Conversational Engagement for Long-Term Customer Relationships

You can have the best messaging tools and CX software, but if your conversations don’t feel natural, customers may not feel connected with your brand. Conversational engagement is key to cultivating long-term customer relationships and driving loyalty. As customer expectations evolve, so must your business communication strategies. Read on to learn how you can foster deeper relationships and boost customer engagement with conversational experiences.

What is Conversational Engagement?

Customers want to feel heard and understood. They have grown tired of receiving marketing messages that do not speak to them. Conversational customer engagement involves focusing on meaningful connections through authentic interactions. It’s about having a dialog and empowering customers to get information and solutions through relevant conversations. 

Brands with a customer-centric approach are 60% more profitable, and conversational platforms make it easy for businesses to put customers first. Conversational tools are ideal for customer engagement because they allow human-like conversations powered by their Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities. Moreover, AI can use textual cues to analyze customers’ sentiments, helping agents have more empathetic conversations.  

Conversational chatbots are capable of deriving strategic insights from customer data, such as past conversations and browsing patterns. In tandem with communication channels such as Instant Messaging platforms and WebRTC-based Video calling solutions, conversational AI enables real-time engagement. This allows businesses to connect with customers across their buying journey through customized interactions that feel personal.

Benefits of Conversational Customer Engagement

Here are a few advantages of conversational engagement –

1. Smooth Customer Journey  

Conversational customer engagement helps businesses provide a delightful experience across their buying journey. By sharing timely and relevant information, businesses can minimize confusion and build positive interactions.

For example, customers who want to explore your offerings can find it easier to ask questions to a chatbot than send an email to the support team. Once they are ready to purchase, customized discounts can help maximize conversions. Moreover, automated notifications help provide post-purchase support that boosts loyalty.

Conversational chatbots simplify the process of collecting feedback which is critical to devise business strategies for growth. Additionally, personalized recommendations help in upselling or cross-selling, thus increasing the customer lifetime value. Thus, conversational channels and bots help offer a smooth customer journey.

2. Shorter Sales Cycle
 

Conversational channels help reduce friction and eliminate bottlenecks by efficiently guiding customers through the sales funnel. By answering queries instantly and providing prompt support, conversational tools make it easier for customers to make informed decisions.

Moreover, quick issue resolution and proactive customer communication reduces the time spent by agents on routine support tasks. With conversational platforms, you can automate data collection and intelligently route leads, speeding up the sales process.

For example, FAQ bots help answer common customer questions with minimal agent intervention. Since automation reduces agent workload, teams can focus their efforts on leads more likely to convert.

3. Improves Retention 

Conversational AI helps agents provide accurate information instantaneously. More importantly, customers can easily get answers from conversational chatbots rather than navigating various sections of the website. For example, if a customer wants to know how much disk space they need for the installation of a software application, they may need to browse the support pages. They may have to go to the product page if they want to view a product tutorial. If they want to learn about the use cases of the application, they may have to look for it in the resources section of the website.

With conversational chatbots, on the other hand, customers can get all the information they need to educate themselves about the product from within the messaging/chatbot interface. This helps increase product adoption and improves retention.

4. Builds Loyalty   

In the pursuit of winning over customers, businesses can end up sending relentless messages, leading to brand fatigue. When your customers see irrelevant messages, it pushes them away rather than drawing them in. The key to earning loyal customers is personalization. By sharing content tailored to a customer’s current needs, you can improve satisfaction and build loyalty.

Conversational messaging help in having contextual conversations and smooth agent handoff. This means that customers do not have to repeat themselves. Proactive and meaningful communication helps build trust and foster long-term customer relationships.

5. Seamless Experiences 

Customers use an average of nine touchpoints to explore products, get assistance, and make purchases. Integration of conversational platforms with backend systems helps offer a seamless experience for customer conversations that span different channels. 

For example, integration with marketing automation tools helps send targeted campaigns, such as abandoned cart recovery messages, at the right time with personalized discounts. Similarly, the ability to share documents and reschedule appointments from within the conversational platform interface helps customers quickly perform tasks without having to switch channels.

6. Smarter Insights 

 Leveraging customer data helps businesses focus on the right audience. For example, Conversational AI can derive actionable insights from past purchases and customer behavior patterns to determine customers with exceptional lifetime value. This helps businesses to engage those customers with innovative rewards programs.

By identifying high-value customers who make repeat purchases, have a high average order value, or recommend the brand to others, businesses can formulate strategies for growth and run targeted campaigns that improve their bottom line.

Conversational Engagement Across the Customer Journey

Here’s how to engage customers meaningfully across their buying journey 

Consideration

When customers ask specific questions about products or services, such as compatibility with existing products or pricing, you know there’s a chance of a conversion. Send testimonials to nudge potential customers towards a purchase. Share comparison charts to convince customers that you are the better choice.

Conversion 

 Send offers such as free trials, discounts, or free shipping on the first purchase to maximize conversions. Make it easier for customers to complete the purchase by proactively sharing coupon codes and payment links. 

Onboarding

An outstanding onboarding experience can leave a lasting impression on customers and reduce churn. By making the onboarding process feel effortless, you can win customer loyalty. Let your customers know you will be available to support them throughout the journey. Send video tutorials and guides to help them get the most out of the product. 

Support  

It can cost businesses five times more to attract new customers than to retain current customers. Hence, the post-purchase experience is critical and can have a significant impact on business success.  

Conversational platforms offer fast, convenient support through channels customers are comfortable with. Waiting on the phone line and long email exchanges can be frustrating for customers seeking assistance. Instant support puts customers at ease, reassuring them they can trust you to guide them when needed. 

Loyalty 

Long-term customers are a huge asset for brands because they will have the best feedback to share about your business. Through constant conversational engagement, you can ensure that you stay on top of the mind of customers. 

Send order updates, delivery tracking, and payment reminders. Collect feedback that can help inform your business strategy. Share exclusive customer-only previews and links that make it easy to sign up for loyalty programs and redeem rewards points. 

Advocacy  

95% of shoppers look at online reviews before making a purchase. Social proof is powerful and goes a long way in bringing in new customers. Turn your loyal customers into advocates by sending personalized Thank You messages. Request online reviews from customers who are delighted with your offerings and service. Incentivize referrals and let your customers know that you value their journey with you. 

Human Intelligence and Conversational AI: The Perfect Mix

Embracing conversational engagement and incorporating AI can be a game-changer for your business. Conversational AI is powerful and is a scalable solution with 24/7 availability. AI-driven analytics can also give in-depth insights that help improve business performance. As phenomenal as AI is, we cannot undermine the value of real human interactions. Businesses can derive maximum value from conversational platforms when they have an enthusiastic and well-trained customer service team. 

Conversational AI is a potent tool for customer engagement because it can anticipate customer needs and provide outstanding service. Conversational AI-assisted support teams are better equipped to adapt to shifting customer expectations and provide quick issue resolution. Moreover, conversational channels make interactions very engaging, resulting in stronger customer relationships. 

Want to win over your customers through a robust conversational platform? Talk to Kaleyra’s conversational experts today!