What Is Conversational Customer Engagement?

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. User expectations are quickly increasing while the tolerance for suboptimal experiences… We’re now in a time of Conversational Customer Service, a more interactive and engaging model designed for the 21st century. Customers also respond better if they are contacted on the channels they feel familiar with.

At its core, conversational CX is about bringing convenience to the customer journey. It’s about making the total customer experience easy, simple, and intuitive. The last decade has brought a fundamental change in consumer behavior and expectations. The explosion of smartphones, social media platforms, messaging apps, and big tech created a new era of connected commerce.

The Best Social Media Customer Service Metrics to Measure in 2024

With a focus on building engaging conversational experiences, the next step is building the future of customer engagement. Through conversational AI, creating a chatbot that understands structured queries, unstructured queries, or a combination of both is the need of the hour. Choose the conversational marketing tools that align with your business goals and customer preferences. These tools may include chatbots, live chat software, messaging apps, and email marketing automation. By providing timely and personalized interactions, businesses show their dedication to meeting customer needs and making them happy. Conversational marketing focuses on sending leads and customers content that invites conversations, like product tips or invitations to chat with a product or industry specialist.

In fact, 89% of consumers want to use messaging to communicate with businesses. The rush to meet customers on messaging channels has sparked a boom in conversational commerce. Conversation design has been around for quite some time now but continues to gain traction as technology advances and AI becomes increasingly commonplace in our lives. Conversational design is a UX discipline focusing on improving the conversations between people and machines, to make them more efficient and natural. This could be on a chat-app or even voice-enabled technologies like Siri or Alexa.

Today, however, the focus has shifted towards nurturing sustained relationships. Conversational Customer Service is not just about addressing issues but about understanding the customer, their preferences, history, and even their aspirations related to the product or service. By transforming interactions into ongoing conversations, brands can build trust, loyalty, and deeper connections. To build an outstanding conversational customer experience platform, businesses must focus on the key pillars listed below. Through a dedicated focus on these pillars, businesses can sculpt a conversational customer experience platform that aligns with customer expectations and lays the foundation for enduring loyalty. No matter if you’re helping trouble-shoot a complaint, or answer a product related question, customer service agents should be able to communicate with shoppers on a human level.

Conversational Customer Engagement vs. Conversational Marketing

This reality has prompted many businesses to embrace an omnichannel approach in recent years. Friction refers to any point in the customer’s journey that results in dissatisfaction. Ensuring frictionless customer service involves tracking the customer journey and enhancing their overall experience. Companies that approach customer service as a coherent conversation, rather than a series of disjointed inquiries, reduce friction, leading to happier customers and service agents. Businesses that focus on conversational CX build customer loyalty, boost retention, and ultimately increase revenue.

We’ll delve into its benefits, real-world examples, and the strategies necessary for successful implementation. For businesses, this represents a significant commercial opportunity and unparalleled scope to strengthen customer relationships. It’s possible, especially the nature of most customer service software, that the answer may be no. Get it right, and your efforts will translate straight to your bottom line. Today, gold-standard customer service is characterized by Customer Friendship — meaningful, continuous dialogue, made possible by Conversational Customer Engagement Software. Before coming to omnichannel marketing tools, let’s look into one scenario first!

One example is adopting cloud communications solutions that can help solve technical integration problems. When businesses tailor their interactions and experiences to fit each person’s preferences, it makes customers feel special and understood. Personalized experiences not only make customers happier but also increase the chances of them buying things and sticking around as loyal customers.

For instance, an ecommerce business can leverage a chatbot session where customers inquire about a specific item’s availability in a certain size or color. This data is later used to tailor future offerings to match customer preferences. Conversational AI includes chatbots and voice assistants that converse with consumers. Chatbots use multiple technologies like big data, machine learning, Natural Language Processing, and many others to mimic human interactions. Research by Oracle suggests that 82% of consumers would switch a brand if unsatisfied with their customer service department.

Every conversation with a customer is an opportunity to gather insights into their preferences, pain points, and expectations. This data can inform product development, marketing strategies, and customer service improvements. Being transparent about how data is collected, used, and stored, and getting customer consent, are all really important. Balancing data-driven personalization with ethical practices is key to maintaining trust and loyalty in conversational commerce. Let’s not forget about voice calls that are available through cloud telephony providers in modern eCommerce.

