Is the Core dna platform inclusive of search?

Core dna is built as a multi-tenant platform. All users of Core dna login from a single login screen. 

A multi-tenant architecture such as Core dna means that all users and applications share a single, common infrastructure and code base that is centrally maintained.

Because Core dna clients are all on the same infrastructure and code base, Core dna can innovate more quickly and save the valuable development time previously spent on maintaining numerous versions of outdated code.

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SaaS application such as Core dna provide access to data from any networked device while making it easier to manage privileges, monitor data use and ensure everyone sees the same information at the same time. You can work with a team in real time with out conflicts. 

With the SaaS model, you can customize with point-and-click ease, making the weeks or months it takes to update traditional business software seem hopelessly old-fashioned.

Different from the traditional model, Core dna is a fully managed solution, meaning the application comes fully ready to use and a new website can be up in minutes. This reduces the time spent in installation and configuration and can reduce the issues that can get in the way of the software deployment.

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Core dna is a hosted platform, a true multi-tenant, single instance SaaS solution.

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We integrate with 20+ payment gateways, including PayPal and Amazon Pay and our open API allows us to easily integrate with just about any partner you chose. The same is true for shipping and 3PL partners.

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Yes, we sure do.

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Core dna is a unified digital platform that combines content management, ecommerce, integrations, and workflow orchestration in one system. Instead of stitching together separate CMS tools, commerce engines, and middleware, Core dna brings those capabilities into a single platform that teams can manage and extend from one place.

In practical terms, that means businesses can run their website, online store, member portal, learning platform, or multi-site ecosystem without maintaining multiple vendors or complex integrations. Content, products, users, and workflows all live in the same environment.

The goal is simple: reduce operational complexity while giving teams the flexibility to build custom digital experiences without assembling a large stack of third-party tools.

If you want a quick visual walkthrough of how the platform works, you can watch the overview here:

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A 7-minute overview on deploying to different environments on Core dna.

Video transcription: How to Deploy to Different Environments on Core dna

So in this video we're going to see how development is done on coordinate by front end teams. The coordinate platform is completely decoupled from the UX. So front end development teams can actually build complex front end users lined interactions for customers while being able to use standardized language to talk to Core dna.

I've just logged into an IDE, just a normal IDE. And what you'll notice about this on the left hand side is a structure of how this particular site, this demonstration site that we're working from, is structured.

You'll see that it has assets that are there. It'll have the modules which are the Core dna applications that are being used. It will have a templates directory where we have the base templates. It'll have a template directory which is where the compile templates go.

It may have a web images directory. You'll see the node modules has been installed as we'll be using Gulp in this particular project to build out our JavaScript and we'll have our source JavaScript and then finally we'll have a distribution JavaScript.

So as a developer you can establish your own environment the way you'd like to work on it. And as long as you stay within the standards of the modules directory, the web images and the template directory, then your site should function normally. 

In addition, what you'll also notice down the righthand side here is that this site is connected to the Git repo. And it's a very straightforward approach to once you have either use ours or use your own repo, you're able to look at all the remote branches, all the different branches that have been developed for this website, and you're able to create new branches and check out branches. 

So Core dna has complete integration into Git and offers you the ability to push your changes to a QA environment for testing and then to merge those changes into production. But before you kind of get into the QA environments and pushing to the repos and all that, most developers just want to be able to quickly develop.

  And what Core dna has is a SFTP environment development environment that we've established. And it's very simple to configure. You go down to deployment, you can go down to configure and you can establish your connection to the host. 

You can set up your mappings for how you want the site to map, and you can then establish it as a connection. So really, to deploy to those environments is very simple. You make a change to a site. So I'm going to go into a site here, and I'm going to update this tag here to say Sam was here, and all we do is save. 

And you'll notice that the changes are sent instantaneously to our dev server. And when we look at the environment, we can see here that if we press refresh on the dev environment, all of a sudden now Sam was here on the dev environment, and if we want to remove it, it's a simple case of just removing the content. 

And it will automatically transfer and then just press refresh and the change will be gone. So in this way, developers can quickly create UX's and themes and solutions for their customers in a very localized approach. 

And then when they're ready, they can then push those changes into production. And so we have here the production version of the Media Center and you'll notice that it has a number of similar directories. 

