Statista has predicted that global spending on conversational marketing channels will increase by almost seven times, reaching almost $290 billion by 2025. In addition, Instagram's CEO, Adam Mosseri, has announced that messaging, commerce, and video will be the platform's top product feature priority in 2022.
What is Conversational Marketing?
Conversational marketing, also known as chat marketing or conversational commerce, offers online stores the opportunity to sell products and services during conversations. This method can take many forms, whether it be through chat apps, chatbots, voice assistants, or other platforms. The key is to assist customers practically and quickly guide them through the sales funnel. To be effective, the conversational experience must be convenient and tailored to the customer's needs.
How and where can you employ conversational marketing?
The term "conversational commerce" was first used by American blogger Chris Messina in a 2015 Medium article that highlighted the trend of using instant messaging apps for sales. With a growing user base, instant messaging apps have become increasingly popular, with WhatsApp having over 2 billion active users worldwide, including more than 6.6 million users in Hong Kong, making it the number one messaging application. These figures demonstrate to marketers that the best way to interact with consumers is through communication, and that customers should no longer be forced to visit a brand's website when they can use popular instant messaging platforms.
Moreover, online retailers often struggle to balance search engine optimization (SEO) and content that reflects user preferences. SEO is a strategy that helps improve an online store's Google ranking and boost traffic. However, SEO-optimized writing can sometimes be monotonous and impersonal. Conversational commerce addresses this issue by enabling online retailers to balance SEO requirements with customer satisfaction. It focuses on personalizing the brand's business experience while also meeting SEO requirements, allowing customers to contact brands at any time through mobile applications.
Five ways of Conversational Marketing to Online Stores
Conversational commerce enables customers to communicate with online stores through messaging apps, live chat, chatbots, and voice technology. These channels allow customers to interact with businesses for customer service, product information, and even make purchases.
As a one-to-one sales channel, conversational commerce can offer customers personalized services. Research has shown that the proper application of conversational commerce can increase online retailers' annual revenue by 7% to 25%. Below are some statistics that highlight customer preferences in online shopping:
53% of consumers are more likely to shop online at stores where they can leave a message.
82% of customers believe that getting instant responses when contacting an online store is important.
91% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from an online store that keeps track of their preferences. This may include personalized product recommendations and relevant offers.
Moreover, online stores can benefit from conversational marketing in several ways. Here are the top five advantages:
1. Up-selling & Cross-selling
Upselling and cross-selling can help online retailers increase their earnings by offering more products to customers who are ready to make a purchase.
For example, data shows that when customers receive personalized product recommendations via LiveChat, 59% of them believe that it has a significant impact on their decision to buy.
Online stores can also use WhatsApp chatbots to proactively reach out to customers with purchase history. This can promote cross-selling by reminding customers about new products that complement their previous purchases. Additionally, it can remind customers that the product they last purchased may have run out and needs to be replenished.
2. Reduces platform-to-platform price comparisons
Conversational marketing is an effective strategy for encouraging hesitant customers to make a purchase. Rather than simply leaving a string of unanswered calls, customers are more likely to buy from a company that provides them with informative options.
For instance, retailers can offer seasonal discounts, personalized live chat greetings, and professional advice to help customers make informed purchasing decisions. If customers have questions about payment options or return policies during checkout, merchants can use chatbots to connect with them. Additionally, customers can easily switch to a live sales representative if they require further assistance.
Through chatbots, customers can also receive notifications about product price changes and timely price drops, which can further encourage them to make a purchase.
3. Lowers pending shopping cart
The high rate of shopping cart abandonment by customers, which can be as high as 70%, is a major challenge for online businesses. Customers often cite high delivery fees, lengthy checkout procedures, or restrictions on account creation as reasons for abandoning their purchases. How can conversational marketing help online stores reduce their abandonment rates?
One way is for merchants to proactively send greetings to customers who have added items to their carts but have not yet completed their purchase. This can be done using live chat to assist customers in completing their orders. For instance, using the Facebook Messenger Checkbox plugin, merchants can identify active Facebook sessions and communicate with users who have yet to complete their order.
Businesses that use WhatsApp can also generate links through Wa.me and directly send messages to customers without adding them as contacts. Discounts can even be offered to customers to encourage them to place additional orders on the website.
4. Strengthens Customer loyalty
Conversational marketing can help online retailers make a positive impression on first-time customers by actively assisting them. By guiding customers through the remaining stages of the customer journey, online retailers can foster stronger customer connections and build trust. According to HubSpot, 90% of consumers are more likely to make larger purchases from their preferred brands.
For instance, an online store can use a WhatsApp chatbot to share promotional coupons with customers. Customers appreciate receiving promotional coupons, and they are more likely to engage with retailers who offer them.
5. Gathers instant reactions
Feedback and suggestions from customers are essential for businesses looking to improve the quality of their services. Online store operators can quickly gather customer feedback by engaging in chat conversations. One common method is to create a new post to promote the brand offer, and then respond to customers who leave messages with promises of additional information. Finally, customers can receive personalized messages from a chatbot, including the option to provide feedback.
For example, businesses can use the Facebook Post Reply Tool to communicate with individuals who have left comments on Facebook posts. After creating a new post to promote the brand offer, the person who left the comment can be given a promise of additional information. Finally, each commenter can receive personalized messages from a chatbot that includes the option to provide feedback.
In addition, merchants can consider sending surveys using messaging apps like WhatsApp. After the chat is over, they can immediately start gathering feedback to help them better understand customer demands.
Are you feeling overwhelmed by the size of your conversational marketing project and struggling to find the right partner platform for your online store?
CHATSDB provides a personalized experience to help you grow your online-to-offline business prospects. Take advantage of a 7-day free trial by scheduling a CHATSDB product demonstration today!
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