For any industry, the only way to survive, excel, and thrive in our ever-changing world is to stay ahead of the latest trends. A consistent focus for businesses is the way we interact with our customers, and over the years the way we all approach it has changed dramatically.
Today, marketers need to be ubiquitous – so a strong omnichannel strategy is needed to navigate changing times. The developing reach that is permeating e-commerce retailers and start-ups around the globe is conversational commerce.
What is Conversational Commerce?
Conversational commerce is when brands use interactive media to communicate with customers and get them to buy. It’s not just customer service; conversational commerce turns the journey into a conversation, not a one-sided dialogue of promotional messages that the customer can accept or reject.
Originally, this concept started with social media messengers. Both WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have an active monthly user base of more than 1 billion people. This means that every seventh person in the world interacts with either WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.
This is a massive opportunity for brands, but even more appealing is the emergence of SMS marketing. About half of customers have already signed up for SMS messages from their preferred brands.
For brands that are good at it, conversational retail becomes an integral and powerful part of the customer journey.
Why Use Conversational Commerce?
Conversational commerce is more than just keeping up with trends, although that’s a bonus.
This may sound strange, as we are talking about using a computer to get in touch with our customers, but conversational commerce should be about providing a better, more personalized user experience.
At the end of the day, using tools like chatbots to connect with our customers should enhance their experience, not compromise it, and if used properly, that’s exactly what it does.
You will also benefit from it!
How Conversational Commerce Impacts Shoppers
When deciding to buy online, people go through different stages before and after they click the checkout button.
There are 5 different steps in the customer’s journey:
- Awareness: The first and most important phase of the buying process, because every sale begins when a customer realizes that he or she needs a product or service.
- Research: At this stage, customers want to find out their options.
- Consideration: This is the stage in which a customer compares options to make the best choice.
- Conversion: In this phase, the buying behavior is put into practice – it is time for the consumer to buy!
- Re-buy: After the purchase, customers consider whether it was worth it, whether they would suggest the brand/product/service, and what feedback they would give.
Wrapping Up
Companies around the world invest countless resources in developing conversational commerce channels for their customers. For e-commerce companies, the choice is clear. A comprehensive, robust conversational commerce strategy is essential for continued success and revenue.