You'll see here is the source files we can return and then we have the all JS files. We then have the modules that are being used and they generally mimic the modules that are here. Now, once a developer is ready to push their changes into testing, they're able to then come to their IDE and do a commit and a push. 

And what happens then is through the use of webhooks, Core dna is able to then apply those changes to the production environment. If we take a longer look at the repo itself, we're able to see that this keeps all the commits that you do. 

And so this hasn't been updated in a number of months, but we can actually go into those commits and have a look at what were the changes, what exactly changed, and if we want to, we can actually back those changes out. 

In addition, we can see all the branches that are currently available and at what progress these branches are in terms of the master branch. So we can actually switch between them. We can also see the pull request that have occurred and so on. 

So all the sites that you work on actually can be found here and you're able to navigate between them. You could do a you can go into a site, clone the site, pull it down, it then becomes available in your IDE, and you can begin work either by doing a deploy to your deploy environment or by doing a commit and push for small changes straight through to your Bitbucket account.  The IDE itself supports the inclusion of Git. It's very simple to set up and also includes the ability to deploy. So as long as your server or your ID can support it, you can then use Core dna to develop out of the box. 

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D2C, or Direct to Customer, is a low barrier-to-entry eCommerce strategy that allows manufacturers and CPG brands to sell directly to the consumer. It bypasses the conventional method of negotiating with a retailer or reseller to get your product on the market. In D2C, brands sell directly to the consumer through an online medium. 

Going D2C has many advantages, with competitive pricing being a major benefactor for consumers. Other advantages include having direct contact with consumers to get a better understanding of them, and being able to freely experiment with new product releases and test them with a segment of your consumer-based to gain their feedback.

For more information visit our ultimate guide to D2C

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There are several ways to increase B2B eCommerce sales:

1) Consistent SEO 

Research shows that the majority of B2B marketers consider SEO as their primary source of lead generation, even more so than B2C. In this digital age, it is no surprise that over half of B2B buyers go online before they buy to research and compare. 

2) Include self-service for B2B clients

Self-service will bring in a lot of B2B sales as it will mean your B2B company is online 24/7 and a checkout does not need to be supervised, thus never missing a customer.

3) Be mobile-user friendly

The world is utilizing mobile more than ever, even B2B target markets so it is crucial your eCommerce site is just as compatible and efficient on mobile as it is desktop, thus effecting sales.

4) Do not neglect social media!

According to the Content Marketing Institute, social media sites and blogs reach eight out of ten of all Internet users in the U.S. B2B companies are not missing out on the social media craze either. B2B companies use social media to market their company, sell their goods and services, and provide quality customer service. 

5) Content, content, content

The more quality content you have, the more pull of clients you will receive, thanks to the further reach and consistency. 

6) Customer reviews

You know how you always scroll down to check the customer reviews before buying? This is because customer reviews are the voice of the people. The supposedly unbiased ‘’truth’’ of the product/service. So, numerous, positive customer reviews go a long way.

7) DXP

Personalized experience: Who does not want to feel special? When a client, B2B or not, feels directly catered to or has felt the company has had efforts to give them a thorough, genuine DXP, they will recommend your B2B company, use it again and leave reviews, increasing sales, but also loyalty and customer satisfaction. 

• Building an eCommerce Business: The Ultimate Guide

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One of the most effective ways to improve your b2b website's conversion rate is through personalization. By tailoring the user experience to each individual visitor, you can make a significant impact on your bottom line. Additionally, to add interest, strong branding and diversity; all critical factors for your business. 

A  SaaS Digital Experience Platform (DXP) like Core dna can help you business create these personalizations and scale you business. Core dna offers a flexible B2B eCommerce catalog, advanced segmentation, integrations and headless CMS... These are just some of the features you need to compete in today's market.

With these features, you can create experiences and customizations for both users and admins. Take advantage of our decoupled environment to create rich omnichannel experiences that convert.

At Core dna, we make sure you never have to replatform again and always stay ahead of the competition. With regular updates and features upgrades, your business is future-proof. 

We wrote a blog article about 5 Key Strategies To Strengthen Your B2B Relationships. Here are the key takeaways:

- Use dynamic content: Dynamic content is content that changes based on the visitor's specific characteristics, such as their location, industry, or job title. For example, if you sell software to businesses in a specific industry, you can use dynamic content to show each visitor only the software products that are relevant to their industry. 

