Make your customer outreach standout with Conversational Marketing

Authored By Beerud Sheth, CEO and Co-founder, Gupshup

In the age of digital transformation and ever-evolving consumer expectations, traditional marketing approaches are no longer sufficient to capture the attention and loyalty of today's demanding customers. As we approach yet another festive season, businesses find themselves at a critical crossroads. The key to thriving during this competitive time lies in the ability to engage customers in a meaningful, personalized, and real-time manner. This is where Conversational Marketing emerges as a game-changer.

By seamlessly blending technology with human interaction, Conversational Marketing empowers companies to make their customer outreach not only stand out but also leave an indelible impression in the hearts and minds of their target audience. With the consumers' urge to splurge at its highest, brands need to make sure that they utilize this time to offer value and forge long-lasting bonds with their customers. 

Conversational Engagement through chatbots is emerging as a great way to enhance customer interactions, streamline support processes, and deliver real-time, personalized experiences that foster brand loyalty and drive business growth.

Customer-Centric Marketing with Conversational AI 

Reports suggest that there is a promising future for customer spending, with a strong and thriving market. There was a 25% uptick in festive spending in 2022 when compared to 2021, and it is expected to improve even more significantly this year. The pent-up demand has led to an 84% jump in shopping budgets and over 50% of shoppers engaging in hybrid purchases, i.e. buying across offline and online channels. This gives brands an opportunity to build long-term relationships with their customers.

Enter conversational marketing which is helping businesses stand out across channels. Conversational marketing, unlike digital marketing, is a customer-focused approach that emphasizes direct, real-time communication between brands and consumers. Gone are the days when the shopping experience was one-sided. With Gen AI chatbots, consumers can have engaging, two-way conversations with brands and offer them a rich shopping experience. For example, Maggi during its 2023 Ramadan campaign via Facebook and Instagram ads led consumers to a WhatsApp chatbot. The campaign resulted in 1.7K new customers for Maggi. 

WhatsApp: The new digital marketing tool on the block

While social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook have been marketers’ best friend, increasingly WhatsApp is becoming the go to channel for one-to-one personalized marketing.  Thanks to its high user base, and one of the highest engagements among all other apps, WhatsApp presents an unmissable opportunity for brands to be where their customers are.

Features such as Click-to-Chat ads that get directed to WhatsApp are witnessing a huge traction for top of the funnel marketing, with brands reporting a significant ROI for their businesses. Additionally, chatbots are capable of supporting brands in lead generation and prospect nurturing thus helping them gain new customers. They also assist customers in discovering new launches, sending sale reminders, push notifications, and more. These chatbots have indeed become virtual shopping assistants.

Customer Data Analysis for Improved Customer Engagement 

Deep learning algorithms, which can analyze consumer data, interpret their preferences, and identify the ideal audience for marketing efforts, are the foundation of conversational marketing. Consequently, the best way to achieve improved customer engagements and seamless shopping experiences in real time is through an AI-based ecosystem, where chatbots and virtual assistants can speed up product discovery, suggest related items, offer information, and assist in completing transactions based on customer data analytics.

Real time assistance also plays a vital role in conversational marketing that will benefit businesses to retain its customers. Advanced chatbots can be deployed during the festive season to manage the increased number of consumer queries, enabling efficient and effective customer service on behalf of the brands.

This festive season, personalization is going to be a game changer for brands. Festive-themed content coupled with recognizing customer preferences and offers, product recommendations, real-time assistance, will be crucial determinants to gauge a campaign’s success. 

At this time when brands are going all out to woo customers with deals, deploying chatbots can help multiply their success by targeting the right customers with the right set of products. Particularly in a competitive landscape where brands are pulling out all stops, the integration of chatbots stands as a strategic ace up the sleeve. As we navigate the festive season, it’s clear that it's not merely about selling a product; it's about crafting an experience that resonates with the customer, fostering long-term loyalty and sustained business growth.