Are you looking to transform your e-commerce strategy and boost customer engagement? Enter conversational commerce — a dynamic approach that leverages messaging apps, AI, and chatbots to create interactive, personalised customer experiences. 

Follow our guide to learn how conversational commerce can elevate your business strategy!

By the end of this article, you will learn about:  

• What conversational commerce is
• How it works
• How it adds value to the customer journey
• The role of messaging platforms in conversational commerce
• The benefits and challenges of conversational commerce
• Trends in conversational commerce to look out for  
• How to craft a conversational commerce strategy 

 

What Is Conversational Commerce?

Conversational commerce is revolutionising e-commerce by facilitating natural, two-way communication between businesses and customers. 

By using chatbots, messaging apps, and automation technologies, it personalises and enhances the shopping experience. Imagine having a shopping assistant available 24/7, ready to offer product recommendations and execute transactions seamlessly. That’s the power of conversational commerce.

• How It Works

Conversational AI integrates into the shopping process to optimise customer interactions. These tools elevate customer service by understanding complex requests, providing quick and relevant information, and completing transactions within the conversation. This reduces the reliance on traditional communication methods like calls or emails, paving the way for a more efficient shopping experience that still caters to the individual needs of your customers. 

• Examples Of Conversational Commerce

Real-world applications show the effectiveness of conversational commerce. Brands like Dynamite use Heyday chatbots on their websites to engage customers, while Instacart employs messaging to orchestrate interactions between agents, shoppers, and customers. 

By utilising customer data, these businesses are able to offer personalised experiences and improve their conversational commerce platforms.

• Conversational Commerce vs E-commerce

Conversational commerce offers several advantages over traditional e-commerce, including:

1. Personalised and Dynamic Service: Tailored interactions that adapt to individual customer needs.
2. Streamlined Customer Service: A single channel for comprehensive assistance, particularly beneficial for mobile users.
3. Enhanced Customer Engagement: Continuous engagement through personalised recommendations and real-time assistance. 
4. Increased Sales and Customer Loyalty: By maintaining engagement and offering tailored recommendations, conversational commerce drives customer loyalty and boosts sales.

 

How Conversational Commerce Adds Value To The Customer Journey

Conversational commerce adds a wealth of benefits to the customer journey, using data and insights to craft personalised experiences.

Chatbots and AI hold a central role in this process. They identify customer preferences, monitor purchase history, and provide tailored recommendations at various points in the customer journey. By fostering stronger customer relationships through personalised and continual engagement, conversational commerce can ultimately drive loyalty. 

• Crafting Personalised Recommendations

Personalised recommendations are crafted using data and insights, engaging with customers to gain a deeper understanding of their needs and preferences. 

AI, specifically natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML), facilitates conversational commerce technology to improve product recommendations, refine search capabilities, and customise content to align with individual customer preferences, driving engagement. 

By offering products that align with customer preferences, businesses can benefit from an uptick in:

(i) Customer satisfaction

(ii) Brand loyalty

(iii) Sales

(iv) Customer retention

• Maintaining Continuous Engagement and Building Loyalty

Conversational commerce extends beyond just making a sale — it focuses on forging enduring relationships with customers. By maintaining continuous engagement with customers, businesses can foster loyalty and convert one-time buyers into repeat customer and eventually building a loyal customer base.

 

Driving Customer Engagement Through Messaging Platforms

Messaging platforms hold a vital role in conversational commerce. Platforms like Facebook Messenger offer businesses an opportunity to engage with customers, answer questions, and provide personalised product recommendations. By offering quick, helpful, relevant information, these platforms enhance customer engagement and drive sales.

Messaging and chat apps provide numerous advantages, including:

• Handling multiple conversations by a single agent, ensuring smooth customer service
• Offering personalised product recommendations and facilitating transactions within the conversation
• Engaging with passive website visitors, enabling businesses to initiate conversations and interact with users who may not have initiated contact

Facebook Messenger, especially, provides a complete set of tools for conversational commerce. It provides:

• Seamless integration with chat plugins
• Personalised recommendations
• Lead qualification
• Ability to transmit diverse forms of rich content such as photos, videos, PDFs, GIFs, and locations.

But Facebook Messenger isn’t the only powerful tool for conversational commerce. Other social messaging apps offer distinct features to accommodate diverse user preferences and business requirements, such as:

• WhatsApp
• Messenger
• WeChat
• QQ
• Snapchat
• Google Business Messaging
• Instagram DMs
• Line

 

Understanding The Benefits & Challenges of Conversational Commerce

While conversational commerce provides numerous advantages, it also poses specific challenges. One of the main drawbacks is the potential for a dehumanised user experience. To address this, businesses can provide assistance and validation to customers, increasing revenue and enhancing the value of interactions.

