Jennie Lewis, Strategic Services Lead at Airship, explains how brands can leverage conversational commerce to drive revenues and loyalty. 

Digital channels and automation have transformed how brands engage with customers. But let’s face it, there are times when a one-to-one conversation would make all the difference. Like when a customer is having a tough time checking out. Or when they need a little advice on the freshest jeans to go with that new jacket. The solution: conversational commerce! With truly interactive digital channels like live chat, brands can turn the purchasing journey into a two-way conversation that reduces friction and increases loyalty.

Let’s take a look at this opportunity for brands and marketers to get more personal with customers.

Conversational commerce takes on friction
It’s no secret that reducing friction is key to creating better customer experiences. Customers love shopping online because there are no lines, no store hours to contend with, no crowds and other great benefits. But even with all that convenience, a whopping 70 per cent of digital shopping carts are still abandoned before checkout.

That’s because there are a lot of potential frustration points in the purchasing journey. And customers lose patience if the process is interrupted, or unclear, or simply takes too long. But what if you could be there at that moment to help? That’s the power of conversational commerce. It’s about real-time conversations that help your customers reach their (and your) goals.

Not sure where to start? As you’re thinking about where two-way conversations could reduce friction, look at the customer journey to identify where customers consistently have questions.  

• Do you have any customer support metrics that indicate where customers encounter issues? 
• Do you have bounce data from your site to show where customers abandon the purchase process?

Two-way conversation drives conversions
How do two-way conversations drive conversions? To answer that question, we need to think like pirates. “AAARRR” is today’s pirate word and in this case it stands for Awareness, Acquisition, Activation, Revenue, Retention and Referral – aka the Pirate Metrics. Conversational commerce drives progression through these metrics, from awareness through revenue and referrals.

Here are a few use cases along the AAARRR metric stages:

Awareness

• New product offering
• Sale notification
• Upcoming events

Acquisition

• Onboarding
• Promotional
• Appointments available

Activation

• Account Setup
• Subscription

Retention

• Transactions
• Abandoned Cart
• Concierge Experience
• Loyalty Program

Revenue

• Promotional
• In Store Pickup
• Upsell / Cross Sell

Referral

• Customer Feedback

Conversational commerce responds to rising expectations
We know from the past year that customer expectations are high and evolving at an unprecedented pace, and people are far more likely to brand hop than they were pre-pandemic.

Plus, as customers increasingly expect real-time engagement from their brands, they’re also primed to expect that level of immediacy when it comes to service and support.

Conversational commerce responds to those changing expectations by creating better customer experiences and reducing friction, while also driving toward your goals. By being there for customers in the moments that matter with live, authentic, one-to-one engagement, you can build stronger relationships that deliver a lifetime of value, one conversation at a time.

To learn more about Airship’s conversational commerce solutions, Live SMS Chat and Live in-App Chat, get in touch!