While ‘Conversational Commerce’ is not a new concept,
the phenomenon is gaining momentum, driving innovation and customer experience
in an ever-changing e-commerce landscape. The way today’s consumers choose to
communicate and interact with brands is fundamentally shifting. Gone are the
days of infuriating calls, jumping through multiple hoops to get to the right
department, and confusing out-of-date websites – customers now expect to be
able to engage in seamless, conversational experiences with businesses, similar
to how they communicate with their friends and family.
Conversational commerce is exactly that: a
conversation between the business and their clients. It combines the power of
messaging tools and platforms with the shopping experience, and also extends to
customer service. Using platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or Apple
Business Chat, it allows businesses to engage the consumer where they are.
Payment functionality becomes a breeze when you consider linking your online
store to a provider like SnapScan, Zapper or Master Card. It also enables
automated and personalised online experiences for customers. Business leaders
who don’t want to be left behind need to give some serious thought to how they
can make this techy trend work for both themselves and their customers.
The adoption of conversational commerce
A simple example of conversational commerce is a buyer
using Facebook Messenger to ask a seller a question, thereby facilitating the
transaction. It also includes more sophisticated tools, like chatbots, which
have been widely adopted by many websites. Although some consumers may have
been wary of conversational commerce channels at first, they now embrace – and
even expect – them to be available in order to simplify their online shopping
experience. From querying product specifications to looking for recommendations,
customers are able to make more informed decisions that much faster.
Conversational commerce has now evolved to the point
where messaging apps are integral to the selling- and customer-service
processes of various companies. Burberry’s “R Message” is an example of this. Through this
messaging service, employees can text high-value customers directly, rewarding
loyal customers with access to in-store appointment bookings, personalised
online advice and shopping-from-home assistance. The service was designed to
offer peerless service to customers by giving them the right information at the
right time, all while driving sales.
In other words, conversational commerce transcends
previously expected value and has the potential to drive more meaningful
interactions between companies and customers, thereby increasing customer
satisfaction and, ultimately, accelerating revenue conversion.
The benefits of conversational commerce
The most important question for businesses to answer
is: why do consumers want conversational commerce? It offers a convenient and
personalised service that speaks to the customer in a language they can relate
to, and enables ‘always-on’ availability. We live in an age where people rely
on their smartphones for almost everything; there is very little they can’t
accomplish with the click of a button. This is true when it comes to brand
interactions, too.
The rapid development of natural language processing
technology and artificial intelligence systems have made it easier for
conversational trade to mimic the human element, creating connections and
making customers feel valued.
But why would consumers favour this model of human-like
contact to traditional buying channels? It may be because the best examples of
conversational commerce feel like shopping with your own personal assistant
who’s ready to answer any and all of your questions – clearly a win for
consumer experience.
So, how does this benefit businesses in the long-run?
Some results from early adopters of this e-commerce trend show just how
powerful it can be when used in the right way.
US fast-food chain Taco Bell created a purpose-driven
bot called TacoBot to take customers’ orders via Slack. The service proved
particularly effective in solving real-time problems and eliminating
significant pain points when it came to dietary preferences and hunting down
food items that the customer might have forgotten the name of.
Another example that can’t be ignored is Amazon Echo, selling over three million units in less than 18
months. Because it is hooked up to Amazon’s full product catalogue, it can
tap into the user’s order history and intelligently carry out voice commands to
buy or reorder items. Alexa, the default addressable name, can even walk you
through options when ordering something for the first time. It shows just how
powerful conversational commerce can be when it’s linked to delivering the best
possible consumer experience.
It is this level of improved customer experience that
fosters brand loyalty and can even lead to cross-selling or upselling
opportunities – as is the case with the Amazon Echo. It also helps that the
consumer’s online behaviour is recorded, which in turn can be used to make
future suggestions and continue to add value to the customer journey down the
line.
How to start using conversational commerce
With social platforms like Facebook, Telegram and
WhatsApp Business, it may be easier than you think to start a simple
conversational sales strategy. However, if we look at Amazon Echo, we can
predict where the future of conversational commerce is headed. Chatbots and
voice assistants are useful to businesses, but when fully integrated with
e-commerce, they can revolutionise the sales process.
So, where do you start? To create a sustainable
solution in a world where technology is constantly changing may sound complex
and overwhelming, but this technology is easy to integrate with your current
business processes using a single business messaging API. The software involved
in implementing this is user friendly; just log in and you can start reaping
the benefits.
As these technologies evolve, we will see new forms of
brand-to-consumer communication and interaction emerge, paving the way for more
intelligent touchpoints and increased customer satisfaction. Commerce is
becoming not only more conversational, but more ubiquitous and seamlessly
integrated into our lives, and the way we interact with brands will be forever
changed as a result.
