October 12, 2020 
There are profit-based and customer-based reasons why companies use conversational marketing nowadays.
Conversational commerce has given marketing a more personal approach, and although this strategy of marketing is still largely underused, the businesses who have adopted it are reaping massive benefits today.
With the proliferation of online business comes competition, and with the competition, customers have become very demanding and now have high expectations from a business.
Recent studies found out that 90-95% of online customers expect to receive a response from a business they message within 0-10 minutes.
That is, the customers of the average 21st-century business expect to be attended to almost immediately. This development has led marketers into automation and conversational marketing.
As opposed to the traditional means of customer support which involves lead-capture forms and call-backs, conversational commerce has changed online marketing so that users can engage businesses in real-time.
There are several reasons why companies use conversational marketing. However, before going into that, what is conversational marketing?
What is Conversational Marketing?
Conversational marketing is the process of using real-time communications and dialogue-driven activities to engage users, customers, and visitors on a business’ online channels.
Conversational marketing ensures customers no longer have to go through the agony of waiting days, and sometimes weeks, for a response.
This strategy of marketing uses targeted and personalised messaging as well as highly intelligent chatbots to engage users and customers in real-time whenever they access your business.
Businesses no longer have to rely on lead-capture forms, call-backs, and all the other old ways of communicating with customers. Conversational marketing builds strong and long-lasting customer and user relationships by using the experience of a real-time conversation to give a personal touch.
Real-time communication allows companies to achieve a lot within a short frame of time. Businesses can now provide immediate solutions to users’ problems in record time which will go a long way in showing how committed you are to customer service.
Why a Company Should Use Conversational Marketing
- Improves the Company’s understanding of its Customers
- Increases Conversion Rate
- Convenient for Customers
- Improves Customer Service
- The Assurance of 24/7 Customer Service
- Shortens the Sales Cycle and Moves Buyers Through Funnels Quickly
Improves the Company’s understanding of its Customers
Naturally, speaking with someone will help you understand them better. It will help you learn something new or different about the person, and you can get information from the person.
The same applies to this strategy of commerce; a reason why companies use conversational marketing is to learn more about their customers.
Conversational commerce helps improve the knowledge and understanding a company has of its customers. By constantly engaging in communications with them, you learn about their likes, what they want, how they want it, where and when they want something, among many others.
Their choices will give a strong indication as to what they prefer. By knowing your customers well, you will know how best to suit their needs and wants.
Chatbots, for example, will help a business learn more, gather data and information about the customers.
The data might be their preferences, what they are interested in, what they will like to see or be recommended whenever they come to patronise you when they like to message, and many other details.
Once you know these and many other details about your customers, it makes their experience with your business a lot smoother.
Increases Conversion Rate
Consider two scenarios; the first one, a potential customer messages Business A and asks for a piece of information. However, because Business A does not use conversational marketing, the customer has to wait 24-48 hours to get an answer.
The second scenario, the same customer asks the same question to Business B. Business B, because they use chatbots for their conversational marketing replies immediately. Which business do you think this potential customer is more likely to patronise?
Before the first business sends a response in 48 hours, the second business has already won over the new customer.
Talking to your customers increases the chances they will patronise your business. You are more likely to convert visitors into customers when you have conversations with them.
Customers find it easier to enter into a conversation to discuss whatever they want than having to fill forms which will mean they wait for answers.
With chatbots readily available, your customers have a program that is ready to interact, engage, and attend to them; they will no longer have to fill lead capture or submission forms before getting responses.
As the likelihood of getting a response quickly increases, this will improve user experience, drive up customer engagements and in the long run, lead to conversions.
Convenient for Customers
Customers want service ease. Another reason why companies use conversational marketing is to ensure the process of buying and selling is convenient for a user.
By ensuring customers can speak with a business over a product or service, possibly negotiate, make payments, get it delivered from the comfort of their homes, you have made the process of buying and selling convenient for them.
Also, not only buying, customers who run into problems, need clarifications, and many other possible problems, can message a business directly and expect to get an immediate response to put their worries to bed.
This reason why companies use conversational marketing is, so they do not need to fill forms, wait for call-backs, come physically to the business’ office, and many others.
You can experience speaking with a business from your comfort as a customer.
Improves Customer Service
Conversational marketing improves the buying experience of your customers.
You give your buyers a smoother experience with your business when they do not have to wait for call-backs or go to the FAQs page to scrape for answers and can interact with your business at any time through convenient means of communication like chatbots and video calls.
Customer satisfaction, in some cases, goes beyond the product or service; it is more about the buying experience and how smooth it is for customers.
24/7 Availability is Assured
All-round availability is another reason why companies make use of conversational marketing.
Conversational marketing involves tools like live chat and chatbot. While both means a business will always be available, the latter assures 24/7 availability because of its nature.
With chatbots, your business is readily available to have real-time conversations with your customers, and this is one of the benefits of conversational marketing.
A company’s image has a positive projection when customers know you are always available to interact with them whenever there is an issue. These are the margins that separate great businesses from ordinary ones.
Shortens the Sales Cycle
Since conversation takes place, you have cut a huge chunk out of the time it normally takes for sales to be completed.
Real-time conversations cut the waiting time of forms, emails, or even scheduling a call time that will be convenient for both parties. Within a short frame of time, you will be communicating more information.
