Load One - Blog , Marketing

10 Reasons Why Conversational Marketing Should Be Your Next Focus

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 09:00:22 +0800

Business can be hectic and busy; sometimes it can be challenging to look past the day-to-day activities and plan ahead. However, looking forward to the future and taking steps to keep in pace with your market is important.

Conversational marketing--specifically the use of artificial intelligence in responding and conversing with your customers in real-time--is the latest trend that's worth a look, no matter what industry your business is in.

If you haven't given much thought to using chatbots and SMS to build a relationship with your customers, we've collated 10 reasons why you should consider them as your next focus in growing your business.

Reason #1 - Get Mobile

SMS and chatbots are innately mobile-friendly. When consumers spend up to 5 hours per day on their phones, it's important to be where your customers are. SMS is always present; chatbots are becoming more and more ubiquitous; and messaging apps are some of the highest-used apps today.

Reason #2 - Bots for Everyone

Gone are the days when automated bots are used purely for transactional purposes. Recently, more and more informational and utility bots are going live, from delivering curated news to managing your kitchen for you.

Reason #3 - Higher Effectivity

Conversational channels like SMS and messaging have higher open rates than traditional email. Email only has a 15%-20% open rate, while 90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes of receipt. Chatbots, on the other hand, have a 70%-80% open rate themselves.

Reason #4 - Availability

It's important to be available and responsible to your customers, whether you're in retail or service industries. It's good to know that 53% of buyers are also more likely to buy from a business that they can communicate with through messaging. Otherwise, they may opt to purchase from other businesses who have channels available to them.

Reason #5 - Recover Lost Opportunities

It's also easier to recover abandoned carts with chatbots or SMS. The best practices surrounding recoveries encourage an attempt to reach your customer within an hour of cart abandonment; if they're not reading their email, what's the point? A well-timed SMS or chatbot message can help; what's more, a friendly message just before they leave your site might help if they only need a little more information to complete their purchase.

Reason #6 - Online All the Time

When 60% of online purchases happen during the evenings or weekends, it might be a challenge to maintain a support team to handle the influx of questions and order management that inevitably happens during these off hours. Instead of paying overtime fees and having support staff work long hours, an automated chatbot that can handle common queries can help both with support questions and sales.

Reason #7 - Automation

Automation can help businesses immensely when it comes to cost efficiency and maintaining a quality level for all interactions. While one cannot do away with human agents, 20% of all conversations between businesses and customers can be fully automated; and for 50% of messages, humans agents come into the conversation only when needed. This results in more time for your human agents to address more complex issues.

Reason #8 - Preference Trends

Millenials can be highly self-service-oriented. In fact, 65% prefer to go online to get support rather than speak to staff in store or talk on a phone. In addition to saving time and resources by allowing them to find their own answers through conversing with an AI-powered bot, you help address their issues in the method they prefer, which results in higher approval ratings and better customer experience.

Reason #9 - Aftersales and Support Improvements

Many people may be worried about chatbots "taking over" their jobs, when it comes to customer support and sales agents. However, this isn't the case: AI-powered solutions and human agents are best deployed to complement each other's tasks. Implemented correctly, the use of chatbots can free up time for beleaguered support staff to allow them to work on more complex issues and provide a better, more satisfactory experience to cases that need it the most.

Reason #10 - Brand Building

Bots are more personal than social media or email. Done well, bots can encourage a good relationship between your business and your customer. After all, humans can end up projecting human characteristics on chatbots and positive feelings can go a long way toward solidifying brand loyalty.

There's No Better Time Than Now

Whether you're maintaining your bottom line or actively growing your business, a strategic conversational marketing plan can help you achieve your goals. Cost efficiency and customer experience improvements are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits of a well-deployed plan.

Whether your plan employs SMS, chatbots, or a bit of both, an early start can help you maximize the perks it can bring. Start small, and start today.

5 Signs Your Business Needs a Chatbot

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 09:00:02 +0800

Chatbots are everywhere right now.

From small sellers with a side hustle to big businesses like Sephora, Autodesk, and JP Morgan Chase, automated assistants are more ubiquitous now than ever before.