- Geo-targeting: Geo-targeting allows you to show different content to visitors from different geographic regions. This is especially useful if you have products or services that are only available in certain regions.

- Creating custom landing pages: This can be done by tracking the visitor’s behavior on the site and then creating a unique landing page that is tailored to their interests.

- Offering live chat:live chat: This can be a great way to engage with visitors and offer them help or support in real-time.

- Personalized email campaigns: This can be done by segmenting the list of subscribers and then sending them emails that are relevant to their interests.

Building rock-solid B2B eCommerce relationships do not scale easily, but it does have the potential to pay dividends that are exponentially greater than the investment that is made. 

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B2B eCommerce is now so essential and successful as the digitalisation of everything is the expectation and reality, applying to even B2B commerce. 

Even if one’s B2B business has physical brick and mortar, for the sake of better reach, recognition and opportunity, marketing as eCommerce allows B2B to transcend borders. There are a plethora of reasons that answer this question; from cost savings, globalization, automation, 24/7 support… Find out in the blog below:

• B2B eCommerce: Best Practices, Marketing Strategy & Myths

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Core dna helps franchise businesses in a few key ways: 

1. It centralizes product, pricing, and order data management, ensuring consistency across stores. This improves the customer experience. 

2. It has an innovative approach to fulfillment. Core dna system allows a distributed fulfillment model where each store fulfills only the items it has in stock for a given order. This split shipping functionality means orders can be fulfilled even if some items are out of stock locally. This helps stores complete more sales. 

3. Franchise owners and managers have full visibility into orders, statuses, and fulfillment across all locations through a single portal. This improves oversight. Stores get visibility into their portion of split orders through the portal, streamlining fulfillment on their end. 

4. Customers can track split orders in one place, improving transparency. This builds customer loyalty and satisfaction. 

5. Core dna reduces upgrade burdens, making it easier for stores to adopt new features and improvements. 

6. Centrally stored data can be more easily analyzed to gain insights into operations and inventory levels across the entire network. Analytics and reporting tools in Core dna can provide insights to optimize operations and inventory levels at each store.

By addressing operational challenges and creating efficiencies, core dna helps franchises thrive and improve the customer and store experience. 

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What is a unique selling point?

A USP is a promise that answers the question, “Why should someone buy from you instead of another brand?” It's about understanding what makes your product, service and brand truly different and unique. 

What do you offer your customer that they can't find anywhere else. By defining your USP, you are able to communicate clearly the benefits and resonate with your audience. 

Effective USPs show how that unique trait translates into a tangible payoff for the end user. Basically you should be able to answer a user that says: “What’s in it for me?”

Why your brand needs a strong USP 

1. A strong USP can help you differentiate and standout in a noisy world. When you can formulate your USP clearly, you create your blue ocean and a new market that is distinctly yours.
2. When you value proposition is strong, it make it easier for online visitors to convert. When your USP is front-and-center, it decreases confusion and helps potential buyers act with confidence.
3. A well-defined USP anchors your entire brand communication. Every ad, landing page, or pitch can revolve around this key differentiator.
4. A compelling USP often justifies premium pricing or fosters loyalty, because customers view what you offer as one-of-a-kind.

Common Challenges Brands Face When Defining a USP

Why brands often struggle to communicate their core value effectively?

1. Unclear Value Proposition
   • Many websites bury their real message under jargon or flashy design. Users leave feeling unsure about what the business actually does.
   • Marketers sometimes focus too heavily on features, forgetting to express tangible value or how they solve specific problems.
2. Attempting to Be Everything to Everyone
   • Companies fear narrowing their focus, thinking they might miss potential customers.
   • Result: broad, watered-down messaging that doesn’t resonate strongly with any particular audience.
3. Confusion Between UVP and USP
   • Brands conflate “Value Proposition” (customer-centric) with “Selling Point” (product-centric).
   • Without clarity, they end up with vague statements that address neither the product’s unique features nor the customer’s exact needs.
4. Ignoring the Customer’s Perspective
   • Some businesses talk only about their achievements, technology, or self-perceived greatness.
   • They forget to explain which problem they solve and why that matters to the end user.

USP vs. UVP: Is There a Difference?

