There are more ways than ever to market to consumers, but email still continues to deliver the biggest bang for ad dollars. This is taking place even at a time when conversational marketing is growing.
A new report titled, “2019 State of Conversational Marketing” shows the rise of this type of marketing using new channels. However, email is still part of the conversation.
In the survey, one third or 33% of the respondents said they used it more frequently last year. The 33% is higher than all the new channels including chatbots, social media, live chat, one-to-one video calls, and others. But it also means 66% of consumers are also using other channels regularly.
As David Cancel, founder and CEO of Drift, points out in the press release, businesses have to consider all the available technology. Cancel says, “As we prepare for the future, it will be more important than ever for businesses to be available across a broad spectrum of channels, and to make sure you’re communicating the way people prefer to communicate.”
This particular message is important to note because consumers are increasingly using direct communications to connect with brands. And conversational marketing is addressing this growing demand.
The State of Conversational Marketing in 2019
The goal of conversational marketing is to drive engagement, develop customer loyalty, and grow the customer base with a feedback-oriented approach. This type of marketing is more possible now because of the available digital technology.
A business can use websites, social media, texting, and video to carryout conversational marketing campaigns. Additionally, the technology can also be used to engage with consumers to deliver higher levels of customer service.
Conversational marketing addresses the frustrations of traditional online experiences and provides answers quickly.
Even though email is still popular, it doesn’t always deliver a quick response. Customer expectation is much higher when it comes to responding quickly. This is driven by digital technology and the accessibility it provides consumers.
Response Times
Consumers now expect almost the same amount of response times from face-to-face conversations and chatbots. But the technology is still going through some growing pains.
The report says chatbots have a perception problem even though it has some benefits. Buyers say an online chat with a live person provides a better customer experience.
Communicating With Businesses
Conversational marketing is the new buzzword, but it is not necessarily new. The reason it is getting more attention is there are more ways to engage with consumers. But even with more channels, email and phone still rank as the top two customer communication channels.
This brings up the use of chatbots and why it is still low, only 13% in the past year. The report says most people might not know they are using a chatbot. The technology is improving so much, many people think they are actually chatting with a person.
If this is the case, the report recommends that businesses clearly identify customers are interacting with a chatbot.
Takeaway
The State of Conversational Marketing report concludes by saying, “Marketing and sales have always revolved around conversations between buyers and sellers. But somewhere along the line, marketers and salespeople lost their way.”
The conversation became one-sided and consumers suffered because of it.
With the right tools, businesses of all sizes can use different channels of communication so the customer can be heard 24/7.
The Survey
The 2019 State of Conversational Marketing report comes from a survey carried out by Drift and SurveyMonkey. A total of 1,085 adult consumers in the United States took part in the survey on April 29, 2019.
Image: Depositphotos.com
This article, "1/3 of Businesses Used Email More Frequently Last Year – Because it Works" was first published on Small Business Trends
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Michael Guta, Khareem Sudlow
