StoreConnect Commerce: Empowering Education for the Modern World

January 7, 2025

The world of education is changing, and colleges face big challenges as they strive to stay relevant. From rising demands for online learning to preparing students for the future workforce, traditional approaches simply aren’t cutting it anymore.

Enter StoreConnect, a game-changing commerce solution built entirely on the Salesforce platform, designed to help higher education institutions meet today’s challenges head-on.

What Students Really Want (and Need)

Salesforce’s recent Connected Student Report surveyed over 1,300 students and higher ed professionals globally. Here’s what they found:

47% of students choose schools based on career prospects, yet only 11% feel prepared for work.
Students with poor onboarding experiences were 35x less likely to enjoy university life overall.
Almost 50% believe their qualifications will be irrelevant in 5 years or less.
Only 12% of students feel a strong sense of belonging at their schools.

These stats reveal a major gap between what students expect and what higher education is delivering.

56% of students prefer email content from higher education institutions, 47% of students selected their institution for career prospects, 40% of staff say their institution has shifted to focus more flexible learning.

A New Era in Education

Students today crave flexibility. They want short courses, self-paced learning, and online options. This has been traditionally difficult to manage at scale and for tertiary education to be able to pivot and react to the changing market.

Meanwhile, universities and colleges are grappling with:

Key Challenges
Increased demand for online and flexible learning options: Students and professionals are seeking more accessible, self-paced courses, but many colleges struggle to quickly scale their online programs.
Complex enrollment and payment systems: Managing course registrations, tuition payments, and corporate training contracts can be cumbersome, often requiring multiple disconnected systems.
Pressure to deliver customized learning paths: With the rise of personalized education, institutions are expected to tailor offerings to specific student and corporate needs, which is difficult to manage at scale.
Growing competition from non-traditional providers: Bootcamps, online platforms, and corporate training providers are offering streamlined, career-focused programs, making it harder for traditional tertiary institutions to attract and retain students.

Many institutions have turned to adding new software to increase their ability to deliver the service that students are demanding. With 20+ different systems in use, they are not frictionless, lack accurate, current information and require paying even more people to get these computers to talk with each other.

Education Software Ecosystem flow showing complex connection between Education Administration and Student

How StoreConnect Customer Commerce Helps Colleges Thrive

StoreConnect simplifies the chaos with a revolutionary approach: Customer Commerce. It integrates seamlessly with Salesforce to simplify operations and enhance student experiences.

Easy website creation for courses, certifications, and business training programs.
Launch multiple sites to cater for different corporate branding and offerings, while all being managed centrally in the same Salesforce org
Offer flexible payment options (credit cards, PayPal, Stripe).
Track everything—enrollments, payments, and more—from one central dashboard inside of Salesforce for full visibility and control.
Because StoreConnect is built in Salesforce, operations are extensible and the other Salesforce Clouds just work.

With StoreConnect, colleges get everything they need to stay competitive, all in one place.

Students with a GREAT onboarding experience are 35 x more likely to have a GREAT University experience

Source: Salesforce higher education statistics trends 2022

StoreConnect Architecture

Here’s what makes StoreConnect a standout solution:

Salesforce and StoreConnect SASS platform architecture diagram to connect Educators with Students

Key Features
🏆 Salesforce AppExchange award-winning partner	📅 Integrated booking system
💳 Licensed per org with a single, simple, license fee plus a % of gross transactional sales	📊 Stock & inventory management
🌍 B2B, B2C, D2C, multi-currency, multi-region on the one platform	🚚 Multiple tax / shipping zones
🏪 Multiple stores in one Salesforce Org (# based on store size)	🎁 Rewards points & loyalty
🔄 Unlimited transactions on every plan	🎫 Gift certificates / vouchers / promotion codes
📦 No integration / API issues - everything in one place	🛒 Integrated Point of Sale
🖥️ Complete Content Management System	💰 Subscription, variable & fixed price support

Workforce Development Solutions

StoreConnect enables institutions to launch custom websites and manage student transactions directly within Salesforce, streamlining the entire process of delivering workforce development programs.

For Workforce Development

Prepare students for the job market with streamlined workforce training programs.

Benefits
🌐 Launch custom websites for job-ready courses.
📝 Manage online enrollments and payments with ease.

Expand Short Courses & Certifications with StoreConnect

Tap into the growing demand for short-term learning with tools to.

Benefits
⚡Quickly create course websites allowing students to sign up and pay.
💳 Offer flexible payment models, like subscriptions or one-time fees.
📊 Real-time enrollment and payment tracking directly with Salesforce.

For Corporate Training

Expand your offerings to businesses with custom-branded training portals.

Features
🤝 Simplify enrollment for corporate clients.
🧾 Offer bulk registration and invoice options.

Continuing Education for Alumni

Keep alumni engaged with dedicated portals for upskilling and reskilling.

Features
💰Offer flexible pricing models.
✅ Simplify browsing, enrollment, and payment—all managed through Salesforce.

Salesforce for Higher Ed: $2.4 million saved in legacy costs and record-breaking fundraising through a stronger alumni relationships.

Source: A recent study by Forrester

Discover StoreConnect Today

StoreConnect back end being displayed on various devices such as a computer, tablet, and laptop

Ready to simplify your education programs and deliver better experiences for students, alumni, and corporate partners? StoreConnect provides the commerce tools you need to transform operations and stay ahead.

Talk to us to learn how you can revolutionize your institution!