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.