The latest State of Commerce report shows that high-performing commerce organisations around the world are seven times more confident in their preparedness to use data to personalise the commerce experience.
They’re also 1.6x more likely to rate themselves as effective at automating processes. Customers who have used Salesforce Customer 360 have seen automation of business processes speed up by 27%.
When you have your customer data on one trusted platform, with automated processes handling your day-to-day operations, you can focus on your customer and grow your business.
Automation is critical in the drive for efficiency
Automation allows you to create a more efficient and productive workforce.
In a recent Salesforce Success Metrics study, companies across industries and regions reported seeing, on average, a 26% increase in employee productivity* using Salesforce automation, plus an estimated 25% savings on IT costs*.
Other benefits of automation are described in the State of Service report — top of the list is time saving, with 98% of those surveyed describing it as a benefit, and 50% saying that it’s a major benefit to their business.
The report also includes benefits such as connection with other departments, reduction of errors, and time for new projects. All of these factors contribute to a more productive organisation — and that’s not all. Forty-seven percent of service professionals also said that automation helped them focus on their customers.
Lower your ordering costs
To meet new challenges and keep customer satisfaction at the forefront, businesses need to streamline operations to reduce costs, improve customer experience, and earn loyalty. That means streamlining order management and automating repetitive and tedious processes.
Order management system in Commerce Cloud Genie enables businesses to grow revenue with intelligent insights and build trusted relationships with real-time data. We’ve seen companies achieve a reduction of 26% in ordering costs* and boost productivity with Einstein AI within the Commerce Cloud. With commerce automation, 89% of Salesforce customers achieve positive ROI in only nine months.*
Customers demand personalised digital experiences
Your customers are more online than ever. As reported in our State of the Connected Customer report, customers worldwide expect more than 60% of their interactions with companies to be online this year.
The report also highlights three important considerations:
- 88% of consumers say that the experience a company provides is just as important as the product or service it provides
- 73% of customers also say that they expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations
- 56% of customers still think that companies treat them as a number, rather than an individual.
The State of Commerce report told us that, after revenue growth and expanded customer base, the greatest concern for most industries is deepening customer relationships.
Leaders in the world of commerce are nearly 1.7x more likely to rate themselves as ‘effective’ when it comes to personalised experiences. They’re also 1.5x more likely to be effective when it comes to understanding customer behaviour.
For your business to thrive, you need to create smoother journeys with highly personalised and intelligent shopping moments that make your customers feel truly understood. These insights present an opportunity for any company to offer a personalised digital service to wow your customers with great experiences and drive business growth. And this can be done with a comprehensive understanding of your customers’ needs – which comes from a complete set of customer data.
New channels = more opportunities
One of the keys to digital success is expanding into new channels. As shown in the State of Commerce report, 69% of digital commerce leaders are already investing in new digital channels. These new channels include mobile apps, online marketplaces, and social media platforms like TikTok.
Fifty-seven percent of customers prefer to engage with companies through digital channels — that number rises to 65% for younger generations. Online comes out on top even when it comes to the final purchase — 63% of millennials and 58% of Gen Z prefer buying online over going into a store.
The time to start automating is now
The stakes for not automating the way you handle data are high — even among leaders. In fact, leaders who report that they aren’t effective at using their data are 37% more likely to report not being prepared to handle rising inflation.
More than 60% of customers are already telling us that the majority of their interactions with companies will be online in the coming years. From Salesforce Cyber Week 2022 shopping insights, global online sales and digital traffic broke records. The numbers hit an all-time high of USD$281 billion, up 2% compared to 2021, and USD$68 billion, up 9% compared to 2021. If the trend continues, that number will only get higher.
Prepare your automation strategy now, and you’ll be ready to grow in the future. The second edition of the State of Commerce contains analysis of buying data from over 1 billion customers worldwide. Download the report today to find out how you can handle your data to grow your commerce business more efficiently.
*Source: 2022 Salesforce Success Metrics Global Highlights study.
Data is from a survey of 3,706 Salesforce customers across Singapore, the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Australia, India, Japan and Brazil conducted between June 8 and June 21, 2022. Results were aggregated to determine average perceived customer value from the use of Salesforce. Respondents were sourced and verified through a third-party B2B panel. Sample sizes may vary across metrics.
