What is Conversational Commerce? And Why Does It Matter for Brands?

Imagine walking into a store and finding no one to greet you. There are questions you have about the products you are interested in but no one is available to answer them. You go home empty-handed. This happens all the time in online retail stores that lack conversational Commerce.

Online shopping is more popular than offline. This is no excuse to skimp on customer service. Learn how to make customer service digital using conversational commerce.

What is conversational Commerce?

Conversational commerce (or social trading, or conversational marketing), uses conversation to better serve customers. Conversational commerce makes customer service digital. It allows you to speak to thousands of potential customers simultaneously.

These conversations can take place anywhere customers are: on social media, messenger apps, or your website. Chatbots, chat agents, or both can be used to have conversations.

Why conversational commerce is important?

Conversational commerce makes online shopping easier, more enjoyable, and more personal for customers.

PwC’s Future of Customer Experience Survey reveals that customers want speed, convenience and friendliness while shopping. The survey also revealed:

• 73% customers consider the experience a key part of their buying decision. Only 49% of customers believe that companies offer good customer service.
• One in three customers (32%) will abandon a brand if they have a bad experience with customer service.
• 65% customers believe that a positive experience is more powerful than great advertising.

Conversational commerce is a popular method of business communication.

• A 10% increase in revenue over the first six months
• Averaging 30% savings on customer service costs
• Automate up to 80% of customer interactions Chatbots with AI can improve efficiency and accuracy when communicating with customers .

Source: PwC Future of Customer Service Experience Survey

Types and methods of conversational commerce

To join the conversation, you don’t have to be the fastest speaker in the west. These tools are being used by many brands to reach more customers online.

Conversational AI Chatbots

An AI chatbot can be described as a robot customer service agent. Yes. We live in the future.

Chatbots allow customers to instantly connect with brands through automation.

A friendly robot is not the first thing that comes to mind when people think about personalized service. Chatbots such as Heyday use machine learning to provide personalized responses to customers. These responses become more accurate over time and more effective. An AI chatbot can remember its customers, just like a real agent.

Chatbots such as Heyday can answer all your FAQs, saving you valuable time and resources.

Source: Heyday

Get a free Heyday demo

Live chat

Customers can chat with a live chat app to communicate with a customer service representative. The days of the 1-800 number and the dreaded customer support form are long gone.

Chat apps can automate common answers to common questions. Customers who require extra assistance can be given human customer service.

64% of customers prefer to chat with a chat app over calling customer service.

Live chat allows customer support to respond to multiple customers at once. This allows for greater efficiency and better customer service.

Voice assistant software

Conversational commerce includes the use of voice assistants to answer queries. To make their purchases, more people ask Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant questions.

A survey of online shoppers millennials found that almost half (47%) used voice assistants to make purchases.

Marketers should consider the most common questions and orders customers may have. It is much easier for customers to ask Alexa to place an order than to navigate through your product pages.

Source: Survey of 1038 Online Shoppers

Messaging apps

Social messaging apps are more popular than social media. The top four messaging apps have a larger user base than the top four social media sites.

Customers decide what they want to buy before they visit a company’s site. Social messaging apps are more popular than search engines. A company’s Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are receiving more questions. You need to make sure that someone or something is available to answer your questions!

Source: The Messaging Apps Report by Business Insider

Social media

Publicis and Twitter have released a new study that shows “social conversations are the new online reviews.”

• 92% people search for information about a brand via social media.
• 64% people will reconsider their opinions about a brand after reading about them on social networks.

Your brand’s conversations are driving sales. It’s time for customers to engage in those conversations and post photos and reviews on social networks.

Learn how to create a strong customer experience on social media. Learn more about social selling.

Source: Twitter

6 Benefits of using conversational commerce

Customers look for speed, friendliness and helpfulness when shopping.

These are the top six ways that conversational commerce delivers this experience.

1. Give 24/7 customer support

Instant messaging is a term that has been used for a reason. Customers want immediate answers to their questions. Without it, it is impossible to provide 24/7 customer support.

Businesses can respond to customers quicker using chatbots. Chatbots can answer common questions immediately. Customers can also schedule a call with a live agent if they are available.

2. Chats and relationships can help you drive sales

Chat or messenger customers can provide valuable information. Chatbots and live agents can suggest products based upon the customer’s needs.

Dynamite, a Canadian brand, uses a Heyday chatbot to help them on their website. The chatbot can help customers find red sweaters by suggesting different products.

Source: Dynamite

Personalization is a way to sell more products. Brands can learn more about customers through chatbots.

Brands can build relationships online by assigning agents to customers who are repeat customers. Customers are more likely to return to a brand that is eager to help than they are to shop.

3. Reduce abandoned shopping carts

Ecommerce is plagued by abandoned shopping carts. Abandoned shopping cart orders account for $18 billion in annual losses to the ecommerce industry.

