How to join the conversational commerce revolution

Messaging apps are taking over the world. 89% of the 4.54 billion people that have access to the internet use them. WhatsApp alone has already reached the 2 billion active users mark and platforms like WeChat have already passed the 1 billion mark. Their users are also extremely active with some being opened on average more than once every hour by each of their active users.

These numbers have been rising constantly for the past 10 years and for many people they have become the default way to communicate with friends, family, and business partners. Part of the reason why they have become so popular is that they allow for a more personal type of communication compared to social media apps, and they are usually free to use.

The business perspective

The overwhelming number of people that use these apps has already forced many businesses to join in, providing services that range from customer support to full-blown search and purchase of products. However, some businesses are reluctant to join, partly because they lack the human resources needed to staff this new communication channel and are aware that users often expect 24/7 instantaneous interactions.

Thankfully, automation has now reached a point where chatbots can easily take over most message-based communications and even interface with booking and e-commerce systems, creating a complete conversational commerce experience.

The future of commerce

Studies commissioned by the likes of Facebook are already showing that conversational commerce is on the rise and will likely continue to steadily gain ground in the future. As one study pointed out:

“Essentially, conversation delivers exactly the kind of quick and personalized experiences that meet, exceed, and even redefine the needs of today’s shoppers. And it can take just one of these amazing experiences to raise someone’s standards forever”

For businesses this means that as soon as one of their competitors embraces these new technologies they will have to follow. Although, Ideally, they would want to be the ones that raise the standard instead of waiting for their competitors to do it.

Getting started in the world of conversational comment can seem like a complex endeavor but with the right partner, it can be both an easy and very profitable process. To help you learn what opportunities are available to your business we have put together a team of experts that will be more than happy to analyze your business and its market, and guide you through the process of joining the conversational commerce revolution. Reach out to them using the link below.