Consumers often dislike the more traditional forms of marketing. Why? It might be their one-sidedness. These forms of marketing tend to be about putting an advertisement in front of a consumer.
This does not translate into customer satisfaction in any desirable way. The customer wants to feel important and understood. Meanwhile, a typical marketing message does not invite the recipient to talk about things, but focuses only on speaking to them.
So, instead of invasiveness, go with interactivity! Conversion requires directly engaging customers in conversation, rather than treating them as passive recipients. With that in mind, think about investing in conversational marketing.
Conversational marketing is a great way to get ahead of the competition and build a solid consumer interaction strategy across multiple communication channels. Let’s talk about how it works and how you can start using it!
What is conversational marketing?
Conversational marketing is an approach that focuses on talking with customers rather than just showing them one-sided advertisements. At its core, conversation-like communication is designed to help brands build relationships with their audiences.
In practice, this means using tools that make it possible to hold engaging, personalised and direct conversations with customers when they expect it, which is almost immediately.
💡 This way of communication shortens the distance that often exists between business and consumer. While traditional campaigns focus on messages sent “to” the recipient, conversational marketing focuses on talking “with” the customer.
Efficient conversational marketing rests on three main pillars.
- Matching the response to the context. The tone of a company’s response and its form should fit the context in which its interaction with a customer is taking place. To give an example, imagine that a customer sends a company a message using Viber, expecting a quick update on the status of a recent order. So, the brand should respond with a short, specific message with a tracking link that will allow the customer to track the shipment. It shouldn’t end with the customer being told to call a hotline.
- Quick response. A customer should be able to interact with a brand at any time and on whatever platform the customer prefers. The faster the customer’s needs are addressed, the better.
- Building engagement through dialogue. Conversational communication uses the natural rhythm of conversation to engage the customer in a way that resembles an interaction with an assistant, rather than typical advertising. Questions, answers, and suggestions should guide the user through the buying process in an engaging and convenient way.
The role of technology in conversational communication
An important aspect of conversation-oriented marketing is also the use of technology, particularly chatbot solutions and messaging automation platforms. They make it easier to initiate and hold personalised conversations at scale.
The first stages of a customer’s contact with a brand are particularly important here. Technologies related to conversational communication allow to effectively build long-term relations with customers in two ways.
First, they enable quick responses to questions, which can have a very positive impact on how a customer perceives a brand.
Second, they allow you to collect data about customers. It can help you create highly tailored and engaging marketing messages.
Some of the most effective technological solutions in conversational marketing are OTT messengers like Viber and Facebook Messenger. Rich Communication Services, the more engaging cousin of SMS, is also worth mentioning here.
With interactivity, personalisation and the ability to respond immediately, these platforms effectively engage customers and guide them through the buying process in real time. This approach can have a very positive impact on conversion rates, increasing the effectiveness of marketing efforts.
What are the main benefits of using conversational marketing?
Conversational marketing focuses on holding an interactive conversation with the customer. It helps engage them effectively and increases the efficiency of the entire buying process.
Applying this approach, you can actively guide customers through each stage of the sales funnel, converting initial interest in a product or service into conversions and long-term loyalty to your brand.
Here is a list of key benefits stemming from the implementation of conversational marketing.
- Increased customer engagement – An interactive form of conversation makes the recipient feel important and valued.
- Immediate customer service – Automation allows you to respond to customer issues quickly and efficiently.
- Increased brand loyalty – Authentic, personalised communication fosters lasting relationships.
- Optimisation of the sales funnel – Dialogue helps efficiently identify and remove barriers blocking a purchase decision.
- Personalisation at scale – Using data from conversations, you can tailor marketing messages even more accurately to the preferences of individual users.
- More conversions – Faster and more tailored responses shorten the customer’s path to purchase.
- Better understanding of customers – Analysing the collected data allows you to continuously improve your marketing activities.
- Lower customer acquisition costs – Optimising interactions minimises the number of customers abandoning their shopping cart.
How to implement conversational marketing at your company? Key elements of the process
To realise the full potential of conversational marketing, you must first create a plan that addresses a number of key issues. The most important of these are choosing the right tools and communication channels, creating personalised conversational strategies, and integrating with the tools you are already using.
Choosing the right communication channels
The first step to successful implementation of conversational marketing is choosing the right communication channels. First and foremost, they should be popular with members of your target audience and allow for convenient, two-way exchange of information.
➡️ Among the most popular communication channels are OTT applications such as Viber. They provide quick and convenient contact with customers thanks to features such as automatic replies and multimedia support. In some cases, Rich Communication Services are also worth implementing.
Choosing the right tools
A key element of successful conversational marketing is the selection of the right communication platform. It is this tool that is going to be responsible for delivering messages to customers in the most efficient way possible, ensuring high effectiveness of your marketing efforts. When shopping around, it is worth focusing on the following three key aspects.
➡️ Scalability. The communication platform should be prepared for a growing number of users and messages, making it easier for your company to expand its operations.
➡️ Deliverability. An effective communication platform is one that ensures that each message reaches the recipient in a timely manner.
➡️ Customer service. In emergency situations, such as messaging problems, reliable technical support is key to maintaining smooth communication with customers.
Designing personalised conversational strategies
Conversational marketing puts great emphasis on personalisation. By creating customised conversational scenarios, you can engage customers more effectively and guide them through the buying process with more confidence.
