How to get started with conversational commerce

Conversational commerce is the place where messaging apps and commerce meet.

Customers are able to chat directly with customer agents, chatbots, or a mix of both through their preferred messaging apps—which helps to drive conversions and improve overall customer satisfaction rates. Within the apps, customers get immediate support, ask questions, receive reviews, and click to purchase.

The growth of personal smartphone usage is a major reason why conversational commerce is so unbelievably effective. Worldwide, 6.6 billion people have a smartphone according to Statista—which translates to 83.32% of the world's population owning a smartphone. This number is only expected to grow, while the number of individuals using messaging apps is increasing simultaneously.

Many conversations can be automated. A whopping 90% of customer queries can be resolved in 10 messages or less—why not use chatbots then to take on simple, repeat questions? They can also initiate conversations for when a person visits a webpage for the first time or opens a customer support section on an app. When the going gets tough though, customer agents can come in at any time to tackle the more complicated queries.

There are loads of different places where you can reach your customers. Finding out which messaging apps are their favorite is key and it depends on what demographics you target. After all, different messaging apps attract different audiences. 

Some of the most popular messaging apps include: 

• WhatsApp
• Facebook Messenger 
• Viber
• Instagram DM 
• Twitter DM

WhatsApp can be used from the start to the end of the shopping experience. Customers can go through a company catalog, pick their favorite items, ask questions about each product, add them to the shopping cart, choose their delivery location, and pay directly through WhatsApp. All of this is done while staying in the same chat window. 

Customers can also get personalized recommendations and notifications or alerts. But most importantly, they can chat with a customer agent throughout the entire process, getting support whenever they need it.

When you make yourself available 24/7 using messaging apps like WhatsApp, you give customers the added benefit of immediacy. Customers are able to get their queries resolved quickly and efficiently, which helps to build a stronger connection with your brand. 

WhatsApp makes it possible to send notifications and alerts—getting important messages over to customers in real time. You can also reflect your brand persona in every customer interaction in a creative way. WhatsApp allows you to add a plethora of different media to keep the conversation interesting, such as images, videos, documents, and CTA buttons.

It’s incredibly easy to create message templates to help you automate all of the most frequently asked questions. These can be used for when you may be unable to reply—for when you are out of the office for example. 

While a chatbot can handle simple, repetitive questions, customer agents can tend to more complex queries more delicately and efficiently.

With WhatsApp, businesses can facilitate two-way conversations. Two-way conversations usually occur in physical stores, but now this is possible online too! Customers can connect with businesses from anywhere they are and any time. All the while, they are getting personalized experiences—creating customer delight. Now, what business doesn’t want that?

WhatsApp marketing is a bulletproof plan if you are looking to build strong relationships with customers. Marketing campaigns are easy to set up—you’d have templates right at your fingertips! 

To maintain quality and avoid unsolicited promotions, WhatsApp reviews and approves each template you send. It takes less than 48 hours for a message to get approved—though many templates get approved in as little as 2 minutes. 

Once WhatsApp has approved your template, you can use it to communicate with your audience. Maintaining customer relationships through the use of such campaigns helps businesses save costs. That’s because customer retention is 5 to 25 times cheaper than acquisition.

As the name suggests, conversational commerce is all about conversation. It is of the utmost importance that every piece of dialogue remains consistent with your brand voice. Otherwise, you risk sounding fragmented and forfeit the intimate and personal advantages of interacting with clients through messaging channels. This means that whether you're using chatbots, customer agents, or a mix of both—every interaction must have your brand voice. 

Start with the things that your customers say, ask, and do over and over again. Choosing simple and repetitive messages to tackle first will help you build upon your successes faster. You’ll find out quickly what messages work for you and which ones need to be tweaked. 

During the first month of your plan, set goals like:

• Improve customer response time by x minutes 
• Increase online conversions by x%
• Decrease customer service agent queries by x%
• Increase online orders by x%

Establish these foundational goals and measure them against your KPIs. You will be able to see ways you are performing well and areas with room for improvement. With each review, you’ll find ways to optimize your messages within each channel you are using to communicate with your customers. 

Eventually, you’ll be able to use what you’ve learned from your customers’ conversations to improve your performance and offerings. From improving your standard answers to more complex interactions, you’ll be on a sure path to reaching your conversational commerce goals. 

Working with a company that can guide you through the complexities of conversational commerce is the best track for reliable outcomes. tyntec is a leading partner for conversational APIs and solutions with over 20 years of experience. Many businesses around the world already use our solutions in their daily operations.

If you haven’t gotten started on your conversational commerce journey and would like to give it a try, we offer a 30-day free trial for our Conversations Inbox. The trial includes almost all features. All you have to do is add the channels you need. 

If you’re curious to learn more, please drop us a line here.

It has never been easier for businesses to communicate with their customers. With the help of conversational commerce, they are able to bridge the gap between messaging apps and commerce. Customers can ask questions, read reviews, and purchase from within the apps. The entire process takes place within the same chat window.

Giving customers this immediate support can help brands deliver an experience that customers won’t forget. Brands can guide them through their buying journey, from start to finish.