In business, the value of interacting with customers is at a premium. Over the years, the channels and platforms may have changed, but the approach is still the same – customer service is king. Today, brands and marketers need to be everywhere. This is when the idea of Conversational Commerce was born.
The term ‘Conversational Commerce’ was coined by Uber’s Developer Experience Lead Chris Messina. He first mentioned it in 2015 when he wrote an article on the American publishing platform, Medium. The term refers to the system of direct communication between the brand or business and the customers through messaging apps with the ability to make online purchases.
It is essentially real-time customer service; brands and businesses use interactive messaging media to interact with the customers and eventually lead to conversation.
Messaging platforms that brings point of sale straight to the consumer
Conversational commerce apps allow consumers to speak (or chat) straight with the representatives of the company. They can use the platform to ask questions, get customer support, read reviews, request personalised recommendations, and purchase straight from the messaging platform itself.
The consumer can interact with a human representative, chatbot, or a combination of both.
Chris Messina pointed out that 2016 was the breakthrough year for conversational commerce. He projected the improvement of conversational commerce chatbot and how the computer-driven app will have more human-feel. He predicted that this will reach a point where consumers can no longer distinguish the difference between a human representative and a chatbot.
A glimpse of the future
In September of 2019, luxury brand Burberry announced that they have developed a new messaging service in collaboration with a tech giant. This shows how even exclusive brands are now shifting their attention to conversational commerce, reshaping, or even evolving, the retail conversational commerce by leaps and bounds.
Another prime example is WeChat, a multi-purpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment app in China. This app comes with a myriad of features related to shopping. Users of the app can also order food, book a taxi, get coffee (such as find the nearest Starbucks from your location), purchase movie tickets, and even book doctor’s appointments.
What this means for the consumers and businesses
Online consumers tend to prefer straight and human (or human-like) interaction, and businesses that have adapted this technology are definitely noticing the improvements. A 2018 data from LivePerson Inc. showed this tech actually boosted sales conversion by up to 4 times compared to the traditional purchasing channels.
Chat support apps where people can make their purchase can only make the lives of consumers easier. This means consumers no longer have to download, install, and open specific apps to inquire and make a purchase. Subsequently, this feels more convenient and safer as they no longer need to input personal information and make accounts in ecommerce websites should they wish to make a purchase.
For businesses, this significantly reduces the steps needed for the consumers to reach them for inquiries, and purchases, as consumers can go straight to the source. This shortens the customer buying journey. It also creates a sense of need for their products among their potential customers, and a great source of data for research, especially for analysing customer behavior and post-purchase evaluation.