It's gaining traction especially here in Asia and the Philippines, where experts are forecasting high adoption rates within the next few years.

Source: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/chatbot-market

But is it a fad or something that your business needs to seriously consider? It may be difficult to decide with new technologies like this. So we've made a list of five top signs that your business might need a chatbot.

Let's get started.

Sign #1 - Majority of Your Revenue is From E-commerce

If you are selling products online, it's likely that you've come across many instances where your customers need some form of assistance to complete their orders. Maybe it's asking for your recommendations, clarification on a product's specifications, or concerns regarding your shipping policies and the like.

Surveys show that 83% of online shoppers say that they are more likely to purchase if they had someone to assist them via chat. It's a

But hiring live chat salespeople and customer service staff can take a while to train, and may not be available to your customers 24/7 like an automated assistant or chatbot can be.

Sign #2 - You Deal With a High Volume of Simple, Repetitive Queries

This may be true whether you're in the e-commerce industry or otherwise. You may be seeing a trend with your sales and customer service teams fielding these kinds of routine questions:

How much is Product X?
Can I see a price list?
How long will it take to ship?
Can I return the item if it is defective?
Is there warranty included?
What happens if X?
Do you accept payment via X?
And so on

It might be time to invest in a chatbot.

Chatbots can respond faster and will free your time from these repetitive queries. This way, you can focus on things that need more brain cells, like this car rental company that automated 68% of their service calls with bots.

Sign #3 - Your Customer Support and/or Sales Team is Swamped

If queries are going unanswered for even hours because your team is busy addressing other issues, you may be losing out on valuable sales or leaving your customers dissatisfied. Everyone is online these days, where it's easy to find another seller or support a different brand. Your relationship with your customers is important.

That's why getting chatbots to answer routine queries will make your sales and aftersales support better. Routine question? Get an accurate, fast response. Complex issue? Human staff have more time to spend on making sure they address your customer's dilemma in the best way possible.

A faster and first-rate response from your team (chatbot and human representatives alike) will lead to more satisfied customers.

Sign #4 - You are Scaling Up Your Business Quickly

Hiring and training competent staff does not happen overnight. It takes time away from your veteran support specialists. We believe it's important to hire and train support staff correctly, but if you're quickly expanding your business, it might be tempting to cut corners and thrust new, untrained staff right into the thick of things.

However, a chatbot can help you quickly scale up sales and aftersales support without overly taxing your team. Your veterans will have time to train, your new staff have time to learn, and your customer service will continue to be top-notch throughout your expansion.

Sign #5 - You Need to Focus on Customer Experience

It's a challenging online business landscape these days. Customer experience is number 1, and it's easy for potential customers to find your competitors and switch.

When instant gratification drives many sales, 82% of consumers expect an immediate response when they have questions. That's difficult to maintain if your staff is swamped, and loss of sales momentum can lead to customers looking elsewhere.

Conclusion

If your business fits into many of the above scenarios, it might be time to build a strategy around conversational marketing and chatbots. Chatbots are cost-effective solutions to scaling up a business quickly and can vastly improve your current processes.

Just remember these five signs:

Majority of your revenue is from e-commerce
You deal with a high volume of simple, repetitive queries
Your customer support and/or sales team is swamped
You are scaling up your business quickly
You need to focus on customer experience

There are many benefits to installing a chatbot, and some of these benefits may even surprise you.

If an automated assistant is your next "hire", check out Chatbuddy. Whether it's order-taking or appointment-scheduling, or simply managing your customers' concerns, Chatbuddy can help you bring your business to the next level.

Conversational Marketing: Get to Know the Basics

Wed, 07 Oct 2020 09:00:03 +0800

Many businesses are changing the way they communicate with their customers. Brought about by a surge in online consumption and the steady march of technology, customers expect more and more things from the brands they love.

One of the biggest trends in business is the shift to conversational marketing. As one of the newest buzzwords in marketing, it's easy to get lost when it comes to figuring out what this new trend can do for business.

But that's no reason to stay in the dark.

What is Conversational Marketing?

Conversational marketing is engaging with your customers through conversation via chat. It's not a new sales or marketing funnel. You can still use your website, your social media accounts, your SMS subscriber lists. In fact, it's best to build on top of them.

