The Know-How of Conversational Commerce

You will most likely answer “Yes” to the question above if you are from the e-commerce world or a big fan of online shopping since this is the latest trend to be ahead of your competition, and your brand will only sell if you can engage your prospects in a personal conversation. The survey data on brands’ popularity and revenue generation has revealed that e-commerce brands that are using conversational Commerce have increased their revenue by 25%, and at the same time, the consumer buying behaviour survey data states that 82% of online shopping enthusiasts believe that brands that provide instant responses to their queries are better with their products and support. The recently researched graph also indicated that 47% of people never buy from the stores with no instant chat or message option or with no social media presence.

In the data above, it is evident that brands need to meet their potential customers where they are: on their terms and in their environment.

Gone are the days when the products’ quality and prices were the USP of the online merchants. In the present era, customers need personal attention and recognition through sources like instant customer support, live interaction, and social media accounts to rely on after-sales support, and this expectation is in the masses because of the introduction of conversational commerce technology. The cut-throat competition is now only among those who are able to use this latest trend in the right way to reach out and assist their potential customers in delivering convenience, personalisation, and decision support.

Are you curious to explore more and find out why conversational Commerce seems to be the new buzzword in the industry?

The term conversational commerce represents the technology that is adopted for online customer engagement by online retailers, brand marketers, and agencies to build conversational channels with their potential customers and prospects. 

In layman’s language, it is a strategic business initiative of online retailers to engage with clients using various sources of texts and voices to sell their products and services by implementing technologies like live chats, chatbots, messaging tools, voice assistants, social media accounts, etc. with a purpose of communicating to move their clients faster through the sales funnel. 

An online business starts with generating targeted traffic to your site and ends when the traffic converts into leads and finally turns into a customer. Conversion of visitors to customers can be greatly enhanced through conversational Commerce. If the technology is used at every step throughout the process of the sales funnel, it is definite that using conversational Commerce can greatly increase the likelihood of visitors becoming customers. 

Let’s see how Conversational Commerce assists in turning every visitor into a customer and then retaining them forever, using its benefits at each stage of the sales funnel.

Stage 1: Awareness 

Initially, when customers land on your company’s website or landing page for the products or services they are looking for, they will get the same information available all over the internet and in media. However, what can capture their attention is if you can come forward and listen to what they need in terms of products and services and then provide them with a solution that is best for them. This is the first step to building a personal rapport with the client, which will build trust in your brand because by using conversational tools, you helped them with options to solve their problem.

Stage 2: Interest and Evaluation

A visitor is now your lead, and the prospect knows about your brand and your products and services. But at this stage, the prospect is comparing your offers and those of your competitors on their own purchasing parameters. This is the time when you can utilise conversational Commerce to introduce your offers and explain more about your products and services. When personalised offers and convenience are offered at this stage, you build a better comfort zone in customers’ hearts and minds and make them stay with you.

Stage 3: Action 

At this stage, the customer is ready to purchase, so it is important to keep the customer engaged so that his decision to buy turns into to actual action to buy. We have to be aware that online media is flooded with options, and it takes fractions of seconds for the prospects to get distracted and go away. The conversation and engagement will support him in his action, and if any queries or hurdles come during the process of buying, instant answers and support can fasten the process.

Stage 4: Engagement and retention

A repeated client is 10 times more profitable than a new client because the cost per acquisition is extremely low and conversion ratios are extremely high; after all, he is already your customer. Retaining was never too easy and fast till conversational Commerce was introduced. You can keep a regular check on their requirements, keep checking their feedback and take happiness ratings on the products and services. This will help you improve your engagement rates and personalise your efforts to keep your customers associated with your brand forever.

Stage 5: Referrals and Reviews

The online marketing trend is all about personalised messaging, emotional connection, and review sharing. Yes, when you can get 5-star ratings and a high number of reviews, your approach will win every customer’s heart, and that’s where conversational Commerce comes into the picture. The powerful technology here helps to get reviews and referrals from them and make them feel part of your team not just for one benefit but to reap more benefits and to keep a long-term relationship with every client.

We learned so much about how to increase sales conversions at different stages of the sales funnel, so now let’s see what type of tools and options can be used to make the best of the latest technology.

Live chat 

The most popular conversational commerce tool for interacting with customers is the real-time live chat option. These are being used by most e-commerce brands as using the live chat option gives more convenience to customers as compared to e-mails and tele support. Live chats get instant responses for faster buying decisions and also it benefits online retailers. In this manner, they can interact and provide the best support to two or more customers at a saving cost and time.

Chatbots

Chatbots are basically software that is programmed to communicate with customers for all types of customer support. This can be used at all stages of the sales funnel in a natural way to interact with the customer and help them with all the information and offers they deserve to know. Customers can easily get their queries sorted out in less time with the help of the chatbot in answering all doubts related to the order status, flight status, rescheduling of the flight, etc. 

Messaging Apps

Additionally, WhatsApp has become an integral part of life, and almost everyone on earth is connected to it. So when these types of apps are used for the sales and support process, the customers are super comfortable because they can communicate at their convenience in their own environment. 

Such conversation platforms also connect brands with the customer’s emotions which is extremely favourable to have better conversion. A few more that come in the messaging apps category and are being used popularly are messenger, Snapchat, telegram, etc.

Voice assistants

The popular names that define voice assistants are Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri. The growing popularity of these assistants has encouraged online brands to associate their customer support with voice assistants to have a long-term association with their customers and to make faster sales for increased revenue. Artificial intelligence has made it possible in many ways to give more and more personalised customer support by keeping records on interests, recognising voices, etc. 

Conclusion

Conversational Commerce, which is fueled by the popularity of online messaging, connects businesses and customers by digital messaging using various tools as discussed above and allows brands to deliver personalised customer service via digital channels to digital shoppers. With the right optimisation, conversational Commerce enables businesses to answer questions quickly, recommend products, offer discounts, request feedback, and convert customers.