Let’s start with some background information about the Salesforce cloud. Demandware, a cloud-based unified platform that assists small and large businesses in displaying their products online, tracking orders, and facilitating mobile payments for clients, was bought by Salesforce in 2016.
Integrating Demandware and Salesforce was a significant step forward in changing how eCommerce businesses engage with their customers. Salesforce established a new Salesforce Commerce Cloud and incorporated it into its Customer Success Platform using Demandware technology.
“Is there any difference between Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Demandware?” you might wonder. Demandware is a flexible and scalable eCommerce platform that supports a growth-oriented e-commerce approach. Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a cloud-based eCommerce system that provides digital commerce experiences. It’s a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) eCommerce solution that’s highly flexible. It has best-in-class features and capabilities that have been created and polished over many years to provide an eCommerce experience that is optimised. It creates AI-powered shopping experiences.
As a result, while Demandware and Salesforce Commerce Cloud are both “eCommerce” technologies, Salesforce Commerce Cloud is the most advanced and optimised option for meeting the expanding expectations of your online business.
What Is Salesforce Commerce Cloud?
Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a cloud-based commerce platform that comes pre-loaded with various features, tools, and commerce portals to help you expand your online business. It helps you to simplify the buying process, personalise the shopping experience, and create a mobile-friendly shopping experience.
Over 2.14 billion individuals were expected to buy products and services online a year ago in 2021, and by 2023, digital sales are expected to account for 22% of all retail sales worldwide.
Given the rapid growth of the eCommerce business and consumer interest in online shopping, an increasing number of merchants are turning to the Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform to run their online storefronts.
The dominance of mobile commerce, the emergence of new payment alternatives, omnichannel shopping, and the development of the eCommerce experience with the help of AI technology are, in turn, among the common eCommerce trends for 2021.
You can keep track of them all and grow your business using Commerce Cloud. This cutting-edge Salesforce eCommerce solution allows you to grow your business, expand geographically, and sell your brand globally. You’ll learn how Salesforce Commerce Cloud can help eCommerce firms grow and thrive in this article.
What Are Its Market Leading Features?
Salesforce Commerce Cloud has a wealth of capabilities for managing eCommerce operations and providing outstanding customer care. Salesforce Commerce Cloud is also a part of Salesforce Digital 360, an integrated platform that lets you sell and engage with your audience across many digital channels.
Let’s take a closer look at the major components and commerce capability of Salesforce Commerce Cloud in Salesforce Digital 360:
- Commerce Cloud Digital:
To design fully responsive eCommerce websites, you receive popular tools, mobile frameworks, and functionalities. You may use Commerce Cloud Digital to promote your online store on social media and reach a wider audience. Furthermore, you can improve consumer mobile experience by optimising mobile payment and search, reducing abandoned carts, and developing your own branded app.
- Storefront Reference Architecture:
You may quickly create a great eCommerce website using this powerful framework. To successfully customise and maintain your website, use pre-designed wireframes, embedded digital revolutionary technology, and useful integrations.
- Commerce Cloud Endless Aisle:
By combining shopping channels, you may make the purchasing experience easy for both your customers and your store workers. Give your team members access to the customer database and information about online inventory to provide personalised customer experiences. By giving exceptional deals in your online shop, you can allow your consumers to form wishlists with desired items and reduce walked sales.
- Commerce Portals:
You may communicate and inspire your customers to build long-term relationships via account portals, loyalty programmes, and other tools. Share relevant material and corporate news with your audience through communities and social media. Provide relevant learning materials to your clients at each stage of their purchasing process.
- Order Management:
This programme allows you to streamline the process of fulfilling and shipping orders to clients worldwide, as well as automate the payment process and manage refunds and cancellations.
- Commerce Platform:
It provides a variety of templates, developer tools, and commerce APIs for creating eCommerce websites without the need for coding. Within one platform, you can integrate your commerce data across all digital channels and obtain data-driven insights into consumer experiences.
