Salesforce Tutorial: Getting to Know Commerce Cloud’s Key Capabilities

Are you launching a new online store or upgrading your current ecommerce platform to one that will allow you to scale more quickly? This Salesforce Commerce Cloud tutorial is helping beginners understand the benefits of using this commerce platform.

There are approximately 12 to 24 million ecommerce websites on the global web. Around 110,000 generate meaningful revenue. To compete in a world with so many online purchasing options, you need the features that come with having a Salesforce offering on your side. 

Salesforce is one of the largest customer relationship management (CRM) tools on the market. With the Commerce Cloud platform, online retailers are gaining the edge over their competition by integrating this program. 

Let’s take a moment to review what Salesforces Commerce Cloud is and some of its capabilities. Then you can learn some of the advantages Salesforce gives brands who choose their ecommerce platform.

What is Salesforce Commerce Cloud?

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is part of their Customer Success Platform. It provides online retailers an ecommerce solution for B2B and B2C sales. 

Brands purchase this commerce platform to provide the best online purchasing experience to their customers. From selling to consumers purchasing the latest fashion accessories to businesses buying wholesale products, Commerce Cloud is the perfect 100% out-of-the-box solution. 

Commerce Cloud comes with all the features and benefits you expect from Salesforce. It has mobile-ready capabilities and seamless integration with Service Cloud and the rest of the Salesforce products. 

This Salesforce offering has been around since 2016 when Demandware sold its interest to Salesforce to create Commerce Cloud. Today, the industry-leading ecommerce platform even offers a direct-to-consumer (D2C) product option for those looking to see all types of products and services online.

Salesforce Tutorial for Beginners: Intro to Commerce Cloud Capabilities

A cloud-based service, Commerce Cloud allows businesses to engage with consumers over any device or channel. This platform enables large ecommerce businesses to manage operations easily. 

The cloud services by Salesforce make it easy for merchants and customers to do business with each other. Create multiregional online stores for simple product selling, order management, and customer management.

Here are the capabilities of Commerce Cloud:

B2B and B2C Commerce Solutions

Customers aren’t the only online buyers. Companies must purchase products too. B2B Commerce powers websites for some of the world’s largest corporations. These services range from consumer goods, manufacturing, healthcare, technology, and more.

For example, a wholesaler can order inventory to stock one or multiple storefronts. They can purchase for entire seasons, or a factory can buy replacement specific parts.

B2B Commerce can manage large carts and purchases with thousands of items. It is native to the Salesforce Lightning Platform and has the B2B-specific functionality for the following:

  • Authenticated login sites
  • Two-click ordering process
  • Custom themes for storefronts
  • Complex shipping functionality for multiple delivery locations and dates
  • Multiple payment type options 
  • Specific product catalogs
  • And more

Example of a Salesforce B2B Commerce platform

The B2C Commerce platform helps brands create shoppers’ online experiences allowing for transactions across all devices and digital channels. Brands can manage responsive ecommerce stores with customized storefronts, shopping carts, and checkout features.

Brands can interact with shoppers through email, brick-and-mortar stores, and social media platforms. The AI-powered tools with Einstein for B2C Commerce deliver a quicker path to purchase for the customer.

Order Management

Salesforce Order Management brings the people, processes, and systems together from every stage of the order lifecycle. It can unite them in one centralized system. 

Tools allow you to automate and streamline processes. The Trailhead module in the Salesforce Order Management will help you get the most from the platform. 

By connecting all aspects of the ecommerce strategy, Salesforce Order Management allows you and your team to:

  • Obtain a comprehensive view of an order’s lifecycle across channels
  • Organize order capture, completion, and delivery in a single place
  • Access order information from a master repository 
  • Manage service orders throughout the order fulfillment 

Content Management

Build custom commerce solutions quickly to deliver content across the full content journey with the content management system built into this CRM platform. Collaborate and oversee approvals.

With Commerce Cloud, you can offer personalized content through customer segments. You can also publish and update content quickly.

Other content management solution includes the following features:

  • Simple content development
  • Universally embed content 
  • Reach customers across every channel
  • Offer personalized experiences
  • Deliver content with pre-built templates

AI-Enabled Commerce

With the Salesforce Commerce Cloud, you get the AI-enabled predictive commerce with Einstein to build your site. Retail leaders get a 1:1 personalization of interactions with consumers. 

Salesforce embedded its platform with AI to build intelligence directly into the Commerce Cloud. The capability delivers personalized emails and customizable on-site product recommendations.

diagram of the Einstein prediction builder

With AI-driven insights proved by Einstein, retailers can increase revenue, enhance customer engagement, and improve productivity. Accelerate the growth of your online store with automated purchasing functionality.

How Brands Benefit from Using Commerce Cloud

The benefits of using Commerce Cloud by Salesforce include:

    • Creating new purchase opportunities
    • Setting up shop quickly
    • Speeding up operations
    • Extensive digital commerce management
    • Shopping journey connectivity
  • Scaling through continued innovation

Salesforce Commerce Cloud Integration Made Easy with Rainmaker

At Rainmaker, our Salesforce Managed Services consultant team can help your ecommerce brand achieve its goals. Our industry solutions enable our customers to integrate Salesforce Commerce Cloud with the rest of their Salesforce ecosystem or another stand-alone CRM system. 

We leverage our expertise to drive value for our clients using Salesforce offerings. We are a proven leader in enabling cloud technology to help companies scale. How can we help you grow your ecommerce business? 

Whether launching a new ecommerce site or upgrading your platform, contact us here to see how we can get you started with Salesforce Commerce Cloud today!

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