Conversational Marketing Examples, Trends and Strategies for 2023

Introduction

Everyday, we observe marketing in one form or another taking place all around us. For every service offered, more businesses are competing, increasing market competition. These days, companies and businesses use the most cutting-edge techniques to promote to the general public. One marketing strategy is “conversational marketing,” in which activities focused on discussion, and customer interaction are used to promote brands.

You must have seen many websites and chat boxes that ask questions like “How May I Help You?” or “What are You Searching for Today?” and allow you to select from various answers. These are all the results of the same technique.

Read More: The Cost of Developing a Chatbot: Overview, Benefits, Features

Conversational Marketing Statistics for business

Below are a few important conversational marketing market research that emphasizes the significance of gaining ground in conversational business techniques.

Research into conversational marketing has emphasized the importance of gaining a foothold in this emerging industry. Studies have predicted that this year will see $112 billion in chatbot sales for conversational marketing and e-commerce, potentially reaching $142 billion in the next year.

Additionally, Salesforce forecasts that by 2025, AI will be used to facilitate 95% of all consumer interactions.

Moreover, over 80% of CEOs anticipate changing or have already changed how companies handle client engagement using conversational AI technologies.

The analysis of conversational data is a new subject within this form of marketing. The set-up difficulties, particularly the lack of training data and maintenance, cited as the key deterrents to adopting chatbots in businesses, are one of the main problems with this type of study.

Moreover, a lack of developers rather than a lack of demand was one of the primary reasons that 44% of the organizations surveyed did not deploy AI.

Read More: Future of AI in Digital Marketing 

What is Conversational Marketing?

Conversational marketing is an approach to digital marketing that emphasizes customer relationships and two-way dialogue. It is based on the concept of ‘permission marketing’ outlined in Seth Godin’s book, Permission Marketing, which proposes that brands must “seek permission” from their customers before marketing products and services.

This framework offers a way to engage with customers, providing an opportunity to introduce products and services, gain feedback, and respond to queries or complaints. It is a human-centered approach to digital marketing, which puts relationships with customers at the forefront.

The diagram below shows the customer engagement process, with various workflows depending on the chosen channels.

The Difference Between Conversational Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing Method

Top 7 Types of Conversational Marketing 

Conversational marketing can be utilized in all areas of your business, from chatbots and social media to customer support/service and sales. Plus, there are new ways to use it emerging daily. 

Any effective marketing effort must include marketing conversations as one of its essential components. Engaging in proper conversations with your target audience can mean the difference between a successful and unsuccessful campaign, whether online or traditional.

Here’s a breakdown of the different types of conversational marketing and how to use them:

1. Personalization: 

Personalization is one of the key elements of conversational marketing. Personalization helps to make the customer feel like they are being given special attention. You can personalize your conversations with customers by using their names, asking questions about their preferences and interests, and even sending them personalized messages. This will help you to create a strong relationship and increase customer engagement.

2. Chatbots for Customer Support:

Chatbots, powered by Artificial Intelligence (AL) software, can now interact with customers through brand websites, SMS, and other social media platforms. This innovative technology has been a game changer in recent years, as it offers a 24/7 response to customer queries and can provide valuable answers to their questions. 

The convenience of a chatbot eliminates the need to wait for customer service representatives to respond and makes the customer experience more efficient. However, the downside of automated chatbot responses is that they are limited to answering predetermined questions.

3. Social Media Chat – Live Chat:

On social media platforms like Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Twitter, conversational marketing is a personalized, interactive, and automated method of interacting with clients. Customers can use it to make product queries, book restaurant tables, or purchase online. Businesses reply to users’ messages and customize their messaging to them. Moreover, automated messages are delivered depending on the information collected from previous conversations.

Inviting customers to engage with your business is a great way to build relationships. You can offer unbeatable deals through invitation-based conversations, host events and competitions, and more. 

Request-based conversations are used to solicit customers for their ideas or comments. This could be done by requesting customers to vote on a new design or their views on a new product.

4. Sales:

Sales conversations can be held on various conversational platforms, such as chatbots, social media, and email. You can propose items to customers, identify their needs, or offer them a special deal through messaging.

Sales is another important aspect of conversational marketing. You can use conversational marketing to generate leads, educate customers about your products, and even close deals. It is important to keep the conversations focused on the customer’s needs and interests and ensure each customer feels valued and appreciated.

5. Lead Generation:

Lead generation is important to any business’s marketing strategy. Using the right conversational marketing techniques, you can generate leads more quickly and efficiently. You can use conversational marketing to capture lead information, encourage customers to take action, and even build relationships with potential customers.

6. Video Chat/Video Calls:

Video chat is a great way to personally connect with customers. Businesses can offer personalized advice, product demos, and more using video chat. It also allows customers to ask questions and get answers in real time, creating a more intimate connection with the business.

Video is becoming increasingly popular as a form of conversational marketing. Video can be used to provide customers with an informative and entertaining experience. Videos can showcase products, share helpful tips and tricks, or introduce the business and its services.

7. Voice Assistants:

Voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant are becoming more prevalent in homes and businesses. By integrating with these voice assistants, businesses can provide customers with a new way to interact with their brand. For example, a restaurant might allow customers to order food through Alexa, or a retailer might allow customers to check inventory levels through Google Assistant.

These are just a few types of conversational marketing techniques that businesses can use. Businesses should evaluate which form of strategy best suits their objectives because each type of strategy has advantages and disadvantages of its own. Businesses may build strong customer relationships and increase sales using the correct conversational marketing.

Why is Conversational Marketing important?

Businesses must embrace conversational marketing to stay ahead of the competition in today’s fiercely competitive digital marketplace. 

