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How to Finally Get Started With Conversational Marketing

2 mins read

You’ll probably already have a good idea of what conversational marketing is, even if you aren’t actively implementing it. It might be a part of a wishlist of techniques and strategies that you’d like to try in the future.

But, while you’re planning to get to it at some point, your competition is already enjoying the benefits. Don’t get left behind. Make 2019 the year you finally get started with conversational marketing. Here’s how.

Paul,Mayzin,Raza@2x

What You Need to Know About Conversational Marketing

A Quick Definition

For the sake of clarity, here’s a really good definition of conversational marketing from our friends over at HubSpot:

“Conversational marketing is the ability to have 1:1 personal conversations across multiple channels – meeting customers how, when, and where they want. It is more than just live chat – it extends to phone calls, texts, Facebook Messenger, email, Slack, and more — basically any channel in which a customer wants to communicate with your brand.”

What That Means

Customers want to be treated like a person, receiving personal responses from your brand. Those responses need to be instant, especially if the customer knows exactly what they want from your website. Fail to provide the information they’re looking for and they’ll go elsewhere.

Real-time conversations are the quickest way of moving someone through the different stages of the buyer’s journey, allowing you to create an authentic experience and convert better quality leads - something that many businesses are missing out on.

No matter the channel, conversational marketing allows you to accurately identify a visitor to your website and understand what they’re looking for. You can map out what they’re looking at, where they came from and if they need help. This is more of a personal experience. At the moment, everyone sees the same CTAs - regardless of their intentions on your website.

How to Get Started with Conversational Marketing

Conversational marketing isn’t replacing anything. Not everyone needs to be nurtured carefully along the buyer’s journey - they know what they want and they want it now. With the right tools, you can identify these types of visitors and help them find exactly what they’re looking for. There are a few things you can do to get started.

Evaluate Your Existing Customer Journey

Are there any gaps in the way that you normally communicate with customers? Assess how leads are normally nurtured to see if there are common bottlenecks or stages you usually have problems with.

Could Automation Help?

Think about the tasks and processes that are part of the customer journey and if they could be streamlined. Is it taking too long to deal with visitor requests? The longer it takes for a customer to get the information they need, the more likely it is that they’ll take their business elsewhere. A chatbot or conversational approach could speed things up.

Decide What You’re Trying to Achieve

What do you hope to achieve with conversational marketing? Think about your goals and sort them by how quickly they can be reached. You’ll probably have large, long-term targets, but breaking them down into smaller goals is a good way of staying on track.

Remove Jargon

One of the first things you can do is to audit the content you use in your blogs, on your website and in social media posts. Think about the tone of voice you use and the level of formality. Are you using too much jargon or speaking in an unnecessarily complicated way? Edit your copy so that it’s human, personal and conversational.

Find Solutions That Work For You

When you’re putting a conversational marketing strategy together, you’ll probably start to think about the different solutions and software you need. Live chat software and chatbots are just two that can improve the customer experience on your website. Take your time when choosing though - there are lots of options available and not all of them will include the features you need.

Remember, you aren’t throwing out the marketing strategy you already have and replacing it with something new. Conversational marketing can just influence all aspects of your work to improve things for both the buyer and for your business.  

Download Our Conversational Marketing Playbook

Embracing a conversational approach will ensure everything you do is focused on both the goals of your buyer and your own - offering a customised experience that puts the buyer at the centre. In terms of what to do next, we’d recommend looking at how chatbots can help your business and how to create an effective strategy around them.

We’ve put together a playbook that covers just that. It’s packed with useful tips and advice, so it’s perfect for anyone looking to explore conversational marketing for their business. Download your free copy now using the link below.