There is one flaring-up obsession that keeps every marketing and agency executive at their toes. Nowadays, it is common in every PowerPoint deck and constantly revolving around in every marketer’s mind: the M word! The Millennials.
For many years, most marketers and their agencies relied on the same old marketing recipe. Writing a tagline, a TV spot, and plastering it everywhere they can in the name of the Marketing Strategies.
The problem nowadays is that this recipe, like everything else, has started to turn sour. It wouldn’t work anymore with the given demographics, i.e., targeting customers, which we decided to call the Millennials, making them more furious and mysterious. They are the new generation that lives in a new paradigm, clasping technology for their convenience and connectivity.
In this Digital Era, with the Millennials and the Generation Z teens, the most remarkable customer experiences are the more personal ones. They are constant texting machines and will do that while sitting in the same room. That is the reason why more brands are using technology to deliver the same human touch.
Conversational Marketing
The marketing game has drastically changed over the last decade, fueled by the evolution of technology with the demands of more sophisticated, discerning, and impatient consumers.
For marketers, the holy grail is to make this concept of marketing feel more like a one-on-one sales conversation instead of being a generic one-way broadcast.
Conversational marketing is solely about communicating to customers in a way that is convenient, personal, and clear priorities their needs. Thus, it is a form of marketing that allows brands to connect with the buyer more meaningfully, helping them build a connection with the buyer, improve customer retention, and boost loyalty.
Drivers of Conversational Marketing
Anyone can go on for days regarding the drivers of taking a personal, stand-out, human approach to marketing. But the primary three of them are listed below:
1. One to one Vs. One to many
“Goodbye interruptions, hello conversations.”
For the very first time in marketing history, the brands have been able to have the opportunity to reach the consumers on a personal level, at a pace of play dictated by the consumers.
With this golden opportunity, there comes immense responsibility, forcing them to rethink entirely how they used to broadcast their brand messages. The brands can no longer scream to be heard by the masses. They can no longer copy-paste messages from one platform to another. They have to tailor every piece of information based on the conversations’ context, timings, and nature.
In conversational marketing, Marketers can no longer reply to the yell and sell strategy. They had to change it to chat and listen. More than ever, these brands have to create value for their product and be more thoughtful, careful, resourceful, and humble.
The messaging method is not a medium to buy but one to which you can only be invited.
2. Small Data Vs. Big Data
One-to-one conversations have a ton of upside. It helps provide personal insights and specificity. For the first time, it creates the perfect platform to help squeeze messages in a contextual, natural, and human way, providing snackable data that is actionable.
The accumulation of these conversational insights becomes more valuable as the marketers can comprehend and execute them accordingly.
3. Always Perfect Vs. Always On
Since the arrival of live chat functionality, the technology has grown more versatile and more innovative. This evolution has given way to various modern chat software available on most of your favorite websites. They are often paired with AI-powered chatbots, which helped usher into a new paradigm.
These always-on chatbots give you 24/7 access to the brand in a private space with functional and conceptual boundaries. You can unlock the convenience that you are craving with unprecedented access to brands to your needs, wants, and psyche.
In the new social-first world, authenticity and instantaneity are more than perfection. Then only will the brands be able to thrive in the new world.
Should Conversational marketing be synchronous or asynchronous?
Whenever we think of personal conversations between businesses and customers, we think of direct, back-forth dialogue in real-time. With this, phone calls and chatbots spring to mind.
But in conversational marketing, it is beneficial if the customers have an asynchronous conversation but still a personal relationship with the brand.
Conversations should occur when the customer prefers real-time, later at night, or after the meetings whenever they have a spare moment. As the conversation depends on the customer’s availability, the brand’s staff might start talking at 7 in the morning that might go on the rest of the day, and finish it at 10 pm.
It is thus crucial for the customers to pick up right where they left off whenever it is convenient for them. The main goal is that the marketing strategy should be designed to fulfill the needs of the customer and not the needs of the business.
How to get started with Conversational Marketing
- Think outside the box and establish customer communication channels.
- An excellent conversational market approach to be adopted.
- Personalisation to deliver relevant content to customers.
- Bring offline customers online
Final thoughts
In today’s world, when everything is available at your fingertips, it is easy to get caught in strategies and trends and forget about the human element of the business. Consumers in this digital age want a great marketing experience, including getting a natural and human experience that they will surely remember. Customers want to feel that they are an essential part of the business, and they made a good choice by investing in your brand.
Conversational marketing is the key to adding the wanted human touch to the customer’s experience, boosting their loyalty, retention and helping create a brand that truly gets people talking.
This post was written in collaboration with Asif Yahiya Sukri LLP. Asif Yahiya Sukri LLP provides unparalleled personalized financial services to a broad range of clients across different geographical locations. With a presence in the USA, India and the MENA region, they ensure that all of your financial decisions are made carefully and with your best interests in mind. They are innovators who understand what goes into building companies.
You can also reach out to them on info@aysasia.com
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