And 82% are willing to share some type of personal data for a more personalized service. The allure of real-time responses, one of the pillars of CCS, also means that businesses often grapple with high volumes of customer interactions. Finding the right balance, perhaps through hybrid models that combine the efficiency of AI with the discernment of human intervention, becomes essential. Data analysis offers insights, guiding future strategies, and ensuring businesses stay ahead of the curve, anticipating customer needs, and refining their approach accordingly. Furthermore, these interactions are not just about speed; they’re about genuine two-way communication. Instead of simply fielding customer queries, businesses now have the tools to engage in meaningful dialogues, asking questions, and diving deeper into individual customer needs.

Marketers can utilize this data to design precisely targeted campaigns based on customer behavior, while AI chatbots can engage in automated yet human-like conversations. Meanwhile, agents can provide swift and tailored support, all supported by the information gleaned from these conversations. Conversational commerce blends conversation and commerce for engaging customer interactions. It’s important for businesses to prioritize customer engagement because it impacts satisfaction, conversions, and loyalty. Embracing conversational commerce allows businesses to enhance customer experiences, build relationships, and gain a competitive edge. The key is to integrate it effectively and capitalize on its vast opportunities.

A great conversational CX means communicating proactively throughout the customer journey. These digital touchpoints now play a major role in shaping the total customer experience and are therefore a key opportunity for differentiation. In fact, as markets become more saturated and customer acquisition becomes harder, customer experience is often the only point of differentiation.

Adopting a conversational approach to customer service is no longer optional; it’s a necessity for businesses aiming to stay relevant and create meaningful relationships with their customers. We’ve delved into the pivotal role of Conversational AI in revolutionizing customer engagement. By offering personalized, efficient service around the clock, it’s reshaping how businesses interact with their clients. Its integration, though challenging in areas like training and compatibility, can be navigated through strategic practices such as data-driven conversation design. And brands that are able to engage users with enriching conversations will always find it easy to provide great experiences at every step of the way. Similarly, you can benefit from our customer service chatbot and conversational engagement software to transform the support and provide value to customers with AI.

I’ve prepared a concise guide detailing key aspects every business should know to navigate this technological advancement successfully. One of its key strengths lies in fostering two-way communication, breaking through the constraints of one-way interaction. This enables businesses to establish dynamic interactions with consumers across various channels. As a sweet incentive, customers received a 50% discount and free shipping at the end of the chat. The results were staggering—Unilever experienced a whopping 14-fold increase in sales, and their call centre buzzed with praises.

• Think of Acquire’s conversational threads as email threads in Gmail—all exchanges with one particular person, regardless of channel, are weaved together in one clean timeline.
• Gone are the days when customer service was merely a one-way exchange of information.
• Mr. Singh also has a passion for subjects that excite new-age customers, be it social media engagement, artificial intelligence, machine learning.
• People expect a fast, friendly, seamless customer experience when communicating with and receiving communications from your brand.
• Conversational AI and analogous conversational interfaces excel at handling a substantial influx of customer inquiries and issues.

This involves validating customer identity through a series of security queries or soliciting specific data discernible solely to the account possessor. This procedural safeguard ensures that sensitive customer data or actions remain exclusively accessible to duly authorized users. And while technology can make it tempting to delegate customer service to automated solutions — this won’t breed the person-to-person trust world-class customer service demands. Instead, AI, machine learning and data generation all have their place within the Customer Friendship strategy — helping power better conversations. It’s not enough to roll out faceless chatbots or auto-Tweet vague, reactive replies to customer inquiries. As a writer and analyst, he pours the heart out on a blog that is informative, detailed, and often digs deep into the heart of customer psychology.

Similarly, they can analyze customers’ previous orders and acknowledge loyalty by sending discount coupons, special offers, and freebies via email and social media. You can also use the chatbot’s data to drive loyalty while improving customer engagement. Chatbots can also store information about which discount coupon a customer chooses and what they order.

Invite customer feedback and incentivize customer loyalty

No matter who spoke to Max the first two times, the agent who picks up the conversation now has all the context they need. They can see the previous complaints, the social media message, order activity, and Max’s multiple knowledge base searches. Think of Acquire’s conversational threads as email threads in Gmail—all exchanges with one particular person, regardless of channel, are weaved together in one clean timeline. That’s not to say that effective, personable communication doesn’t happen.