A quick feedback loop between your customer and you is important with conversational marketing, just like a real conversation. This conversation can happen in chat such as Facebook Messenger or Viber, or in SMS through great use of prompts.

Conversational marketing is simply a new way to move people through your marketing and sales funnels, in a way that quickly brings them into a relationship with your brand.

Quick Feedback is Important

Customers are impatient. A delay in getting them the information they want can drastically affect the chances of a sale. A standard lead capture form can mean delays in addressing their questions. In fact, 82% of consumers expect an immediate response when they have questions.

This is where chatbots are becoming more and more popular. Able to quickly answer the usual routine questions, chatbots can help start that crucial relationship with your customer. In the past, scaling up customer and sales teams can lead to delays and significant expense, but a chatbot can help qualify leads before your expert staff comes in and lands the deal.

Give Your Brand a Breath of Life

While chatbots can't begin to replace humans in your sales and customer service teams, they can be around to interact with your customers 24/7.

Don't underestimate the effectiveness of your business being able to say "hello" to your customers when they need them to be there. Research shows that 53% of buyers are more likely to buy from a business they can communicate with via messaging.

Scale Quickly Without Sacrificing Quality

Everyone loves a booming business. But one of the biggest challenges when scaling up services is making sure that quality and customer experience doesn't drop.

A 24/7 chatbot being able to address the majority of your customers' questions and issues is key to making sure that your staff isn't overwhelmed and you can scale up your team without sacrificing training time.

Whether it's taking orders, booking appointments, or answering questions, an automated chatbot can help with challenges for booming businesses.

Conversational Marketing is Here to Stay

It's important for a business to always look forward and look at the trends in the market. One step ahead is always best. That's why it's important to take a serious look at chatbots and conversational marketing.

In a world that values engagement and connection, the value of a more human approach to marketing like conversations cannot be underestimated. More and more businesses are adopting chatbots, and it's time to look into this same trend, no matter your industry.

Chat with Chatbuddy Now

How to Convert Your Email List to SMS Subscribers [Tips]

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0800

If you're planning to start focusing on SMS marketing, you're on the right track. SMS is a great channel to reach customers, especially here in the Philippines. 159% of the local population have mobile phones--that's more than half owning two phones!

It might be daunting to start. But if you already have an email list, you've got the beginnings of a great SMS subscriber list. You've already put in the work to build your email list. Your email subscribers are already interested in your brand. They're the best people to start with in moving forward into SMS lists.

Use your list to your advantage--you don't have to start from scratch!

Here are a few things to keep in mind to help you convert your email list to loyal SMS subscribers:

Tell Them The Benefits

Be clear in your email what they can get out of subscribing to your SMS list. There should be a clear difference between having only an email subscription (definitely a valid option!) or changing into an SMS subscriber (or maybe even both!).

Since SMS have fast open rates (90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes of receipt) compared to email, perhaps super-hot limited-stock deals will be exclusive for your SMS subscribers. Maybe SMS subscribers get personalized deals depending on the nearest branches to them.

Whatever your offer is, make sure you clearly state what's in it for them.

Set Expectations

You should let them know how often you plan to send messages, and what kind of messages they can expect to get. Don't tell them you'll get them exclusive deals, but they later find out it's open to everyone. Or that you'll send them messages twice a month but they end up getting a message every week.

SMS is by nature more intimate than email marketing. Don't betray their trust in you by spamming them and ignoring expectations.

Make Signups Easy and Hassle-Free

Don't make things harder for them to sign up. Give them different ways to sign up -- keyword shortcodes work, but make an online method available to them as well. After all, 46% of emails are opened on mobile phones, so they're likely to be able to quickly sign up with a form rather than typing out numbers on a text message.

Look into website forms or even automated chatbots that can get your customer's data and integrate it with your SMS solution. Maybe you can even just have them reply to your email--many successful email campaigns employ more personalized tactics to great effect.

Start On the Right Foot

Not everyone will want to move into an SMS subscription list, and that's okay. What's important is that you are able to provide a better experience to those that do, without harming the experience of your other customers.

