Gone are the days when “you get what you get” in commerce — even the most robust platforms need some degree of customization to deliver on individual organizational objectives. In our industry, checking boxes is only going to meet the status quo. And the reality is this: next-generation commerce experiences require new ways of thinking.
Goodbye, to out-of-the-box. Hello, to thinking outside of the box.
In this post, we’ll review:
- The solid Salesforce Commerce Cloud foundation;
- Zaelab’s Salesforce Commerce composable accelerator;
- Why ThreeKit, Logik.io, and Pimly elevate Salesforce Commerce Cloud;
- How guided selling, product visualization, and integrating Salesforce CPQ are integral to buying.
Salesforce Commerce Cloud: The Foundation Your Business Needs
There are a lot of commerce options on the market — software platforms and development partners — both of which will say that they can do it all. The reality is that very few can actually deliver on needs out-of-the-box. And even fewer are capable of meeting complex B2B needs specifically. Unless it’s Salesforce Commerce Cloud.
Salesforce Commerce is, in our experience, a strong ecommerce platform that can be used to solve big business challenges including:
- Authenticated sites, including logins for each visitor
- Shopping carts that can accommodate hundreds of items per order
- Two-click reorders to make large, frequent orders fast and easy
- Custom storefront themes for a unique look and feel for each account
- Specific product catalogs by account for a selected subset of products
- Negotiated/contract pricing by account or by customer segment
- Complex shipping functionality allowing for multiple delivery dates and locations
- Multiple payment types like credit card, purchase order, and ACH
Moreover, Salesforce boasts its AppExchange, for next-gen discovery. It enables users to:
- Finds solutions faster with an intuitive and simplified experience
- Browse more relevant solutions with personalized and intelligent search
- Make informed decisions with greater pricing transparency
Out-of-the-box, this commerce solution is effective in driving ROI — we see organizations using Salesforce Commerce Cloud recognizing 271% ROI and $12 per order average savings.
But what happens when we push beyond the status quo?
Just a few months back, McKinsey published findings about the seismic shifts B2B must make to deliver excellence. Of the three biggest opportunities, one included adopting a value-creation mindset, where solutions are individualized, products and services ecosystems are customized, and design propels the entire buyer lifecycle. The epitome of thinking outside of the box.
Circling back to how we opened the post, and honing in on the fact that next-generation commerce experiences require new ways of thinking, we have to consider opportunities for enhancement. At Zaelab, we assessed industry trends, next-gen solutions, and possible Salesforce Commerce Cloud gaps — three glaring areas jumped out for elevation:
- Enhanced product information (PIM)
- Guided selling
- Product visualization
We decided to level up this commerce experience. Zaelab combined the best-of-breed Salesforce ISV partners to deliver an unparalleled composable commerce experience — introducing, our Salesforce Commerce composable accelerator.
Meet our Salesforce Commerce Composable Accelerator
What happens when the best commerce platform in the market meets an accelerator that is designed to seamlessly deliver personalized, visual experiences specifically designed to convert buyers? This:
Salesforce B2B Commerce Plus is a unique architecture Zaelab created that integrates the following components:
Salesforce B2B Commerce Cloud: Foundational
Salesforce Commerce Cloud is the accelerator’s strong foundation. This commerce platform boasts all the features and functionalities that organizations need to drive revenue online, with easy-to-use ecommerce features tailored to customers.
Salesforce B2B Experience Cloud: Foundational
Salesforce Experience Cloud is a platform that enables organizations to engage with customers across all channels. The solution amalgamates data into one place so that businesses can deliver personalized content faster and simplifies the actions customers need to take to access data.
Pimly: Product Information Enhancements
Pimly is a product experience management solution that enables an organization with fully configurable digital catalogs, sell sheets, and commerce product experiences. With Pimly, organizations can close deals faster and provide better customer experience with accessible, up-to-date product information, configured for specific customer channels and segments.
Logik.io: Guided Selling and Integrated CPQ Enhancements
Logik.io augmentsSalesforce CPQ and, due to its headless architecture, integrates seamlessly with most commerce environments. Logik.io’s Commerce Logic Engine enhances digital customer experiences with advanced guided product configuration experiences, making self-service buying a reality for any company. The technology’s advanced solving engine allows businesses to deliver lightning-fast, high-performance product configuration, and buying experiences, and enables organizations to support products with sophisticated configurations, and complex and multi-dependency rules.
Threekit: 3D Product Visualization Enhancements
Threekit is a technology platform created by 3D specialists. These experts have combined best-in-class tools to turn product visuals into customer experiences. The 3D configurator allows sellers to deliver leading 3D experiences without custom code, its virtual photographer can generate tens of thousands of photorealistic images from a single design file, and its augmented reality lets B2B buyers see how a product looks in their space in remarkable detail.
Why These Enhancements?
Commerce accelerators pull together integral components to elevate the experience. At Zaelab, we didn’t just pull together any enhancements. We honed in on three key areas that are clutch to next-generation commerce experiences. Let’s dig in further.
Enhanced Product Information
B2B products are complex and by nature, require more data. We love how Salesforce Commerce Cloud provides a basic product “Product2” object, but quickly realized that it lacks the extension ability.
We optimized the experience with Pimly and integrated the solution to provide business users with the ability to extend the product model. This results in the ability to have better product data to support customers in finding specific products for their needs seamlessly and efficiently.
Guided Selling with Integrated CPQ
The more complex the product, the more complex the selling. Guided selling is a sales enablement strategy that increases sales productivity using automated and data-driven tools. By matching buyers with the right products, guided selling implements dynamic logic to help users discover and convert.
In next-generation commerce experiences, guided selling is a vital part of the solution in driving conversions. It increases sales productivity, curbs choice overload, and naturally creates cross sell and upsell opportunities to deliver excellent purchase experiences.
3D Product Visualization
3D product visualization is a game-changing point in the customer decision-making process for a number of industries, including medical devices, consumer products, manufacturing, and retail. With product configuration, Zaelab equips companies to enable self-service and guided selling features to help buyers find and purchase what they need instantly. By offering the ability to feature every product and potential customization online, product visualization enables businesses to create engaging and shoppable experiences that drive conversions.
Step Outside of the Box
If you have or are considering Salesforce Commerce Cloud, take a step outside of the box with Zaelab’s accelerator. We have pre-integrated integral elements to provide a next-gen out-of-the-box solution designed to meet the needs of your customers, while enhancing the overall experience. Talk to us about implementing our Salesforce Commerce composable accelerator.
