Coveo announced that it’s AI-powered search, recommendation, personalization platform is now available to make more relevant interactions for shoppers on the Salesforce B2B Commerce platform. We joined a select group of Salesforce partners at Salesforce Connections ‘19 to demonstrate how Coveo can deliver the connected and best-in-class experience B2B commerce buyers demand. Download the app here.

We sat down with Brian McGlynn, VP, Commerce to learn more.

Q: So this is big news. What’s exciting about joining Salesforce’s latest product collection?

Right now, the B2B Commerce world is exploding. It’s the fastest growing segment of commerce. Organizations are digitizing the way they work with customers and are looking for new technologies that provide the best-in-class experience that their customers receive as consumers, coupled with the nuances of the way B2B commerce is conducted.

For Salesforce, they bring a tremendous amount of value to this space and how their expertise in customer experience is transforming the commerce space. Specifically, for B2B commerce, this is exciting because of what a strategic opportunity this is for Salesforce to focus and help B2B Commerce customers on their digital transformation journeys.

For Coveo, we’re expanding yet again and hoping to replicate the tremendous success we have seen in delivering AI-powered customer experiences to Salesforce customers to the B2B commerce space.

Q: What pains does Coveo solve for Salesforce customers in the B2B commerce space?

Right now, it’s a very exciting time to be in B2B commerce. But it’s not without its growing pains. First off, there’s a gap between the expectations of shoppers and what firms are able to provide. Today’s B2B buyers grew up with intuitive digital experiences when interacting with B2C that automatically understood and anticipated the content and recommendations they needed. Coveo enables firms to provide that experience and close that gap.

Secondly, B2B firms need to know what works and what doesn’t.  Before the advent of B2B commerce, many manufacturers, for example, were reliant on these complex distribution channels that isolated them their real customers. B2B commerce now gives them the opportunity to connect directly with their customers and understand their needs much better. With Coveo, these insights include more than simple revenue metrics. They will understand why, for example, certain products and combinations are more valuable, why some customers respond better to certain product mixes.

Last, but not least, Coveo brings content into the commerce experience and can really accelerate B2B commerce adoption in organizations. B2B commerce organizations, similar to B2C, have clients with multiple touchpoints: client acquisition, conversion, retention. What makes B2B different is that these buyers are different. They’re purposed based on their role and you’re focusing on life-time value, not one-time transactions. The customer experience is so important. With Coveo’s platform, you’re able to super-serve these customers by bringing in multiple types of content they need, from wherever it resides, to provide a unified and predictive customer experience.

Q: What kinds of customers in this space would see the most success with Coveo?

Anyone in this space that is dealing with professional buyers, which is everyone. Whether it’s a company selling janitorial supplies or expensive medical device technology, these buyers are trained in what they do and are very purposeful when they seek information from their vendors.  They’re buying on information and they’re not buying small, one-time purchases. What they want is information at every touchpoint and Coveo is able to surface the most relevant information to make their buying process more efficient.

I think there’s a particular interest in digital transformation in the manufacturing space. There are different aspects of this, from clothing retailers to OEM manufacturers that want a direct relationship with customers or the distribution channel. Manufacturing is one industry where Coveo is very applicable.

Q: How is Coveo different from other vendors in the space?

Coveo is uniquely valuable in providing a truly unified customer experience. Coveo can ingest multiple sources of information to get a full view of customer interactions, including websites, catalogs, case materials, product documentation, everything into a unified index. Machine learning is then layered on.

B2B commerce buyers are under a lot of pressure to reduce per-order costs and overhead right now – and are investing in the buying process as an overall part of digital transformation happening in many industries. It’s really exciting to see so many companies embrace this initiative and how Coveo can be part of the foundation. Content is king in the B2B world – and Coveo is a tool that unlocks all of your content to make B2B buying more efficient to meet KPIs of adoption and stickiness for B2B commerce channels.

Q: How can customers learn more?

Email us to have one of our experts walk you through our trial at commerce@coveo.com.