Unique Selling Point (USP):

• Product-Centric: Focuses on a singular attribute that makes the product or service unique.
• Competitive Advantage: Often highlights a feature, technology, or method that’s exclusive to you.
• Selling Proposition: Communicates how you outdo others in the marketplace.

Unique Value Proposition (UVP):

• Customer-Centric: Emphasizes what the user gains (i.e., how their life improves).
• Benefit-Oriented: Addresses practical or emotional advantages from the user’s perspective.
• Value Proposition: Usually more holistic, describing the overall experience or outcome the customer receives.

In Practice:
A USP can be part of a bigger UVP. For instance, your USP might be “fastest beard trimmer blades,” while your UVP might be “Look and feel your best in minutes—every day.” The USP explains why it’s uniquely better, and the UVP explains the value a customer gains.

Crafting an Effective USP

1. Pinpoint the Core Difference
   • Start by listing all your product’s distinguishing features. Is there a patented mechanism, a specialized process, or a unique guarantee?
   • Choose the one that truly matters most to your target audience.
2. Translate Features into Benefits
   • Don’t stop at “We have the sharpest blades.” Ask: How do sharp blades benefit the user? Maybe it’s a “clean shave in half the time” or “no skin irritation.”
3. Validate with Real Feedback
   • Ask actual customers or do user testing to see if your perceived uniqueness resonates in real-world scenarios.
   • A difference you consider noteworthy might be trivial to buyers—or vice versa.
4. Keep It Concise
   • A USP often works best as a short, punchy line (one or two sentences) that can appear on your homepage, packaging, or elevator pitch.
   • Avoid heavy jargon; aim for language your audience understands immediately.
5. Weave It Across Channels
   • Integrate the USP consistently into your website’s hero section, ad campaigns, and sales decks.
   • Ensure everyone from your marketing team to your customer support knows and reiterates the USP.

Examples of Clear USPs

• Domino’s Pizza: “You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less—or it’s free.”
  • (Highlighting speed, guaranteed timeframe.)
• FedEx: “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.”
  • (Emphasizing reliability and speed.)
• Dyson Vacuums: “No loss of suction.”
  • (Pinpointing a specific, exclusive technology advantage.)
• Slack: “Make work simpler, more pleasant, and more productive.”
  • (Although slightly broader, it’s still a distinct promise focusing on how Slack stands out from other work communication tools.)

Common Mistakes in Defining a USP

1. Being Too Vague
   • “We deliver quality and excellence.” That’s not unique—everyone claims quality.
   • Instead, specify your unique form of “excellence” (e.g., delivering to remote locations overnight or a lifetime warranty no one else provides).
2. Overloading with Jargon
   • Technical or corporate-speak can dilute clarity. Keep the language straightforward enough that a new visitor instantly “gets it.”
3. Ignoring the Competition
   • If your competitor also does free 2-day shipping, that’s not unique. You need an angle that’s truly distinctive.
   • Do competitive research to ensure you’re highlighting something that sets you apart.
4. Failing to Integrate
   • Even a brilliant USP won’t help if it’s hidden or inconsistently referenced.
   • Place it front and center in your main messaging, and ensure all channels reflect it.
5. Choosing an Unimportant Differentiator
   • If you tout a minor detail that doesn’t impact buyer decisions, your USP will fall flat.
   • Focus on what your audience really cares about: time savings, cost, innovation, reliability, or specific solutions to their problems.

How to Refine (or Rediscover) Your USP

1. Ask Your Existing Customers
   • Send surveys or conduct interviews: “What made you choose us over other options?”
   • Their answers reveal real-life perceptions of your uniqueness.
2. Leverage Competitive Analysis
   • Identify competitor messaging and USPs.
   • Determine what gap or angle you alone can fill.
3. Test Multiple Variations
   • Use A/B testing on landing pages or ads to see which USP resonates best in terms of clicks or conversions.
4. Align with Corporate Goals
   • If your strategic focus is innovation, ensure your USP highlights how you’re pioneering a new approach.
   • If sustainability is your anchor, your USP might revolve around eco-friendly practices that no one else matches.
5. Evolve Over Time
   • Markets, technologies, and consumer needs change. Update your USP when those shifts occur so you remain relevant.