Embedded Salesforce Einstein AI technology is one of the most important Salesforce Commerce Cloud capabilities for enhancing customer engagement and happiness. You can track and analyse consumer behaviour with Commerce Cloud Einstein, display personalised product suggestions, and automate search and category pages based on commerce analytics. It’s also possible to use Einstein Search Dictionaries to set intelligence searches and ensure appropriate results.
Salesforce B2B Commerce vs B2C Commerce:
B2B Commerce and B2C Commerce are the two main offerings of Commerce Cloud. The B2B platform assists organisations of all sizes in rapidly growing and scaling in order to meet ever-increasing client needs. By merging CRM data with the commerce experience, firms may gain insight into consumer attitudes. B2B Commerce allows firms to increase income by providing purchasers with a unique experience.
On the other hand, Salesforce B2C Commerce is designed with mobile in mind, allowing for quick customization and smart customization to improve user experiences. Content management, promotions, merchandising, marketing, fulfilment, customer support, and predictive intelligence are among the many features available.
As B2C and B2B customers utilise eCommerce websites in various ways, Commerce Cloud offers two different offerings. Websites that sell to other businesses typically have fewer clients who buy more things more often. As a result, B2B commerce sites must be capable of handling massive orders and inventory.
Businesses that sell to consumers, on the other hand, must appeal to a larger audience. Customers on B2C commerce websites are more likely to order smaller quantities of products. In B2C retail, large groups of visitors (who have never shopped with the company before) are also increasingly typical. Customers on B2B websites frequently know what they want and are simply reordering what they’ve previously ordered.
In order to encourage visitors and returning consumers to buy new products that are relevant to them, B2C websites demand more customization and personalization for each customer. B2C websites also see big spikes in traffic around the holidays and during sales, necessitating the scalability to manage massive amounts of traffic.
Pros And Cons Of Salesforce Commerce Cloud:
While SFCC has a broad list of advantages, no platform is perfect. Here’s what businesses and users are saying about the popular cloud-based commerce solution.
Pros:
Here’s a partial list of the advantages Commerce Cloud has to offer:
- Based on the world’s most popular Customer Relationship Management
- Einstein AI’s predictive intelligence
- The ability to scale swiftly and without disruption
- Storefronts with easy customization
- Customers get personalised shopping experiences.
- Growth tactics that work
- Consumer behaviour insights based on data Responsive design for mobile shoppers
- A simple checkout procedure
- A seamless shopping experience that integrates digital and physical mediums
- Capabilities for advanced reporting and testing to improve marketing
- Manual chores are automated.
- 24/7 support, advice services, and adoption initiatives
- Multi-store management
- Platform for multi-tenant cloud
- Regularly and automatically, new revolutionary features are given.
- Upgrades are seamless.
- Quick load times
- Content management system suitable for B2B and B2C content marketing activities
- Infrastructure for international marketing that is borderless and secure
- Flexibility and agility
- Customers from every angle
- In one location, you’ll find customer support, marketing, sales, community, and order fulfilment.
Cons:
Here are some issues that users may face while deploying the platform:
- It could be tough to use all of the software’s functions.
- Customer support may take some time to react to requests.
- If the transition is not done swiftly and efficiently, sales may be lost.
- For developers who haven’t been explicitly taught in SFCC, the software programming language may be difficult to read.
- It could be too expensive for smaller or less profitable firms.
- There are inconsistencies throughout the user interface.
How to Implement SFCC for Your Business Success?
Employing SFCC in a way that ensures a company’s success necessitates professional expertise. To get the most out of the programme and maximise your business’s potential, you’ll need Salesforce-certified developers that are familiar with the SFCC architecture and programming language. They may set up and adapt the platform so that it meets your specific requirements. They can also give ongoing site support and maintenance.
With over 12 years of Salesforce Commerce experience, Folio3 e-commerce is a Salesforce Certified Partner. Folio3 is also a top Salesforce implementation partner. Folio3 Ad will set up SFCC for your company and provide constant assistance and training after it’s up and running, making sure that you are not left in the dark.
Conclusion:
You must use Salesforce Commerce Cloud in your firm if you want to emerge as one of the leading and top retailers in a crowded e-commerce industry by maximising earnings and providing a world-class shopping experience to your customers.