If you have a clear benefit to "upgrade" their subscription, set expectations, and make signing up as easy as possible, you'll get subscribers who are excited to be on your SMS list. Build on their experiences and move forward.

7 Ideas to Start and Grow Your SMS Subscriber List

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0800

Many people think that SMS as a marketing tool is outdated and old-fashioned. It's underutilized and often forgotten, with more focus placed on online advertising, email lists, and other tactics.

But a channel that has an open rate anywhere from 82% to 98% can't be ignored. Especially here in the Philippines: with 159% mobile connections compared to the local population and 14% don't even have data connectivity, the reach SMS can bring you is well worth a shot.

It's never too late to start your own SMS subscriber list for your business. We've got seven great ideas that you can use if you're starting your list, or if you need help growing it.

Promise and Deliver VIP Treatment

People love feeling like a VIP. Getting exclusive rewards and promotions, breaking news, early access to products and services--all of these are great hooks to get your customers to opt into your SMS list. The promise of having exclusive deals can be very attractive to your customers.

But make sure you deliver. Don't promise something and end up spamming your subscribers with unrelated messages or promotions.

Reward Subscribers On Signup

It's important to start off with a bang. An instant promotion or reward when your new subscribers sign up gets you off on the right foot.

You can also look into rewarding your subscribers the longer they stay signed up with you. Try scheduling sending rewards to your subscribers on the anniversary of their signing up with you. They'll be delighted and possibly tell friends of the surprise you had in store for them.

While we're talking about telling friends...

Start a Referral Program

A great way to grow your list is having a referral program in place. Your subscribers can be some of the best promoters of your brand and products: if you can offer them incentives to share your list with their friends, you might get a steady stream of new signups.

You can do something super simple such as a one-time reward for signups, or an ongoing points system. Make sure it matches the product and brand you're promoting.

Use Existing Checkout or Signup Forms

If you've got an online shop, try to maximize the use of your current forms for signing up and checking out. They're already on your website and giving you information -- why not use that to get more subscribers?

A simple checkbox at the end of the form that customers can check if they want to be signed up to your SMS subscriber list is all it takes.

Get Opt-Ins from Previously Collected Phone Numbers

Don't forget that you probably already have a number of previously collected phone numbers from past orders and customers. While you cannot immediately sign them up to your new SMS subscriber list, you can send them a one-time message inviting them to opt in.

Make sure you explain why you're contacting them now, and how they can continue to hear from you if they wish. You can use keyword opt-ins for this as well. For example:

You gave us your number for an order before.
We started sending exclusives to SMS
subscribers recently, do you want to hear
about them? Reply Y or N

Promote on Packaging and Receipts

Don't underestimate how effective printing your SMS subscriber list call to action on your product packaging and receipts.

It's something you have great control over, so why not maximize that space that your customers can see? Check out Papa John's invitation for reviews via mobile:

Source: https://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/papa-johns-brings-customer-feedback-to-pizza-boxes-with-sms-and-qr-codes/

Combine Facebook Ads and a Chatbot with Automatic SMS Opt-In

Everyone's on Facebook, and Facebook Ads can be a great way to extend reach. Facebook Click-to-Messenger Ads can send your ad's viewers directly to Messenger to chat with you, which is an added touch of intimacy with your potential customer.

You can then use a Messenger chatbot to have an interactive conversation with your customer, and sign them up to your SMS subscriber list during their conversation.

Get Started Now

SMS may be a little more traditional than your usual marketing channels, but handled correctly, your subscribers may become one of your most loyal and active customers. But your subscriber list won't grow without some work.

Take your pick, or use all of them:

Promise and deliver VIP treatment.
Reward subscribers upon signup.
Start a referral program.
Use existing checkout or signup forms.
Get opt-ins from previously collected phone numbers.
Promote on packaging and receipts.
Combine Facebook Ads and a chatbot with automatic SMS opt-in.

You can get started with your SMS subscriber list anytime. But the longer you wait, the longer before you can harvest the great returns a great marketing strategy can give you.

Great Ways to Use SMS in 2020

Wed, 02 Sep 2020 09:00:36 +0800

SMS is a great channel when you want to reach your customers. Everyone who has a mobile phone (159% here in the Philippines--many own two!) have access to SMS, while only 86% have data connectivity.