Conversational commerce tools can help to reduce this number by:

• Customers who abandon shopping carts are reminded or nudged to order again.
• You can check-in to find out what is preventing customers from buying, and get valuable information to close the deal.
• Customers looking for a particular product, such as a tennis racket or a computer mouse, can be sent an automated link to the product.

4. Collect customer data and feedback

Your relationship with a customer does not have to end after they purchase a product. Chatbots can follow up with customers to get feedback or reviews, saving live agents valuable time.

To increase the chances of a customer reviewing your product, you can also send automated follow ups. 63% of customers will give more information if they had a great experience.

5. Get more leads of better quality

Conversational commerce opens up new possibilities for meeting new customers.

Chatbots make it easy to communicate with your customers.

• Send your top customers an email to request a review or referral.
• Chat to automate sales calls and get more appointments.
• Send a message to increase interest in a product.

55% businesses who use conversational commerce also receive higher quality leads.

6. More languages

Customers can shop anywhere in the world now. Many companies miss the chance to engage customers who don’t speak the same language.

Multilingual chatbots can break down language barriers. You can answer FAQs in different languages without having to hire a whole new team.

AI can be used to answer customer questions and perform simple tasks in the preferred language of the customer. Merci Handy, for example, can answer questions in English and French using Heyday’s chatbot. No translator or live agent required.

Source: Heyday

Best practices in conversational commerce

Conversational commerce can play a different role depending upon where your customer is located. You must find a balance between being helpful, and not annoying.

Be the digital customer service agent. You are not the digital version of a car salesperson.

These best practices will allow you to get the most from conversational commerce.

Awareness

Messengers and social media are great places for awareness-focused conversations. This happens before customers visit your website. This is where you need to be responsive, helpful, and relevant.

Do:

• Automate FAQs to provide customers with immediate answers.
• To engage people who visit your website, send a welcome message.
• It’s easy to make it clear that customer service is available via chat 24/7.

Don’t:

• Spam customers
• Customers shouldn’t wait too long to be answered. Customers expect immediate responses.

Consideration/Decision

As customers make final selections, ensure that your website offers a live chat option. Close the deal!

Do:

• Customers will appreciate your ability to provide concise and direct answers.
• Connect customers to live agents with specific questions and concerns
• Include a “live chat” button. Customers should be able to easily connect with you, especially on contact and product pages.

Don’t:

• Customers should be made to close deals.
• Do not be afraid to follow-up. Research shows interest decays overtime.

Retention

You want to convert visitors to customers when they visit your website. If they purchase a product, then they will be repeat customers. There are several ways you can do this.

Do:

• Make a welcome popup.
• Link customers to review pages and surveys, and request feedback.
• You can welcome a customer to your website with special offers and promotions.
• Thank customers for placing an order.

Don’t:

• Follow up aggressively and try to make another sale.

Twitter research shows that 71% of people are more likely to buy if they speak with a brand prior to shopping.

Source: Twitter

Top conversational commerce platform

Heyday

Heyday by Hootsuite can be described as a conversational commerce platform. Heyday automates up to 80% customer interactions using machine learning.

Heyday also offers live customer service via the same platform. It’s a chatbot that can answer FAQs and connect customers to live agents when needed.

Heyday integrates with top ecommerce platforms such as Shopify. In just 10 minutes, you can have your website up and running in no time!

Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger recently added many new chatbot tools that businesses can use, including a number of free tools. Messenger is North America’s most popular chat app. In the last year, Facebook has doubled the number of messages that are sent to businesses.

Customers look first to Facebook Messenger for more information. Facebook Messenger has automations that allow businesses to answer common questions. It can also help you organize messages from Instagram and Facebook into one dashboard.

Facebook Messenger does not integrate with your website or other platforms.

Hootsuite is a tool that helps you manage conversations in Facebook Messenger. Hootsuite can be used to manage social media marketing. It allows you to manage all messages across multiple platforms.

LiveChat

LiveChat is a live chat platform that enables you to connect with customers and other service personnel. The platform manages all customer interactions with live agents.

LiveChat automatically segments visitors to your website based upon what they do on the site. This allows you to better serve customers’ needs. It can also predict what customers will type to help you respond faster.

Source: LiveChat

Drift

Another option is Drift, which offers a live chat platform. It connects real sales reps to customers on your website, and is rapidly becoming a popular choice.

There are a few automated chat options. You can chat with live agents immediately or book appointments. Drift offers beautiful dashboards and many chat features. It is a great tool for creating simple chatbots.

Engati

Engati is a rising star within the chatbot world. It’s an easy option for those who want to get started in conversational commerce. Engati’s most appealing feature is its intuitive chatbot creator. It allows you automate simple chats on both your website and messaging apps such as WhatsApp.

Start automating your customer service. Heyday provides a simple, easy-to-use platform to support your customer service team.

Get a free Heyday demo

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