Conversational Commerce

The term “conversational commerce” was created and used by product designer, Chris Messina. He first coined the phrase in a blog post he published a few years ago and it has stuck ever since.

It describes the growing trend of consumers communicating with brands through instant messaging and chat apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp (it also applies to voice command based technology like Amazon Echo).

Business owners can choose whether they connect customers with a human representative, chatbot, or a combination of the two so if you’re interested in using conversational commerce for your business, there’s a good chance you’ll find a solution to suit your business’ budget.

According to the research firm Juniper, the number of instant messages sent since mid-2016 has taken over the total number of emails sent. So it’s no wonder that more and more shoppers want to communicate with brands this way.

The Advantages of Conversational Commerce

The best thing about conversational commerce is that consumers can get in touch with support agents quickly and easily so asking questions and receiving advice has never been so simple for customers. Unsurprisingly, this works wonders for enhancing the experience you offer your customers.

A great example of conversational commerce in action is the partnership between Facebook Messenger and Uber. These days, Uber customers can schedule a ride without leaving the Facebook Messenger app—how awesome is that?!

Gone are the days where customers were forced to toggle back and forth between email messages and a company website to gather information to weigh up the benefits of making a purchase. When you limit the number of resources shoppers refer to, you make the entire purchasing process quicker.

Conversational commerce also helps to bridge the gap between traditional shopping in brick and mortar stores and online shopping. By empowering consumers to speak with a live customer support agent, you re-create the kind of communication they’d have with an in-person sales representative. This comes in handy for customers weighing up their options, as they often want advice on which product is best for them.

It’s also worth noting that more entrepreneurs are using chatbots to automate their customer service messages. You can send order confirmations and notifications about shipping and delivery via apps like ManyChat, which send messages to your subscriber list via Facebook Messenger.