Get to Know B2B Commerce and D2C Commerce
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Describe the two primary applications of B2B Commerce and D2C Commerce.
- Describe how B2B Commerce and D2C Commerce help businesses attain their commerce objectives.
- List the strategic advantages built into B2B Commerce and D2C Commerce.
The ABCs of B2B Commerce and D2C Commerce
In the business world where goods and services are sold, there are two main types of operations: business-to-business (B2B) and direct-to-consumer (D2C). B2B businesses are complex operations that connect a multitude of business relationships to sell bulk goods to buyers from other businesses. B2B businesses operate in four primary markets: producers, resellers, governments, and institutions. B2B businesses generate revenue from orders, reorders, and subscription services for bulk goods.
D2C businesses are retail shopping experiences that connect directly with consumers. D2C businesses include brick-and-mortar retail stores, online D2C stores, social media sites, email marketing campaigns, and any direct-to-consumer selling method. A D2C business derives revenue from orders, reorders, and subscriptions made directly by consumers.
What Is Salesforce B2B Commerce and D2C Commerce?
Salesforce B2B Commerce and D2C Commerce, also known as the Commerce app, is a full-feature app for developing, operating, and managing online B2B and D2C ecommerce stores. It’s built natively on the Salesforce platform using Salesforce Lightning functionality. With the Commerce app, you can build online, self-service B2B stores that sell products in bulk quantities to other businesses. You can also build state-of-the-art D2C online retail stores.
The B2B Solution
As world markets expand and competition increases, B2B sellers seek innovative solutions to stay ahead of their competition. The Commerce app is the ultimate tool for B2B companies that want to enhance their ecommerce presence. Use the Commerce app to build dynamic and engaging B2B stores that drive buyer engagement and boost sales. It’s like a digital warehouse where the virtual shelves are always stocked. Business buyers serve themselves anytime, anywhere, which keeps a steady stream of orders, reorders, and subscription services flowing for your products.
The D2C Solution
D2C businesses sell to individual shoppers who want a personalized retail shopping experience with 24/7 access to products and services. Online D2C shoppers have grown to expect personalized VIP treatment. They expect fast, easy-to-use, customizable experiences with meaningful product recommendations and multiple payment, shipping, and return options. The Commerce app offers D2C businesses and their customers the best-in-class D2C ecommerce tools. D2C Commerce helps merchants offer personalized shopping experiences so their customers can chart their perfect purchase path.
Strategic Advantage
The Commerce app on the Salesforce platform offers the following benefits to help businesses realize a strategic market advantage.
Business Value |
Strategic Advantage |
|---|---|
Modernize sales channels. |
Focus your B2B business on serving distributors, dealers, and small businesses with a digital-first, consumer-like ecommerce experience built around sales. New Einstein AI technologies support modern channel sales that focus on buyer contact through digital engagement instead of a sales rep. D2C businesses aren’t left out of the modern sales connection. With integrated Einstein AI bots, your D2C site can offer personalized shopping experiences for your retail customers as well. |
Unify commerce operations. |
Grow your business with a single global platform and a unified data model for B2B, D2C, order management, and your partner ecosystem. With the Commerce app built on the Salesforce platform, you get a single view of shoppers throughout the order lifecycle. |
Connect the customer’s journey from marketing to sales to service. |
Take the fastest path toward a complete digital transformation with a CRM-powered, connected customer journey. The Commerce app integrates with Salesforce Marketing, Sales, Service, and Data Clouds—a complete commerce ecosystem. |
Quickly launch full-featured stores with the Commerce app. |
Get commerce sites up and running quickly with low-code setup and customization, simplified data import, and shared workflows across Salesforce clouds. Take advantage of the store templates and quickly create and customize a customer-friendly B2B or D2C site. Use standard Lightning components to set up checkout and payment and configure store settings. Define customer experiences, including search, carts, and checkouts. Import commerce data for accounts, products, price books, and entitlements using a CSV file import. |
Create personalized shopping experiences with Einstein generative AI. |
Use Commerce Einstein Recommendations, powered by Einstein generative AI, and Search to guide shoppers to the products they want and discover additional products to purchase. |
Merge customer data. |
Connect and manage customer data across your entire organization while you deliver personalized experiences powered by Einstein AI. |
Simplify order payment and shipping. |
Integrate the Commerce app with Salesforce Payments, tax, and shipping integrations. Also explore a rich ecosystem of AppExchange payment, tax, and shipping integrations from system integrator partners. |
Next Steps
This unit is a broad overview of Salesforce B2B Commerce and D2C Commerce. You learned how the Salesforce platform supports both B2B and D2C storefronts. You also learned about the strategic business value that the Commerce app’s features offer. Next, learn about the Salesforce commerce data model and how it functions to support B2B and D2C stores.