Over the last few decades, marketing has gone a long way from simple forms like newspaper advertising to highly-personalized online targeting. In the past, one-to-many marketing models used to work very well. It was simple. Do an in-depth research about the target group, define a persona and its basic characteristics, then develop an adequate communication style and messages. With the digital age, it has changed. People don’t buy products anymore, they buy experiences and emotions.

Consumers (especially millennials) want individual service and personal approach in every aspect.

They truly appreciate when a brand goes the extra mile in customer service. Showing your clients that you care will help you build firm relations with them and to keep them with you and your brand.

The power of data

The Internet lets companies gather basic information about users and marketers could then target their message to narrow groups of people with similar interests, demographics and habits. It is a more accurate way to reach out to consumers. However, not as effective as it used to be a few years ago.

With the expansion of cloud computing, marketing communication is undergoing a major change. We can collect detailed information about consumer behaviour, their preferences and interests. You can leverage it to create personalized marketing messages to individuals.

What’s conversational marketing?

Conversational marketing is an approach to marketing that lets businesses have one-to-one conversations with members of their audience. It involves developing a positive relationship with them by providing helpful, contextual content based on their individual requests. That’s not just helpful in improving lead generation and sales, but also helps to create memorable brand interactions which increases loyalty. The problem is that

conventional one-to-one conversations between human agents and consumers could be incredibly costly.

The solution

With the recent advancements of AI, chatbots are here to save the day. Combining automation with a conversational interface, chatbots are driving businesses to rethink their marketing channels. Chatbots are programmed to understand basic questions, provide answers, and execute various tasks. They are available 24/7, constantly evolving and learning from every conversation. From the user’s perspective, chatbots are a quick and convenient way of getting information, requesting assistance and even ordering different products and services. You might think that bots are too “cold” or impersonal for your customer-base, but data tells a different story. According to a recent study,

69% of consumers prefer communicating with chatbots because they offer speedy answers and solutions.

You have to react!

According to studies, 1.4 billion people interact with chatbots every year and using live chat means a 300% greater chance that customers will actually make a purchase. In a study by Grand View Research, 45% of end users said they prefer to use Chatbots as a major means of communication in customer service. That’s a pretty compelling number especially when you consider chatbots’ efficiency and scale over traditional customer support. The immediate assistance provided to customers is just the icing on the cake.

People love instant messaging apps and the best way for businesses to engage with them is with the help of chatbots. If there’s only one thing to learn from the history of websites and social media, it’s that the question to ask yourself is not WHETHER your business should adapt to new technology, but WHEN it should adapt.