The Rise Of Conversational Commerce

Conversational commerce is becoming an increasingly popular way to sell your products and services – it takes place through a conversation between a brand and a customer, mostly using instant messaging. We've collected everything you need to know about it in one article.

There are two core approaches. The first involves using natural language processing and artificial intelligence to enable customers to interact with brands using chatbots or other similar tools. The second option is when there is a live customer service representative, and customers can ask questions and get help from a qualified assistant. This new form of interaction with audiences is steadily growing in demand as brands recognize the potential

• to improve customer service
• to grow brand recognition
• to increase sales

Conversational Commerce: The Benefits

Conversational commerce is different from traditional e-commerce in a few key ways. 

First, it allows shoppers to interact with businesses naturally. This means buyers can ask questions and get immediate responses rather than search through a website and long FAQ lists for the answers they need. Customers who have the option to engage in a real conversation with a business are more likely to be engaged and loyal. Besides, they are more inclined to share their positive experience with friends and family, which can lead to even more sales.

Second, such a new marketing approach enables brands to create a more unique customer journey. For example, shoppers can receive personalized recommendations based on their preferences and past interactions. This helps businesses build more intimate relationships with their clients and have effective communication.

And finally, this type of exchange can be conducted through various channels, allowing companies to reach their clients where they are already spending their time, whether on social media, messaging apps, or other platforms. This makes it more convenient and efficient for both parties – customers can get the information or assistance they need on the go, and companies can automate many of their shopper interactions.

Overall, conversational commerce offers a more convenient, customizable, and accessible shopping experience that quickly changes how brands build their omnichannel presence and interact with customers in real time.

Make The Most Out Of Business Messaging With Rakuten Viber

Rakuten Viber is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with hundreds of millions  users all over the world. It offers businesses many features that can be used to make the most of marketing and sales efforts. Over 8500 companies use our messaging solutions to connect with clients in real time, providing them with the information and assistance they need to make a purchase. Offering customer support through Rakuten Viber is an excellent way for businesses to create a more personal connection with each user and easily deploy responsive buyer experiences that lead to increased sales and brand commitment. 

Here are some of the most popular tools we provide for businesses and their audience, essential to conversational commerce:

Rakuten Viber Chatbots can be used to automate processes, answer frequently asked questions, and even take orders and payments. They are easy to set up and manage and can be a great way to boost your sales and customer satisfaction. Besides this, our chatbots can be powered by artificial intelligence and natural language processing, which makes them highly effective at mimicking human conversation. They are designed to be easy to use and understand and are perfect for businesses of all sizes.

Rakuten Viber Business Messages lets companies build one-to-one communication with their already existing customer base. This is a great way to assist clients and strengthen relationships with buyers. With Rakuten Viber, brands’ customer service agents can provide around-sales support to the customers in a single channel, following them at different steps of their customer journey. In addition, companies can easily track customers’ interactions with their content, which helps them understand what people want and need.

Learn more about Conversational messages and Transactional messages.

QuadX, a Philippine-based company specializing in digital logistics, e-commerce fulfillment, and payments, is a stellar example of how conversational messages can be used in commerce. QuadX launched ShippingCart Plus, allowing subscribers to chat with a Personal Account Manager via Rakuten Viber's Conversational Business Messages. Rakuten Viber's trusted partner Promotexter provides the messaging solution. Live agents can assist users with sale alerts, shopping advice, follow-up shipments, and special handling. The result is that ShippingCart has 100% customer satisfaction. There's no wonder why – 74% of customers prefer messaging with businesses if a real person is responding.

Payments on Rakuten Viber is a new solution that allows people to set up a digital wallet right inside the app, saving them the time and hassle of switching to another one (first launched in Germany and Greece via waitlist in July 2022, and being gradually opened to all). Besides this, we give brands an opportunity to offer special deals to their customers when they use our new tool. Rakuten Viber partners with leaders in retail, fashion, electronics, and other markets to create unique offers for users. In the upcoming future, more brands will be able to receive payments from their clients via Rakuten Viber.

All in all, Rakuten Viber is a powerful Superapp that lets companies connect with their audience in a more fun and engaging way. Get in touch with our team to open a Rakuten Viber Business account.

The Challenges Of Conversational Commerce

Despite its popularity and benefits, conversational commerce is still in its early stages. Let's take a closer look at the issues brands can face:

• The need for skilled staff: When it comes to conversational types of customer engagement, you need qualified customer service representatives who are comfortable with technology and can handle client inquiries quickly and efficiently, especially when not using chatbots. This approach requires you to have a team of agents who are able to handle the most complex issues and complaints. Plus, you would want them to be able to upsell and cross-sell products and services, so be sure there is adequate onboarding and training in place.
• Privacy and data protection: your clients need to know that their personal data is safe when interacting with chatbots, live or voice assistants. This means you must ensure that your security and privacy protocols are up to par. Take steps to confirm that the data collected by your channels is adequately protected, and your customers are aware of how their personal information is being used. By taking these precautions, you can ensure that your operations are safe for everyone.
• The importance of robust technology: for conversational commerce to work smoothly, you need to have a back-end infrastructure in place. The system you use must handle large amounts of data and scale as your business grows so that you can provide a seamless user experience.

The Future Of Conversational Commerce

As we move into the future, the forms that commerce takes its first steps in today will become more and more commonplace. Chatbots enable businesses to operate 24/7 and reduce costs by automating responses to repeated questions, while customer service representatives can focus on more difficult inquiries.

Looking ahead, it is clear that the branch of conversational commerce is set to play a big role in the future of e-commerce. It provides a number of advantages for both businesses and customers, and we can expect to see more and more companies adopting this technology in the years to come. What will conversational commerce look like in the future? Here are some predictions:

1. Chatbots and AI agents will become much more sophisticated and will be able to handle more complex tasks.

2. Conversational commerce will be more widely used, with more businesses offering it as their primary shopping option.

3. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) will be used more to provide a more immersive shopping experience. We are already seeing this with some higher-end attire and accessory brands. Check Branded Rakuten Viber Lenses and see how you can start using it in your marketing content today.

4. Payment options will be integrated into more informal commerce channels, so shoppers can make purchases without having to leave the chat interface and switch between apps or web pages.

5. Customer service will always be a part of conversational commerce instruments so that consumers can get faster help with returns, refunds, and other issues.

6. Marketing messages will finally become relevantly personalized, with businesses offering tailored recommendations and suggestions based on a customer's past interactions and interests.

Conversational commerce has the potential to revolutionize the way brands interact with their clients. In addition, be it through chats, voice-based tools, or live support – it can help companies analyze previous interactions with their buyers to tailor product and service offerings. Of course, all data collection is always subject to user consent. 

Whether you want to improve your client experience or increase sales, it enables companies to have a more natural exchange with their audience, providing an overall better customer experience. Consider adding conversational commerce techniques to your strategy today in order to achieve your upcoming marketing or sales goals. No matter if you choose customer support chatbots, conversational or transactional messages, or branded AR lenses, Rakuten Viber has all the tools you need.