A well-defined Unique Selling Point is critical in helping potential customers understand why they should engage with you—and it can stop them from walking away to a competitor that shouts their differentiation more clearly. In an environment where many businesses “aren’t sure what they do” or fail to communicate it effectively  a strong USP stands out as a beacon of clarity.

Frequently Asked Questions about Unique Selling Points

How is a USP different from a slogan or tagline?

While a slogan or tagline might express a USP in a memorable way, they're not the same thing. A USP is the fundamental differentiation strategy that underlies your business, while a slogan is a creative expression designed for brand recall. Many successful slogans directly communicate the USP (like M&M's "Melts in your mouth, not in your hands"), but the USP itself is the strategic concept behind the creative execution.

Can a company have multiple USPs?

While a business might have several competitive advantages, focusing on a single, powerful USP typically creates the strongest market position. Multiple USPs can dilute messaging and confuse customers. However, different product lines within the same company might have different USPs targeting specific market segments.

How often should a USP be updated?

USPs should evolve as markets change, competitors emerge, and customer needs shift. However, dramatic or frequent changes can confuse customers and erode brand equity. Most successful companies maintain their core USP for years or decades, making incremental adjustments rather than wholesale changes. According to marketing research firm IPSOS, brands that maintain consistent positioning while making tactical adjustments outperform those that frequently pivot by nearly 2:1.

Can small businesses compete with a USP against larger competitors?

Absolutely. In fact, a sharp, focused USP often allows small businesses to carve out profitable niches that larger competitors overlook or can't efficiently serve. Many successful small businesses have USPs centered on personalized service, local expertise, specialized knowledge, or catering to underserved market segments that larger companies find unprofitable.

How do I know if my USP is effective?

An effective USP typically shows measurable impact on key performance indicators like conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, repeat purchase rates, and willingness to pay. Customer research can also reveal if your target audience recognizes and values your claimed differentiation. If customers can easily articulate what makes your business unique and valuable, your USP is likely working.

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Yes. eCommerce in Core dna is a native capability, not a plugin. That includes customer-specific and contract pricing, product catalogue management, subscription billing, multi-currency, and order management. For B2B operations specifically, RFQ workflows, account hierarchies, net payment terms. Core dna is built to handle these natively rather than requiring third-party plugins to fill the gaps.

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Although SaaS applications such as Core dna DXP are ‘multi-tenanted’, users can easily customize applications to fit their business processes without affecting the common infrastructure.

Because there is a separation between that front-end experience layer and the Core dna DXP platform, clients can create their own interconnections using APIs and plugin to third-party systems.

Additionally, because of the way SaaS is architected, these customizations are unique to each company or user and are always preserved through upgrades. That means SaaS providers can make upgrades more often, with less customer risk and much lower adoption cost.

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Software as a Service provides companies numerous benefits. At a high level, SaaS provides companies:

1. Pre-built web applications that are completely managed; from the software, hardware, and support.
2. Infrastructure that is enterprise, high availability and with support around the clock.
3. Continuous updates & innovation so you never have to re-platform again.
4. Delivered for a fixed fee per month.

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In SaaS, the user does not pay for the software itself. Instead, it works like a rental. They have the authorization to use it for a period of time and pay for the software that they are using. 

A great way to think about SaaS is like going to a public park. You go to the park to enjoy a picnic, play with your dog, have a pickup Frisbee game, etc. You have friends that also use the park. You might use it at the same time, or different times. You get to enjoy the park when you want to and as often as you would like, without having to mow the lawn, water the flowers and maintain the jungle gym. Instead, you pay a fixed amount of taxes per month and for that, the park is available to you anytime. The maintenance is taken care of for you, and local police patrol the area, keeping you and your family safe. 

A “park” meets the key characteristics of the SaaS model.

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Core dna is a fully managed SaaS platform, meaning that the network, platform, security, hosting and software are all taken care of, lowering the burden on your IT team and reducing your IT costs. 

Reduce your labor costs with pre-built applications and removing backend development, saving you money when you build your site, and in ongoing maintenance.

SaaS platforms are delivered for a fixed monthly subscription cost which allows you to pay for what you need and use. Move to a consumption based model, like Core dna, and away from large capital expenditures.

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The "platform of tools" refers to the different product applications available within Core dna. The Core dna platform includes a range of applications that act as "tools" to make your website work for you and your business. 

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