OREANDA-NEWS. October 22, 2015. SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced the release of SAP Jam Communities, edition for SAP hybris Commerce, to expand a company’s brand reach by delivering real-time product- and service-related information to aid consumers on their buying journey.

The edition can display directly in e-commerce stores personally relevant recommendations as well as reviews. The announcement was made at hybris Americas Customer Days, 2015, sponsored by hybris, an SAP company, being held in Fort Worth, Texas, Oct. 19–21.

Companies understand that peer recommendations are the top source for the brand information that drives purchases. To generate peer-driven conversations beyond social media, companies are increasingly developing their own interactive customer communities, which provide opportunities for customer interaction in a relevant, nonpromotional setting. However, these communities are often disconnected from a brand’s commerce site and other online properties, resulting in a fragmented customer experience and missed sales opportunities.

“The online community has long been promised as a place where consumers can meaningfully engage with a brand,” said Sameer Patel, senior vice president and general manager, Collaboration and Communities, SAP SE. “But these communities are only as powerful as a brand’s ability to provide highly contextual engagement to drive intended outcomes for customers. As demonstrated by SAP Jam Communities, edition for SAP hybris Commerce, SAP has rethought how community and commerce, two integral elements of the customer journey, can blend into a unified experience to better guide consumers through the purchase cycle, and in turn, improve conversions for e-commerce providers.”

This edition of SAP Jam Communities is the first software on the market that weaves customer-driven reviews and information into commerce to inform decision making, introduce related products and build relationships with loyal customers. This results in improved conversion rates and a superior customer experience with a company’s brand. SAP Jam Communities, edition for SAP hybris Commerce, also helps create engaging, relevant customer interactions that:

  • Extend brand reach: Helps create collaboration-driven Web sites that are optimized for search engines and leverage relevant, authentic, user-generated content. The software includes features that encourage social sharing and recommendations. High-quality sharable content provides customers with relevant information at each step of the purchasing journey, helping drive customers to commerce sites for additional sales.
  • Improve real-time buying decisions with contextual information: Helps instill buying confidence and increase revenue with optimized content. The seamless transition from community to commerce is contextual, real-time and dynamic. Community participants can enhance their brand experience by using self-service features and access reviews, ratings and Q&As, resulting in a more informed, engaged, confident buyer.
  • Lower costs in acquiring new customers by building long-term relationships: Helps companies improve their ability to reach, listen to and engage their customers – even identifying and rewarding advocates that proactively contribute content. Customers can connect and share feedback about a product, service or brand. Data collected within these community-to-commerce interactions provides immediate insight into buying behaviors and patterns.

Partners, including maihiro GmbH and T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH, are integrating SAP Jam Communities to provide value to their own customers in the area of e-commerce.

“To remain competitive, companies today need to harness the power of communities to drive business results from engagement with consumers, resellers and distributors,” said Ulf-Jost Kossol, head, social business technology, T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH. “SAP Jam Communities offers a differentiated approach that aligns with our mission to transform the market for customer engagement and commerce.”