Let’s explore using this technology to boost chatbot engagement and enhance the customer experience. What’s the best way to reach customers and prospects with marketing messages? As a cloud-based communication platform, CPaaS aggregates data from different sources and allows an agent to talk with customers on any channel from a single environment.

It is better if you have a pre-written script revolving around your offering or the frequent queries from your customers. When your customers see you approaching their needs in a proactive way instead of a reactive one, they will take note. You can use your data and historic logs to analyze past interactions and outcomes to improve your AI’s performance.

This need for authenticity and speed has shifted the focus of customer service away from formalities and into conversations on our favorite messaging apps. It also enhances customer support by offering assistance and guidance whenever customers need it. This leads to higher levels of satisfaction and can turn one-time buyers into loyal customers.

If a potential customer clicks on a product or service in one of your ads or on your social media news feed that interests them, they want a quick and easy answer. And you need to strike the iron while it’s hot and engage before they lose interest, get distracted, or decide to shop elsewhere. Deep dive into the conversational ecosystem and learn what you need to create the ultimate conversational experiences. With the continued rise of online shopping, it’s clear that customers are looking to spend online without giving up the customer service experience available in stores. Beerud is the cofounder and CEO of Gupshup, the global leader in cloud messaging and conversational experiences.

For example, live chat is considered a very popular channel with customers because it’s instant. It has the power to reduce tickets piling up behind the scenes with the customer waiting hours or days to hear back. Imagine a customer reaches out to your live chat asking for their order to be canceled. That’s an issue you can handle right then and there and immediately inform the customer their issue has been resolved. All this ties into our philosophy when building our customer experience platform—especially the concept of conversational threads.

Customers simply tap the ‘claim’ button in the Lemonade app, describe what happened, and the claim is reviewed by dozens of anti-fraud algorithms. You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. When you send proactive communications, they should open up a two-way conversation with the customer. If you send a customer an update about a new credit card option, don’t just end it there. Now, with smartphones in our hands, on-demand conversational customer engagement streaming services at our fingertips, and same-day delivery at our doorsteps, our society has become one of immense convenience. Stay ahead of the messaging evolution curve with our cutting-edge conversational platform. EngagementIt’s time for a restock, and based on their profile they are sent personalized promotional messages along with tips to maintain the coffee machine.

Big or small businesses can rewrite their narratives by harnessing the art of conversation. In this era of customer-centricity, the guide to Conversational Customer Experience is the roadmap to success, paving the way for engagement, loyalty, and growth in an ever-evolving marketplace. According to Zendex, 90 per cent of companies, irrespective of their industry, have said customer experience is their top priority. Businesses, with the help of AI, can display a variety of cases of Conversational CX. So whether it’s through social media, via Alexa and Cortana, or even new direct-to-consumer solutions, consumers are letting brands into their personal space via technology. Money management has become quick and efficient as financial firms now realize the value of using automation to bolster conversational support and offer sound advice.

Create powerful onboarding experiences and announce new offers when customers are ready to take the next step. Conversational marketing is a relatively new technique in customer management simply because it wasn’t possible before. With advancements in technology, however, businesses now have the opportunity of being accessible to customers whenever they need it. Conversational AI can even help you pick up on better ways to serve your customers, as a bonus. Then, you can improve your support resources based on the insights you gather.

For one, today’s customers prefer text communications over calls and want it immediately. They do not have the patience or the time to want for longer times to connect to an agent. B2B SaaS companies are increasingly adopting conversational messaging as a strategy because it entails a more personalized approach when interacting with customers.

Retail establishments are often already using conversational customer engagement tactics to keep in touch with customers. They email customer feedback requests, and even offer expert advice—if customers are willing to go into stores or make phone calls. Imagine having voice-driven AI that can understand context, emotion, and nuance, or virtual reality customer service desks.

Customers usually prefer to engage with a brand when they have some time on their hands or when they are looking for something specific. All the modes of advertisement and marketing may fall short to meet these needs. Having a conversational AI assistant, your customers can come and discover your brand freely when they want to. The terms customer experience and customer engagement are often used interchangeably today. For example, past purchases can reveal if a client spends more when offered a discount. In this case, integrated chatbots can trigger a discount pop-up message to provide a promotional code (more on this later to promote customer loyalty).

