How Smart Brands Boost Sales With Conversational Marketing
Nowadays, most brands have a tricky time connecting with people. Between annoying online ads and boring marketing emails flooding inboxes, it’s no wonder messages get ignored. But breaking through the digital clutter to have real conversations remains a challenge.
Enter conversational marketing– an approach centered on meaningful, individualized brand-customer interactions across digital channels.
When done right, conversational marketing strengthens customer loyalty and even drives more sales through suggested products. On top of this, it captures visitor data to improve future interactions.
That’s why we’ve rounded up the essential details on conversational marketing and how to make it both interesting and worth your time.
What is Conversational Marketing?
Conversational marketing focuses on customer engagement through ongoing, personalized dialogues across digital platforms. It connects with customers where they already spend time – messaging apps, social media, website chat functions.
Automated tools like chatbots make scaling one-on-one conversations possible, while AI (artificial intelligence) aids messaging personalization.
Done well, and it fosters stronger brand-consumer relationships and loyalty.
Benefits of the Conversational Marketing Approach
Improves Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty
Conversational tools provide the instant answers customers demand these days. Chatbots easily handle common questions 24/7 without the consumers waiting on hold. And when questions get more complex, chatbots can bring in human customer support in a snap.
By solving issues right away across websites, messaging, and more, brands boost satisfaction.
Conversational marketing also builds real relationships between customers and brands through helpful real-time conversations. That familiarity and care pays off in the form of improved loyalty to your products and services.
Generates More Leads
Many prefer reaching out to brands by messaging instead of endless calls. Smart chatbots allow seizing this opportunity through friendly, conversational AI questionnaires for website visitors. They automatically identify promising leads based on responses before passing those contacts onto sales teams.
This conversational approach provides sales with a higher quantity of leads more likely to convert into customers. By engaging visitors instantly in ways more convenient for them, chatbots capture more data upfront to qualify and route leads accordingly.
Guides Customers Through the Sales Funnel
Understanding the customer journey has never been more crucial. Shoppers are now expecting hands-on guidance, all the time. Conversational marketing provides this through strategic messaging across platforms to inch contacts closer to purchasing.
For example, site chatbots engage visitors curious about products with content specific to their needs. If interested in learning more, visitors then receive helpful newsletter sign-up prompts.
Social media chatbot messaging then continues the journey with relevant updates and offers keeping audiences warm until they feel converted to purchase.
Conversational Marketing Strategies for Success
Identify the Right Platforms
First, meet your audience where they already chat daily – text messaging, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and more. Surveys and analytics highlight current favorites. Then, supplement those platforms with additional conversational opportunities through chatbots on your website, voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, etc.
Test and Optimize Campaigns
With so many messaging options, narrowly target campaigns and then tweak constantly to find what works. Test chatbot greetings, promo code offers, conversation topic orders, and more through built-in analytics. Pour resources into campaigns showing traction while reworking or axing poorer performers.
Moreover, marketing teams should always continue optimizing campaigns. Keep improving efforts by reviewing metrics and transcripts. Refine answers to frequent questions.
Personalize messages with visitor names while banking on their personal experience. Identify peak hours for targeting, and repeat for every sales cycle.
Collect Customer Feedback
Conversational marketing demands listening just as much as talking.
Dive directly into the minds of customers and leads by soliciting their input through quick post-chat surveys. Ask targeted questions to learn channel and conversation preferences. This qualitative data spotlights messaging successes to double down on and pitfalls to avoid.
Also, tune into unfiltered opinions on social media for insights into pain points and service perception. Use this voice-of-customer knowledge to steer website content updates, better response times, improved chat flows, and beyond.
Key Conversational Marketing Tools
Chatbots
Chatbots allow for friendly, personalized conversations that guide website visitors to useful places. After a warm, helpful greeting, it’s kinda like the bot takes visitors’ hands and asks, “Hey there! What brought you in today?” Smart questions then help identify visitor needs before passing those who want help to the right teams.
Behind the scenes, integrate the bots with other systems to smooth the whole process even more. Review the chat transcripts regularly too. Adjust accordingly so the bot has near-human levels of sharp, empathetic chats with every visitor.