➡️ With personalisation, your brand can effectively anticipate customers’ needs and provide them with the right content at the right time. For example, if a user frequently buys shoes from one brand, they can get a personalised notification about the release of a new model. This increases the chances of conversion.
Integrating conversational marketing with other tools
For conversational marketing to yield optimal results, it is essential that it is fully integrated with other tools used in your business. This makes all activities become more coordinated, resulting in a better customer experience and higher conversions.
What are the most efficient examples of conversational marketing?
Conversational marketing is a versatile tool that can take many forms. Chatbots, elaborate campaigns in popular OTT messengers, or answering customer questions on social media are some of the most essential of the activities worth implementing in your company.
Chatbots and virtual assistants in customer service
The chatbot’s biggest advantage is the automation of answering the most common customer questions in real time. It makes the customer service department available 24/7, which significantly reduces response time and increases satisfaction with the services provided.
💡 Conversational bots can not only answer questions, but also support sales processes or help solve tech issues.
OTT messenger campaigns
Another example of effective marketing designed to generate dialogue are campaigns ran in popular OTT messaging apps such as Viber and Facebook Messenger.
💡 A presence on these platforms will allow you to engage your customers more effectively, creating an opportunity to have more personal conversations, send personalised offers, and maintain continuity and immediacy in your interactions, ultimately increasing the effectiveness of your campaigns.
Personalised, real-time product recommendations
Dialogue-oriented marketing also enables dynamic and personalised presentation of product recommendations tailored to individual customer preferences.
💡 Based on the analysis of past behaviour and purchase history, you can serve potential customers customised offers. This increases the chance of conversion and helps build loyalty to your brand.
Other examples of conversational marketing activities
- Interactive surveys to help you get to know your customers better and customise your offerings.
- Proactive reminders and notifications about abandoned shopping carts that engage users in continuing the shopping process.
- Post-purchase follow-ups to automate feedback and maintain relations.
- Live broadcasts combined with interactive chats for instant interaction and relation building with customers.
How to measure the effectiveness and impact of conversational marketing?
To assess the effectiveness of your consumer-centred conversational marketing efforts, schedule regular performance analyses and reviews of key performance indicators.
This will allow you to closely monitor the impact of conversational marketing on customer satisfaction, its translation into conversions, and the company’s overall business performance.
Key performance indicators in conversational marketing
What metrics should you be monitoring to assess the effectiveness of your conversational marketing? Here is a list of the most important ones out of the bunch.
- Response time – how quickly a customer receives a response to their question or request.
- Engagement rate – the number of messages sent by customers and the level of interaction during the call.
- Conversion rate – the percentage of conversations that resulted in a purchase or another desired action.
- First contact resolution (FCR) – the percentage of enquiries resolved during the first interaction.
- Customer satisfaction (CSAT) – the level of satisfaction as measured by post-call surveys.
- Customer retention rate – the number of people who remain loyal through successful conversational interactions.
Tools for analysing and optimising conversations
An important component of successful conversational efforts is the use of specialised tools to support analysis and optimisation of the process.
- CRM platform – Allows you to track interactions with message recipients and analyse their reactions.
- Sentiment analysis tool – Helps you assess the tone and emotion of conversations.
- Cross-channel communication platform – Enables conversational activities through different channels simultaneously, ensuring consistency and effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
- AI-based solution – Supports analysis of large amounts of data, suggesting possible improvements and directions for further action.
What challenges does the implementation of conversational marketing pose?
Despite the many advantages of conversational marketing, the implementation of this approach can present some significant challenges. Here are areas to consider.
Protection of personal data and customer privacy
Personalisation, which requires the collection and analysis of a large amount of customer data, plays a major role in conversational marketing. This makes the issue of data protection particularly important.
You need to be sure that the way you intend to process your audience’s data complies with current regulations, such as the GDPR. Transparency and accountability when it comes to privacy are essential if customers are to feel comfortable sharing information about themselves with you.
Ensuring communication consistency across multiple channels
Consumers expect consistency in communications, regardless of channel. In practice, however, this can be complicated if you are using multiple channels at the same time, such as OTT applications, SMS, or email.
Each of these solutions offers different options and capabilities, so it will be a significant challenge to ensure consistent tone, style, and message quality in each of them.
Balancing automation and the human factor in interactions
Automating conversations using chatbots or AI-based systems is one of the pillars of conversational marketing. However, the desire for optimisation should not lead to a loss of balance between speed and quality of customer service. People who contact you still expect empathetic responses and a sense that there is a human being on the other side.
That is why it is so important to skillfully combine automated processes with the option for an assistant to take over the call if the situation requires it. This is especially applicable to complex enquiries or problems. These provide a special opportunity to show the human face of your business.
Conversational marketing as the engine driving your marketing efforts
Instead of just talking to your customers, start having conversations with them that convert!
Today’s audiences expect a personalised and customised experience, not generic advertising messages. Being able to deliver them builds an authentic dialogue where every message exchange matters.
However, in order to achieve this goal, a well-planned dialogue-based approach is the first step.
Conversational marketing allows you to have natural chats in real-time, so you can better understand your customers and build lasting, authentic relationships with them. Each conversation becomes an opportunity to deepen trust and strengthen your brand’s position in the market.
If you want to effectively use the potential of conversational marketing, contact us! We would be more than happy to help you implement an action plan that will engage your audience and help your business grow.