• The Challenges Of Automation

Achieving the right equilibrium between automation and human interaction is critical for preserving customer satisfaction and trust. While automation offers efficiencies, it can also lead to:

(i) A decrease in empathy

(ii) Automatic responses that do not lead to resolution

(iii) Generic solutions

(iv) Inability to handle intricate situations

(v) A reduction in human touch and personal connection

To balance automation and human touch, businesses should leverage technology for routine tasks while ensuring human agents handle complex inquiries and provide the personal touch customers value.

• The Advantages Of Conversational Commerce

The advantages of conversational commerce are evident and quantifiable. It offers:

(i) Round-the-clock customer support

(ii) Leveraging chat interactions to drive sales

(iii) Minimising abandoned carts

(iv) Enhancing customer engagement

(v) Fostering loyalty

(vi) Significantly improving customer retention rates

In addition to driving sales and customer retention, conversational commerce provides valuable customer insights. By monitoring customer communications across various platforms, businesses can collect data from every interaction, offer product recommendations, address inquiries, and inform sales and relationship-building strategies.

Conversational commerce can also substantially elevate sales and customer retention. By utilising chatbots and messaging apps to actively engage customers post-purchase and providing after-sales support, businesses can cultivate stronger customer relationships and drive higher conversion rates.

E-commerce websites can be substantially improved with conversational features. Integrating chatbots, voice assistants, and other conversational tools into websites can improve the customer experience and drive sales.

 

The Future Landscape: Conversational Commerce Trends to Watch

The future outlook of conversational commerce is promising, with emerging trends and technologies presenting new avenues for businesses to interact with customers and achieve success. Technologies such as conversational AI, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) are set to elevate the shopping experience even further, enabling customers to virtually test products, visualise their appearance in their environment, and make more informed choices.

Forecasts suggest that chatbots and voice technology could yield $290 billion by 2025, underscoring the increasing significance and uptake of voice commerce. With machine learning and AI expected to revolutionise e-commerce by influencing the operations of digital businesses, the future of conversational commerce looks promising.

 

How to Use Conversational Commerce in Your E-commerce Strategy

Now that you’ve got the basics covered, it’s time to implement a strategy that seamlessly incorporates conversational commerce. 

The process involves more than just integrating the right tools, requiring these crucial steps: 

1. Identifying Your Goals And Metrics

Start by defining clear objectives, such as providing round-the-clock customer support, boosting sales, or enhancing the customer experience. Then, establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to keep track of your progress. 

These might include the number of customer conversations, satisfaction scores, and conversion rates. By aligning goals with relevant metrics, you can make data-driven decisions to optimise your strategy.

2. Selecting The Right Platforms And Tools 

Once you’ve identified your goals and KPIs, now is the time to choose the platforms and tools that align with your business needs and customer preferences. 

Consider factors such as compatibility with existing messaging channels, user experience, and the specific features each platform offers. Top tools include omnichannel communication platforms like SMS, email, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and specialised services like Haptik and LivePerson.

3. Consistently Measuring Performance

A key part in the entire process is always checking if you’re on track to reach the KPis you’ve set for yourself. Identify which parts of your strategy that works and which don’t, and course-correct — whether it’s by adjusting your KPIs, or re-evaluating the tools and platforms you’re using.

 

Conclusion

Conversational commerce is reshaping the landscape of online shopping. By leveraging AI and messaging platforms, businesses can create personalised shopping experiences, drive sales, and build strong customer relationships. While there are challenges, the benefits — increased sales, improved customer retention, and valuable customer insights — make it a worthwhile investment. As we look to the future, conversational commerce will continue to play a pivotal role in the evolution of e-commerce, offering exciting opportunities for businesses to connect with customers and drive success.

Ready to explore the possibilities of your e-commerce strategy? Get in touch with us and we’ll be with you on your journey towards elevating your business today!

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between e-commerce and conversational commerce?

Conversational commerce involves direct communication between brands and consumers using online chat channels, often with the use of AI technology like chatbots to drive sales and enhance customer experience.

What is the difference between conversational commerce and social commerce?

Social commerce focuses on buying and selling through social media platforms, while conversational commerce encompasses real-time interactions across various channels, offering personalised customer assistance and engagement.

What is conversational commerce and how does it relate to M commerce?

Conversational commerce enables consumers to interact with brands and make purchases through messaging apps, live chat, chatbots, and voice technology. It is related to M commerce as it allows consumers to shop and conduct transactions using mobile devices.

What is the impact of conversational commerce?

Conversational commerce enables brands to improve customer experience by staying connected with buyers and providing real-time, personalised interactions. This technology helps build streamlined, omnichannel conversations and gain important buyer insights for better service.