Salesforce has announced the addition of new features to its Commerce Cloud service that are designed to help organizations of all types increase their revenue through various channels. The new features apply to the front and back ends of the organization’s web presence and streamline multiple processes. These enhancements make it easier for customers to make and add to an existing purchase through suggestions, links to invoices for immediate payment, and reorder goods with little effort. The new features include:

Each of these features is designed to improve and unify the customer buying experience across different channels. Retail and wholesale customers are presented with a variety of buying opportunities that meet their specific needs at the time they’re looking to buy. Meanwhile, businesses can easily prompt their customers to pay promptly through a link in text or email and settle the payment in seconds. Here’s a look at the new features and how they improve revenue streams.

The Reorder Portal makes it easy for your salespeople to identify customers who reorder supplies and materials from your company on a regular basis. Your sales staff can go through the order history of repeat buyers and send them an email with an invite to a private storefront that’s set up for the reorder. All your customer has to do is agree to the purchase, pay, and receive their order before they run out of their existing supply.

Setting up a Reorder Portal for a customer is done through the Commerce Reorder Portal in Experience Builder. The store is set up with items pulled from the product catalog and other configurations, then completed with an Einstein Next Best Action component.

Order Support enhances the checkout process by suggesting products that could be useful to the customer as they check out. You can use agents, self-service actions, knowledge articles, and bots to prompt the customer to buy more. These items are embedded into the checkout process and use Einstein AI to identify and recommend additional products that support items the customer is currently buying. When the customer agrees to the suggestion and orders additional services or goods, it increases the value of the transaction.

Pay Now streamlines the payment process between seller and customer by embedding a checkout link in any Salesforce application. You or your representative can settle payment for goods or services wherever you happen to be. As an example, you’re meeting with a customer on a worksite and the invoice needs to be settled. An invoice can be created in the application and sent directly to the customer while both of you are still together. The customer receives the invoice through a text or email in the form of a link and can click through to pay the outstanding balance immediately.

The Pay Now feature is advantageous in that it makes it easy to create and deliver the invoice, then receive payment. It can be created before you meet, list what is being sold, and contain the payment terms that were agreed upon. You and your customer can go over the invoice for accuracy, then complete the transaction.

Snapchat for Commerce creates a sales ecosystem that starts with the creation of ads on Snapchat, making it easier for potential customers to discover your products, and directing the user to your storefront or checkout directly from the app. You create the ads you want to put on Snapchat and make it easy for users to click through to the product page to buy. Alternatively, you can make it easier for the user to make a sale by allowing them to check out the Snapchat app.

Giving users the choice to buy from you by directing them to your product page or through the app gives them the option to click out of the app or stay there while making a purchase. Staying in the app increases the potential for impulse buys while clicking out gets their full attention and increases the likelihood of additional purchases. Both options help improve the value of a sale and improve your product turnover. This feature can also raise awareness of your brand and improve your customer base.

In June 2023, Salesforce launched two generative AI features known as Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT. Both are powered by Einstein GPT and Data Cloud with their primary use being that of refining the marketing process.

Marketers can use Marketing GPT to create personalized emails that directly target a specific audience, can identify smaller audience segments that are typically overlooked, and streamline the marketing journey.

Salesforce has upcoming plans for other AI-assistive features that will be released for use in the later months of 2023. They’re primarily focused on streamlining marketing efforts and delivering a more personalized advertising experience to consumers.

Salesforce’s Commerce Cloud is a complete software suite that provides your business with a framework to measure and evaluate data from sales revenue to website engagement. When Salesforce’s software is implemented right, you reap the rewards of your marketing and sales efforts in less time than you thought possible. The key to making Salesforce work for your organization is understanding how Commerce Cloud works and how to take advantage of its features. If you’re not using it right, you can’t get the best out of it.

At CLOUDSTREET, we can help you get the most out of Commerce Cloud and enjoy the ROI that the software can deliver. Get in touch with us today to discuss the areas where you need help, what you’re looking to get from Commerce Cloud and other Salesforce offerings, and learn how we can help you make the most out of the software. We’ve helped implement B2B stores for industrial manufacturers, makers of consumer goods, IT services, and many other industries.