What is conversational commerce

The advantages and disadvantages of conversational commerce

One of the most important benefits of conversational commerce is the convenience it offers to customers. Instead of calling a company or searching a website for information, customers can simply send a message and get a quick response. This is particularly useful for customers who don't know exactly what product they need, or if they have specific questions about a product or service.

Another benefit of conversational commerce is the ability to personalise the customer experience. With chat or messaging platforms, companies can collect information about a customer's preferences, context, and (contact) history. They can then use this information to adjust interactions and recommendations. This can help increase customer satisfaction and increase the chance of repeat purchases.

Conversational commerce is also an effective tool for companies to reach and engage customers via social media. Many people already spend a lot of time on social media, so here companies can connect with sales as a goal in a more personal and direct way.

In addition to customer service and sales, conversational commerce can also be used for marketing purposes. Consider using chatbots to offer personalised content, discount coupons, and other promotional materials.

While conversational commerce has many benefits, it's important that companies have the necessary resources and infrastructure to effectively manage chat or messaging interactions. For example, by training customer service agents to handle chat interactions and implementing chatbot technology to answer more routine or simple questions.

The difference between conversational commerce and guided selling

Conversational commerce and guided selling are both focused on improving the customer experience and boosting sales through personalised interactions.

Both conversational commerce and guided selling use personalisation and technology to improve customer experience and boost sales. In this way, companies can help customers find the right product or service and make an informed purchase decision.

However, while conversational commerce focuses on the use of chat or messaging platforms, guided selling can take place across different channels. In other words: where conversational commerce puts technology (chatbots) first, guided selling focuses on the talk as the way to guide customers in the purchase process.

Guided selling can therefore take place via various channels, including online chat or messaging, but also decision aids on websites or kiosks in the offline store, for example. In addition, guided selling often uses more advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence or machine learning algorithms, to make recommendations and guide customers through the purchase process.