ISVforce Guide

ISVforce Guide: Build and Distribute AppExchange Solutions
Release Notes
Get Ready to Distribute on AppExchange
Use Managed Packages to Develop Your AppExchange Solution
Design Your AppExchange Solution
Pass the AppExchange Security Review
Publish Your Solution on AppExchange
What Is AppExchange?
Publish on AppExchange
Launch the AppExchange Partner Console
Connect Your Dev Hub or Packaging Org to the Partner Console
Create or Edit Your Provider Profile
Create or Edit Your AppExchange Listing
Make Your AppExchange Listing Private
Select Business Needs for Your AppExchange Solution
Show Diverse-Owned Business Details on Your AppExchange Listing
Show Accessibility Details on Your AppExchange Listing
Show Pledge 1% Details on Your AppExchange Listing
Make Your AppExchange Listing Effective
AppExchange Listing Approvals
Select an Installation Method
Register Your Package and Choose License Settings
Complete the Security Review Cycle
How Does AppExchange Search Work?
Email Notifications
Collect AppExchange Leads
Update the Solution in Your AppExchange Listing
AppExchange FAQ
Sell on AppExchange with Checkout
Monitor Performance with Analytics for AppExchange Partners
Report Orders to Salesforce with the Channel Order App
Provide Free Trials of Your AppExchange Solution
OEM User License Guide
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Select Business Needs for Your AppExchange Solution

When you create an AppExchange listing for your solution, you select up to 3 categories called business needs. Business needs describe what your solution does or the challenge that it solves. Learn how business needs help customers discover AppExchange solutions. Then review guidance for selecting business needs.

Business Need Categories and Subcategories

Business needs are divided into categories and subcategories. Categories align with general business processes or tasks. Examples include sales, service, and marketing. Each category contains one or more subcategories. Subcategories align with specific business processes or tasks that relate to the category. For example, in the sales category, there are subcategories for forecasting and contract management.

In the AppExchange Partner Console, you can select up to 3 business needs per AppExchange listing. You can choose categories, subcategories, or some combination of the two. Your category and subcategory selections are independent. Selecting a category doesn’t add the related subcategories to your listing. Similarly, selecting a subcategory doesn’t add the related category to your listing.

Example

Appy’s Maps is a data visualization solution that customers can use to view Salesforce CRM data on open-source maps. Sarah, a marketing specialist at Appy’s Maps, chooses three business needs. Two business needs are subcategories: Sales Intelligence and Geolocation. The other business need is a category: Analytics (1). Category and subcategory selections are independent, so the subcategories related to Analytics remain deselected (2).
The Business Needs combobox in the Partner Console with the Analytics category selected and related subcategories deselected.

AppExchange Listings and Business Needs

Business needs appear as badges in the summary area of AppExchange listings. These badges help customers understand whether a solution is likely to help them solve their challenge. They’re especially useful to customers who arrive at listings from sources outside AppExchange, such as advertisements or third-party searches.

Example

Luis is a Salesforce consultant who’s designing a Sales Cloud implementation for a client. He plans to include a geolocation app in the implementation. He performs a Google search and sees the Appy’s Maps AppExchange listing in the top results. When he visits the listing, he sees that Geolocation (1) is listed as a business need, and he’s impressed by the solution overview video. He contacts Appy’s Maps to arrange a live demo.
The Appy's Maps listing with a callout on the Geolocation business need.

AppExchange Search and Business Needs

Business needs are also available as filters for AppExchange search results. These filters help customers focus on solutions that are relevant to the challenge they’re solving.

When a customer applies a business need filter, its effect on search results depends on whether the filter is a category or subcategory. If the customer applies a subcategory filter, AppExchange shows only the solutions that are tagged with that subcategory. If the customer applies a category filter, AppExchange shows solutions that include the category and all of the related subcategories.

Example

Luis wants to benchmark Appy’s Maps against competing solutions. He performs a keyword search on AppExchange and applies filters to narrow the results. He applies the Sales Cloud filter because he’s designing a Sales Cloud implementation. Then, he applies the Geolocation business need filter. Geolocation is a subcategory, so AppExchange shows only the solutions tagged with Geolocation in the results. Luis identifies two alternatives to Appy’s Maps with this filter combination, but he hopes to find a few more.

To widen the focus, he removes the Geolocation filter and applies the Analytics filter (1). Analytics is a category, so AppExchange shows solutions tagged with Analytics along with the related subcategories, including Dashboards & Reports and Data Visualization. From these results, Luis identifies two more solutions to benchmark.

The Business Need filter area of the AppExchange search results page with a callout to the Analytics filter value.

Tips for Selecting Business Needs

As you consider the business needs for your listing, follow these tips.

Tip Details
Talk to prospects and customers. To understand the business needs of your target market, talk to your prospects and customers. When you speak to them, ask about:
  • Their top business goals or challenges
  • How they discovered your solution
  • Whether the business needs on your listing feel accurate
Experiment, then monitor the results. You can update your listing’s business needs at any time. Try experimenting with different combinations of categories and subcategories. Take note of when you applied the changes, and then monitor the impact using AppExchange Marketplace Analytics.
If you can’t find a subcategory match, select the most closely related category. The categories and subcategories in the Partner Console cover many, but not all, common business needs. If your solution addresses a business need that isn’t available in the Partner Console, choose the most closely related category. For example, if your solution assists with a specific process in the sales cycle, choose Sales.