Here are some main justifications for why conversational marketing is important for your company.

• Improved Customer Experience: 

Conversational marketing allows real-time customer conversations. This means you can answer their questions, address their concerns, and provide personalized solutions, all in real time. This approach can improve customer satisfaction, resulting in more loyal customers.

• Increased Conversions: 

Conversation marketing can increase conversion rates by engaging with customers in real time. Customers are more likely to purchase when they receive personalized attention and have their questions answered promptly.

• Higher Quality Leads: 

Conversational marketing enables businesses to engage with prospects in real-time, which can result in higher quality leads. Businesses can tailor their approach and offer personalized solutions by asking questions and understanding their needs, resulting in more qualified leads.

• Competitive Advantage: 

Conversational marketing is still a relatively new approach, meaning many businesses have not adopted it. By implementing conversational marketing, you can gain a competitive advantage and differentiate yourself from competitors.

• Customer Engagement and Satisfaction: 

Conversational marketing enables businesses to converse with their customers in real-time, thus increasing engagement and fostering strong relationships. Through conversations, businesses can garner more insights into customers’ needs and preferences, helping to create a trusting bond that encourages repeat business and loyalty.

Customers appreciate businesses that make them feel valued, and conversational marketing provides the perfect platform for this. Businesses can provide a tailored experience that promotes customer satisfaction by engaging in individual conversations.

• Increased Customer Retention: 

Conversational marketing helps businesses retain existing customers by providing personalized messages and engaging them in meaningful conversations. This allows businesses to build relationships and foster loyalty, resulting in customers returning for future purchases.

Read More: Top 7 Social Media Optimization Tools in 2023

How to implement Conversational Marketing – Steps to Follow

Step 1: Choosing the best platform:

You need to choose the right channels for Conversational Marketing based on where your target audience spends most of their time. Popular channels include messaging apps, chatbots, live chat, social media platforms, and email. Make sure that your chosen channels allow for real-time engagement and are user-friendly.

Step 2: Identifying and targeting the right audience:

You need to create buyer personas based on demographic, psychographic, and behavioral data to identify your target audience. Once you have identified your target audience, you can create personalized conversations that resonate with their needs, preferences, and pain points.

Step 3:  Creating engaging and personalized conversations:

Conversational marketing asks for developing valuable, personalized discussions with your audience. You should design natural, conversational, and relevant conversational flows. Systems based on artificial intelligence and chatbots can be used to scale up customized conversations.

Step 4:  Collect feedback for the right audience:

Continually get audience input. Inquire about their thoughts, ideas, and problems, then use their responses to enhance your conversational marketing approach. By paying attention to your audience, you may have more relevant and individualized conversations that improve outcomes.

Step 5: Evaluation of the effectiveness:

To measure the success of Conversational Marketing, you need to define key performance indicators (KPIs) such as engagement rates, conversion rates, customer satisfaction scores, and retention rates. You can use analytics tools to track and analyze your KPIs and make data-driven decisions to optimize conversational marketing campaigns.

Top 7 Successful Conversational Marketing Examples

1. Healthtap:

Healthtap is a virtual platform that offers healthcare advice to people worldwide. This chatbot, or Facebook messenger, enables people to have a conversation about their health. It starts with first aid and then goes further, allowing you to discuss your concerns with a health specialist. So, if you have any medical questions, the chatbot can help you find the answers.

2. 1-800 – Flowers:

It is one of the most renowned flower retailers in New York City. This company is renowned for using chatbots and Facebook messengers to interact with customers, verify their preferences and direct them to the payment page. A survey revealed that about 70% of customer orders are handled through chatbots and Facebook messengers.

3. Drift:

It would be no surprise to see the company behind the term ‘conversational marketing’ using this strategy on its website. With a chatbot that pops up to initiate a conversation as soon as visitors arrive, Drift can spread various messages utilizing only a small tool. Proactive lead generation is a key part of any marketing plan, and Drift’s conversational marketing allows them to take a proactive approach.

4. WHO + WhatsApp:

Conversational marketing doesn’t always need to be used for sales. It can be a great way to give out information enjoyably and naturally. WHO and WhatsApp collaborated to spread information about COVID using a texting-like format. You also see this on Facebook Messenger. People and companies find novel ways to use conversational marketing as time passes.

5. Amazon Alexa:

Amazon’s Alexa is one of the best examples of successful conversational marketing. It provides customers with a voice-activated virtual assistant to help them place orders, check product availability, and more.

Amazon has also used Alexa to create a more engaging customer experience. It has developed various skills that customers can access to get personalized recommendations and product information.

6.  Spotify’s Voice Feature:

Another example of successful conversational marketing comes from the music streaming service Spotify. It has developed a voice feature that allows customers to request specific songs, albums, and playlists.

This feature has allowed Spotify to interact with customers more naturally. It’s also helped Spotify build relationships with its customers, as they can interact with the company easily and conveniently.

7. Sephora’s Chatbot:

Sephora, a beauty and cosmetics retailer, has used a conversational chatbot to provide customers with personalized product recommendations. Customers can access the chatbot via the Sephora website, asking questions about makeup, skincare, and other beauty products.

The chatbot will then provide customers with personalized product recommendations based on their needs. This has allowed Sephora to provide customers a more personalized experience while driving sales.

Read More: 17 Best AI Marketing Tools to Grow Your Business

Conclusion

Conversational marketing can be a powerful tool for businesses to boost customer engagement and conversion. Keeping up with the latest trends, and putting in place successful tactics, can give companies a great customer experience and help them grow in the coming years.

If you want to implement conversational marketing for your business, Contact us to start your business growing.

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