We know one of the most critical ways brands connect with consumers is via social media. In fact, there are now roughly 3.78 billion global social media users — a 5% increase from 2020. As one of the fastest-growing forms of communication (the average annual growth rate amongst consumers on social platforms is 7.2%), brands would be remiss to ignore this relatively low-lift form of engagement.
The same can be said for utilizing an emerging form of consumer engagement — Chat Commerce via chat apps. This is the new critical form of engagement for brands that understand providing the same customer experience and in-person shopping experience via a digital medium is essential for survival moving forward.
Similar to the overwhelming rise in social media popularity, businesses no longer have the opportunity to just be ahead of the chat app curve — now it is part of the status quo. According to a recent Chat Commerce Trends Report, 79% of consumers use chat apps daily; further, 89% of millennials want to do business through a chat app, and 93% think there are benefits to communicating with a business via a chat app.
Nearly all consumers are linked to their mobile device and are active on at least one chat platform daily, whether it be Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Apple iMessage and more. Before we know it, conducting business via chat will be the latest “new normal,” whether those communications are tailored to personalized service, item recommendations based on previous purchases or the ability to shop and pay in the same interaction (or message chain, in this instance). Retailers are learning that partnering with Chat Commerce platforms is the easiest way to efficiently connect with customers of all ages and backgrounds in a meaningful, real-time and effective manner.
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When looking to implement Chat Commerce, there are a few benefits to better analyze data that retailers should keep in mind:
- Deploy and utilize data in an adept fashion: AI was really hot when it first came to be, but many companies have not fully harvested this built-up capability for a number of reasons — it’s difficult and time-intensive to deploy, the required training of employees to manage implementation and analysis can be intense, and the fact that new personnel would need to be hired to utilize it further turned them off. However, by enabling Chat Commerce, retailers are able to gather and apply data in a rapid fashion. This provides the ability to invoke varying engagement and analysis models, such as probability to buy, to present personalized options to their consumers.
- Use Chat Commerce to A/B test digital strategies: Through digital engagement in chat, a brand can deploy different messages in different cohorts and seamlessly track the results in a short period. This allows retailers to identify which strategy is most effective, and ultimately leads to better results, engagement with customers and decreased costs on pushing a product that may not be resonating with your clientele.
- Engage with customers in a much more sophisticated feedback loop: Chat Commerce program data allows for brands to easily identify what their consumer base desires through reaching them where they are in real time. As an example, inquiries into a store’s hour in location A vs. location B can result in a temporary or permanent reallocation of staff due to increased traffic in one location. This allows brands to more effectively allocate time and resources into areas that make a difference for the consumer, while expanding beyond digital communication and bettering their in-store experience.
All of these analytical benefits combined make for one of the best marketing tools available — and retailers are consistently underestimating how they can utilize consumer data. Once you have realized the “why” of Chat Commerce, the next step is the “how.” Utilizing some of these tactics is a good place to start:
- SMS marketing, or sending text messages directly to the customer, provides relevant updates to offers, discounts, promotions or new product availability, and can reach 85% of the world’s population. However, make sure you get permission first by giving them the choice to opt-in or out. SMS marketing is widely used and extremely profitable when done correctly, and is especially effective when combined with time-sensitive deals or updates about user-preferred items.
- Social media marketing and mobile marketing go together like chips and dip. Social media users are on smartphones, tablets and a range of other devices, so having a multichannel marketing strategy that reaches out to users on the platforms they use most is essential. Brand pages or accounts with brilliant customer interaction, gorgeous imagery, plus advertisements and gamification combine to make social media a potential marketing utopia.
Especially now, brands should be thinking about the best ways to stand out from the crowd. No longer is just having a social media profile or chat option enough — retailers need to be continually implementing the next form of digital engagement to maintain customer interest.
Gavin Harvett is SVP of Products at Clickatell. He is a seasoned product professional with over 25 years’ experience taking B2B software products to market. Having led product teams and lifecycles for enterprise and SaaS providers headquartered in the U.S., Europe and Africa, Harvett has a wealth of global exposure and perspective. In his current role Harvett oversees the product management team responsible for the entire Clickatell Chat Commerce platform and all supported messaging and chat channels. Prior to joining Clickatell, Harvett led several product teams with portfolios ranging from vehicle telematics to document collaboration and data management.