Customers want to trust the brand they’re buying from and conversational customer engagement is all about building that relationship. As the marketing landscape continues to evolve, conversational marketing is set to remain at the forefront of customer engagement strategies. Embracing this approach and staying ahead of emerging trends can position your business for success in the ever-changing world of marketing. Gather data on customer interactions and use analytics tools to gain insights.

To overcome this challenge, it’s always better to implement an omnichannel strategy and let customers decide what fits them the best. Many businesses, however, make the mistake of not giving customers the choices despite having a presence on many different channels. They want the freedom to choose the channel and easily reach out to brands. In fact, the typical support ticket flow lacks human touch and involves wait time. And that’s why it fails to deliver the kind of support users expect these days.

In fact, our entire solution is built to enable conversations over mediums and channels that work best for your customers—from live chat and video chat to email and cobrowsing. That’s not to say that ticketing and case management should go away completely—these systems are often inevitable, like in cases of technical issues. And that’s why platforms like Acquire have smooth integrations with other tools in order to build a complete experience for both customers and agents.

Giving customers what they want – and sometimes what they didn’t know they needed – will help you build trust and long-term relationships. Below we highlight the key business areas that are positively impacted by conversational CX and what you can expect if you decide to build one out for your own organization. Our tools improve the lifetime value of their customers, all while reducing operational costs. In an instant, we can send images, GIFs, documents, locations, and voice memos to anyone, anywhere in the world.

This is achieved by accurately detecting individual sentiments through artificial intelligence algorithms. The impact of Conversational CX extends beyond operational efficiency to customer satisfaction. It is pivotal in significantly elevating customer contentment, fostering brand loyalty, and driving positive word-of-mouth referrals. A positive customer experience becomes a catalyst for repeat business and an increase in customer lifetime value. Conversational customer experience increases security by employing conversational AI for customer authentication.

Customer experience today is a lot more than an appealing website or really friendly store assistance or efficient support assistance. Customer experience has grown beyond interacting with the customers only when they need it. It is about engaging your audience, providing them with helpful information related to your products and services, and ensuring that your customers feel a sense of belonging to your brand.

We’ve already introduced CPaaS X, our modular API stack to help our customers automate their workflows. We’ve also launched a major AI upgrade to our Software as a Service (SaaS) products. For example, we added AI Assistant, a generative AI bot to our product Answers, so customers can build GenAI bots.

After the pandemic, the online messaging platform and support channels have increased in importance. Reducing friction and providing seamless contactless conversations, solutions and support experiences enhances customer satisfaction rates and makes them more forgiving of things occasionally going wrong. Having an AI chat tool or voicebot that’s waiting to field customer queries is an important step in building a proactive strategy for your customer service and support. Rather than making people reach out and ask for assistance, you can have a full suite of AI solutions in place to help guide them through finding what they need.

Finally, all our products are integrated into one platform enabling businesses to build and steer end-to-end customer journeys connecting marketing, sales and support into one-stop shop. The image below illustrates how Hubtype connects consumer messaging apps + the Hubtype conversational customer engagement platform + your company’s tech stack. Conversational platforms are customer engagement hubs that are built to handle business processes through natural language.

Below, we’ll cover what metrics you can track to gauge your success and stay ahead of the curve in the future. For instance, French supermarket chain Intermarché improved engagement through personalized recipe recommendations, reflecting a trend where customers increasingly prefer personalized messages. A conversational CX platform is necessary for managing customer communication at scale. Without the right technology, your conversational CX is dead in the water. Neobank, Revolut, has built a $33 billion-dollar business around the belief that they offer the best overall banking experience. It takes only 24 interactions to open a Revolut account, all of which happen through natural conversation.

Local branches often have small teams who take pleasure in connecting with their clients. Above all, as the digital landscape evolves, so should our strategies, placing conversations at the heart of customer interactions. In essence, Conversational Customer Service is about having genuine conversations, understanding needs, and offering tailored solutions, rather than providing generic responses. Additionally, brand conversations are now weighted as high or higher than online reviews. We highlighted this recently along with other findings about the importance of brand conversations on social media channels.