Plus, SMS has high open rates -- anywhere from 82.1% to 98%, in fact. Many people have notifications set up for SMS, because they typically expect important information and updates to come through via SMS. Even better, 90% of SMS messages received are read within 3 minutes. Compare that to email that has only a 15-20% open rate!

SMS is not dead. It just needs to be used wisely and effectively to make sure people don't send UNSUB when you start sending your campaign texts.

We've got some interesting ideas you might want to use for your next campaign.

Offer Time-sensitive Mobile Exclusives

Everyone wants a good deal, and the people who have signed up for your mobile subscriber list are no different. Better yet, you need to give them a really good reason to stay and keep opening those texts you send them.

How?

Send them irresistible, time-sensitive exclusives via SMS. Perhaps hold a flash sale until 5pm with a valuable freebie or significant discount. Limited editions with limited stock are great incentives for people to order quickly and via SMS.

Make sure they see the urgency in your SMS copy: if they don't act now, the chance to snag a great deal is gone.

Raise Convenience by Offering Quick Order Features

If your business is one that customers typically return to order the same things, giving your customers the power to quickly order something via SMS is a great idea.

In the US, Domino's Anyware initiative allows patrons to order pizza just by texting a Pizza emoji. It’s a great initiative and one that you can do locally.

Own a coffee shop with regulars coming in every day to order? Let them quickly send a text message to alert you they’re coming in, and they can get their coffee fix as soon as they come in.

Do you sell specific grocery staples that need regular replenishment? Let your suki drop you a quick emoji and they get their staples delivered to them instantly.

Ask Receivers to Present OTP for Security

Ecommerce is all the rage these days. Everyone is buying things online and getting their goods delivered straight to their doors. At the same time, many are still hesitant and wary about online shopping for fear of losing their purchased goods.

Take a leaf from local courier Gogo Express. Recipients are required to provide an OTP code to receive their parcels -- ensuring that the parcels are released to the right people. This not only ensures where parcels go, but also gives people peace of mind when it comes to sending or receiving their items.

For the best online ordering flows, asking customers to confirm their contact details via OTP is a great way to signal that you’re serious about giving them the service they deserve.

Hold Exciting Competitions

Holding a contest in your SMS subscriber list can raise engagement and tell your subscribers the value of keeping an eye out on your messages. Similar to giving them mobile exclusives, holding these contests must be time-sensitive.

It’s also best to encourage them to respond to your SMS messages to participate, rather than visit a separate webpage -- remember, many may not have access to data when they get your message.

Provide Order Confirmations and Reminders

Giving your customers peace of mind when they order or set up an appointment with you is a no-brainer. SMS is a classic avenue for that, and with its high open and read rates, cannot be left off this list.

Whether you confirm orders or ask them to provide an OTP to confirm their mobile number, the acknowledgement that you have received their order and are working on it will give them peace of mind and raise their anticipation for their order.

Conclusion

It’s important to retain the trust of your subscribers when dealing with your SMS campaigns. Massive text blasts should be a thing of the past--don’t alienate them by sending inappropriate offers and messages.

If they see that your text messages are of good value to them, they’ll stay on and look forward to hearing from you. An engaged list can do wonders for your business--take care of them, and they’ll take care of you.

10 Tips for Compelling SMS Campaigns

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 09:00:00 +0800

Tip #1 - Get Permission From Your Subscribers

Just like any email mailing list, you need to get explicit permission from your recipients before sending them marketing text messages. This is the most important tip!

There are many ways to entice people onto your subscriber list--perhaps offer them special offers, product updates, and other perks when they opt into the list.

Remember that if they gave you their email address only as part of their online order, that isn’t an invitation to start messaging them about your new products. So take the opportunity to invite them to opt in while they’re checking out their online cart or in your order communications.

Tip #2 - Provide Great Value

It goes without saying that the best way you make sure your recipients are happy with your SMS program is to provide value to them. Remember that the high open and response rates enjoyed by SMS campaigns is due to how intimate SMS messaging is for most people. Subscribers have less patience for unwanted, useless messaging in their SMS inbox than in their email inbox.