Social Media Messaging
Leveraging platforms shoppers already turn to like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp is a no-brainer.
Have genuine back-and-forth conversations. These conversations must answer real questions, share content updates that actually help people, give exclusive deals, and more.
Use built-in analytics to get to know different visitors as individuals. Then tailor messaging to align with each person’s interests and needs for a tight customer bond.
Website Live Chat
Add real-time pop-up or slide-in chat windows onsite to connect visitors directly with knowledgeable sales reps.
Ensure shoppers get authentic human help dialed into their specific questions or product needs from start to finish – from considerations to checkout.
Ask for feedback through quick post-chat surveys too to gather what hits or misses the mark. Study what questions keep coming up as well to create more self-service content if needed. The goal overall? Provide exceptional (and conversational) customer experiences.
Voice Assistants
Allow customers to chat through voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa. Shoppers can ask about orders, product details, support questions, and more completely hands-free. It’s like having an assistant on call 24/7 to handle inquiries conversationally.
Be sure to review voice transcripts consistently to improve the assistant’s capabilities around frequent questions. You can even gamify voice skill interactions or add some personality to make conversations more fun!
Guide subscriber journeys with automated, personalized email sequences that feel like helpful 1-on-1 advice tailored to each person.
Reach customers whichever works best – whether that’s limited emails for some or more frequent messages for others more receptive to outreach.
Follow up conversationally with subscribers who’ve stepped away too to rebuild relationships through timely, customized touches based on their purchase history or interests. Also, enable subscriber controls via preference centers so people feel respected and heard.
The objectives are to keep email conversations helpful yet human-centered. All while guiding readers closer to converting over time through relevance and value.
Conversational Marketing Campaign Ideas
Let’s explore some smart ways brands use conversational interactions to boost marketing and sales. Implementing tactics like chatbots and messaging creates opportunities for personalized, value-driven customer experiences.
Chatbots That Qualify Leads Through Friendly Conversations
Bots placed on key landing pages can identify promising leads by asking visitors questions in a friendly conversational way. By inquiring about needs, interests, budget, and timeline, they determine lead potential before passing high-value visitors to sales reps for follow-up.
Tips: Craft an engaging opening message addressing pain points. Use disqualifiers to filter time-wasters. Integrate with CRM to log transcripts and visitor insights
Social Media Marketing for Ongoing Sales Dialogues
Proactively chat with followers on social media to provide value and nudge them towards purchases. Maintain ongoing, personalized sales conversations across interactions by answering questions, offering exclusive content/deals, and segmenting audiences.
Tips: Test content and offers. Track engagement and conversion rates. Use limited-time promo codes to encourage buying.
Live Chat for Exceptional Buying Experiences
Implement real-time chat windows manned by knowledgeable reps on product pages or shopping carts. Aid shoppers with personalized recommendations and assistance to prompt more checkouts and boost customer satisfaction.
Tips: Use data to identify common questions and improve self-service options. Empower reps to offer special discounts or free shipping when appropriate. Survey chat users for feedback.
Chatbots on Landing Pages to Generate Leads
Greet website visitors with customized chatbot messages on key landing pages.
Engage visitors in a friendly intro dialogue to assess their needs. Do this before prompting opt-in actions, like downloads, content offers, and email signups.
Tips: Use pop-up or slide-in chat windows to be proactive. Personalize messaging with any visitor details you have. Offer content upgrades or exclusive deals in exchange for lead details.
Closing the Loop
Today’s consumers want personalized digital experiences when engaging with brands. Conversational marketing delivers this far better than disruptive ads and one-way corporate messages ever could.
The approach benefits savvy brands by improving customer satisfaction, generating more sales leads, and enabling better customer journey mapping.
To see success, focus on choosing the right platforms for your goals and audience. Keep optimizing based on data, and soliciting customer feedback.
With the right conversational strategy, brands can foster the types of helpful, trust-building dialogues that consumers increasingly expect.
For help developing an effective, customer-centric conversational marketing campaign, connect with our digital marketing experts here at Freedom Media. Our team lives and breathes these best practices – and has the platform knowledge and creative skills to make conversational engagement work for every brand.