friction in approvals, procurement, legal reviews, and contracting. – Make purchasing paths transparent and predictable across both self-service and sales-assisted motions. |
Complete the purchase What happens after I buy? | When buyers complete payment, contracting, procurement, or administrative requirements and receive confirmation, access, and transition into onboarding. Customers should be able to move from purchase to activation without unnecessary delays. | – Purchase confirmation page – Confirmation email – Provisioning and activation flows – License delivery – Welcome communications – Onboarding handoff | – Deliver immediate confirmation, timely provisioning. – Set clear expectations for activation. – Guide customers to begin realizing value quickly. |