What is Conversational Marketing?

Recently, Meta – the market-leading owner of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram – has now made it possible for marketers to contact customers directly through these apps, provided that the latter has given their approval. In doing so, they have effectively opened up the possibility for full-on marketing campaigns on the world’s most widely-used online communication platforms, which is set to revolutionise further how online brands carry out their marketing campaigns in the coming months and years.

Conversational Marketing vs Traditional Marketing

Marketing has traditionally been a one-way street when it comes to communication with customers. The typical approach usually involves businesses identifying a sector of potential consumers and trying to get them interested in their brand through TV, radio, or online advertising, email campaigns, and other channels that we’re all familiar with. Crucially, while customers may see or hear your company’s message with this kind of marketing, it offers them no way to answer you directly.

By contrast, conversational marketing makes use of the latest technology such as live chat, chatbots, messaging apps, social media platforms, and voice assistants to personalise the marketing process with fresh content like newsletters and offers.

How to Use Conversational Marketing to Reach a Broader Audience

While there is undoubtedly still a place for traditional marketing strategies such as those mentioned above, forward-thinking businesses should be aware of the benefits that conversational marketing has to offer in terms of reaching a global audience.

As mentioned, WhatsApp, owned by Meta, has recently expanded its capabilities to send marketing messages, providing brands with the opportunity to engage with WhatsApp users directly. With a staggering base of 2.7 billion active monthly users, WhatsApp represents an incredibly promising communication channel for aspiring conversational marketers.

WhatsApp has already established itself as a preferred platform when it comes to interacting with businesses. Indeed, the WhatsApp for Business app has garnered over 50 million users across more than 5.25 million organisations. On a daily basis, over 175 million individuals send messages to business accounts on the app.

Facebook and Instagram, also part of Meta, are two more platforms with huge potential when it comes to conversational commerce. With around 4 billion users between them - 400,000 of them businesses - the extensive use of these platforms is proof in and of itself of the vast potential customer base within this audience.

Conversational Marketing Benefits

One of the biggest advantages of leveraging technology such as chatbots and messaging apps as part of your marketing strategy is the fact that people tend to interact with them considerably more than traditional marketing methods. While emails are still an effective way of getting your message out there, their relatively low engagement rates suggest that they can often go over the heads of potential consumers.

Indeed, figures from 2023 show that while marketing newsletters sent by email have an open rate which hovers around 21%. WhatsApp, the world’s biggest online messaging app, has an open rate of 98%; while Meta’s other platforms, Instagram Messaging and Facebook Messenger, have open rates of 88% and 80% respectively.

The reasons behind this stark contrast in open rates are in keeping with the tendencies of our modern online culture. Email inboxes are often cluttered with promotional messages from multiple sources, newsletters, and spam, leading people to overlook or simply ignore what’s being sent to them. By contrast, messaging apps typically have less clutter and, crucially, no spam folder; making it considerably easier and more convenient for users to notice and open messages.

Conversational Marketing Examples

While talk of increased engagement and customer satisfaction is undoubtedly exciting for business owners, you may still have a few questions about how all of this works in real life. With that in mind, here are just some examples of how companies can harness the power of conversational marketing to drive their online business forward.

Newsletters and Announcements

Newsletters on conversational marketing platforms such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger serve as targeted messages sent to specific customers, providing relevant information tailored to their interests. These newsletters include details about exclusive discounts, special offers, and product announcements.

These newsletters offer a unique feature: when users respond to the message, they enter into an individual chat with your business on the app. This enables one-to-one communication between customers and the brands that have captured their attention, fostering a more personalised and engaging interaction.

Deals and Offers

Conversational marketing allows businesses to inform customers about exclusive deals and offers tailored to their preferences. Messages can be customised for special occasions like holidays, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday.

For instance, an online fashion brand may use Instagram to showcase seasonal collections in the run-up to the items going on sale. Interested customers can click on the ad and access a live chat for real-time product inquiries, recommendations, and support.

This innovative and attention-grabbing marketing approach generates enthusiasm and places your brand at the forefront of customers' conversations during pivotal moments throughout the year.

Abandoned Cart Reminders

Recent research by the Baymard Institute reveals that eCommerce stores lose $18 billion annually in sales revenue due to abandoned carts. Fortunately, evidence also shows that conversational marketing strategies such as effective checkout optimisation or abandoned cart reminders can increase conversions by 35.62%.

For example, an online book store could send out a reminder to a customer with a link taking them back to the cart which they abandoned. With one click, the customer returned to the checkout zone, where more books from the same genre or author will also be visible. This proactive approach allows you to reclaim sales that too often slip away at the final moment.

Get Started with Conversational Marketing

The primary goal of conversational marketing is to create a more personalised and interactive marketing experience that benefits both businesses and customers. It does so by making use of the latest messaging technology to drive meaningful conversations; build relationships, provide support, and guide customers through their purchasing journey.