This means that while you have higher chances of getting noticed with SMS, make sure that your message is something that they would really want to know about, and act upon. Your subscribers need to feel like a VIP.

Tip #3 - Tell Subscribers What to Expect

Managing expectations is important. You don’t need to have a long explanation of what your program is about. But it’s important to be clear what subscribers can get from joining your list. This minimizes disgruntled recipients and can be a compelling reason why subscribers might join.

Make sure to reiterate your program in the auto-response that subscribers receive after they join.

Tip #4 - Don’t Nag Your Subscribers

Nobody wants to get too many messages per month, or about the same campaign. Don’t annoy your subscribers, or you’ll see more people removing themselves from your list in short order.

It’s also good practice to tell your subscribers up front how many times they can expect to receive messages from you. Anywhere from 2-6 messages per month is a good number.

Tip #5 - Time Your Messages Right

Aside from regulations that limit promotional messaging to normal hours, your recipients are more likely to take action on your message during the daytime.

A message they receive while they’re getting ready to sleep will not likely inspire them to take your offer, and may even annoy them if they wake up to your notification. In addition, sending messages after office hours can also be counterproductive for your business.

Tip #6 - Be Professional and Don’t Use Shorthand

While many people use shorthand forms when messaging their friends and family, using the same in your promotional messages may come across as sloppy and unprofessional. Sending out your promotion copy in full will rarely cause readers to think negatively of your brand, while shorthand may be detrimental.

Additionally, the shorthand forms you know may be different for your target audience. Minimize the chance of misunderstanding by sticking to normal word forms.

Tip #7 - Respond in Real Time

One of the best aspects of SMS channels is the ability to develop customer relationships through conversational marketing. By giving them an opportunity to respond to you and start a conversation, you’re building long-term relationships and loyalty.

It’s important to keep these customers engaged. While manually responding to subscribers may not be ideal, usage of autoresponders can help in many scenarios, from instantly giving them access to purchase products in your catalog to responding to their feedback appropriately.

Tip #8 - Track and Measure Your Campaigns

As with many marketing campaigns, it’s important to measure your SMS campaigns effectiveness in order to maximize current and future efforts. Don’t just send your messages blind and hope that something comes back.

Check your provider if they have tracking tools available, but you can also use third party tools like Google Analytics to track your SMS campaigns’ effectiveness. These need to be embedded in the message you send out, so don’t forget to include it as you hit send.

Tip #9 - Personalize Where You Can

While there’s only so many characters you can include in an SMS, it’s important to show your business’ personality and care for your customer through the copy that you use. It’s easy to send an impersonal message through, but it has less chances of grabbing your recipient’s attention.

Where possible, try to personalize your messaging, whether it’s by adding their name or tailoring an offer for their interests. You’re more likely to catch their attention and they’ll feel closer to your brand if you make them feel like a VIP.

Tip #10 - Stay Transparent and Compliant

Lastly, using SMS for marketing purposes is more than just making sure they’ve explicitly opted into your program. There are many important laws regulating marketing on this channel, so make sure you’re following them.

These are things like:

Informing recipients about extra message/data rates that they may incur when they respond to your campaign messages.
Letting subscribers know how to remove themselves from your program.
Sending promotional messages only within allowed times of the day.

Keep up to date with the current regulations, and make sure your bases are covered.

Conclusion

SMS is a great channel that can fully round out your existing marketing efforts. Don’t ignore newer channels such as social media ads, messenger and chat apps, and the like, but don’t dismiss this veteran marketing channel. A solid marketing plan must harness all available channels to deliver a powerful message.

If you follow all the tips outlined below, your program and campaign has a better chance of delighting your customers.

Get permission from your subscribers.
Provide great value.
Tell subscribers what to expect.
Don’t nag your subscribers.
Time your messages right.
Be professional and don’t use shorthand.
Respond in real time.
Track and measure your campaigns.
Personalize where you can.
Stay transparent and compliant.

A happy subscriber list can help you build strong customer relationships and encourage brand loyalty to your subscribers. Taking care of them and making sure you bring value through your SMS program can give you great long-term results.