Conversational search is a topic that has gained a significant amount of buzz among digital marketers, but what exactly does it entail, and how can it help businesses increase revenue? Let’s take a look at how this online marketing tool can increase sales.

What is Conversational Search?

Conversational search refers to engaging website visitors in conversation to extract keywords and other relevant data points that can generate better search results and improve the customer experience. This process typically uses AI chatbots and machine learning algorithms to help customers find exactly what they need.

Consider conversational search to be the digital equivalent of hiring a sales associate in a retail store. When customers walk into a department store, they are often greeted by a sales associate who can engage them in conversation. This knowledge person helps the customer determine what she needs and then directs the customer to the appropriate product.

While it isn't practical to hire a customer service representative to personally engage everyone who comes across your website, it can be helpful to program AI chatbots to ask common questions and analyze the responses for specific keywords.

Those keywords can then determine which products best fit the customer's requirements, saving them the time and energy of scouring the entire website. Conversational search not only speeds up the process and encourages customers to make faster decisions, but it can also help build brand loyalty and ensure shoppers find precisely what they need.

How Does Conversational Search Work?

The exact conversational search process may vary slightly depending on your business and the type of products you're selling. In general, it starts with an automated conversation that is meant to extract key data points. Here are the basic steps for using these online marketing tools to increase sales.

Step 1: Use Automated Chat to Engage with Customers

First, you have to engage your customers and start the conversation. Successful online businesses must develop a strong chat strategy.

Perhaps you're going to have the AI chatbot greet customers and then send them over to a live customer service associate for a more in-depth conversation about their needs. Or maybe you want to use the chat to answer as many common questions as possible and only have a live representative step in when needed.

You might even keep the conversation fully automated if you are confident in your technology. There are many different ways to set up a conversational search pipeline, but to maximize efficiency, you'll want to use automation in some capacity to serve as many customers as possible.

Step 2: Use Customer Responses to Create a Personalized Experience

Next, you will program the chatbot to ask common questions and use customer responses to improve the shopping experience. For instance, if you own a sneaker business, the chatbot could ask questions about size and brand name before suggesting products. This saves the customer time by not requiring them to manually use search filters.

More advanced versions of conversational search can upsell or suggest similar products. If the chatbot asks, “What do you need shoes for,” the product suggestions can then be based on occasion or category. This gives more intelligent results than the standard “people also buy” feed because it anticipates why the customer is shopping.

Automated chatbots can also help you make the conversation feel more personalized. They are designed to extract and use data to improve the customer experience. This helps make the customer feel more engaged and welcomed by your brand while weeding out any bad leads that aren't interested in what you're selling.

Step 3: Use Personalized Data to Manage the Customer Relationship

Finally, you can use the data extracted from the chatbot to follow up in person or manage the relationship in the future. 

Have the chatbot take down their name and email address so you can follow up with a personalized message next time you have a sale. Or maybe the customer is looking for something currently out of stock. You can use their buying preferences to reach out to them the next time that particular item becomes available or when you have something similar.

You can also use the data to ensure they are sent to the correct department or representative if they need to book a demo or have a conversation with the sales team. That data can also help you gain an understanding of the customer’s needs and pain points before you even get on a call.

The more information you can gather through online marketing tools, the more you will increase sales when you speak with customers directly

How Does Conversational Search Generate More Sales?

Conversational search allows you to learn more about your customers and how you can address their needs.

Perhaps you're experiencing a higher bounce rate than usual and aren't quite sure why. If you start to engage with those customers, you may discover that they're looking for a product you no longer offer or that they're having trouble navigating your website to find what they need. Then you can use this information to help them in their search or direct them to a similar product.

These insights are not only great for helping customers find a product, but they can also help you find ways to make smarter decisions about the direction of your business.

Make Customers Feel More Valued

Everyone loves to feel welcomed, especially if the messaging is personalized. Conversational search helps break the ice and invites customers to explore what you have to offer. Especially if they are a new customer who has never visited your website before, addressing them directly and offering to help them find what they are looking for can go a long way toward making a decision.

How many people walk into a department store to browse and never buy anything? But if they are greeted by a kind sales associate willing to take the time to help them find what they need, they are more likely to feel obligated to make a purchase.

Conversational search has the same effect. It not only makes the customer feel more valued because you are willing to take the time to address their concerns, but it also creates a psychological need to reciprocate the gesture by making a purchase. Plus, it also helps weed out the window shoppers who were never going to purchase in the first place.

Create a Reliable Inbound Sales Pipeline

You can also use online marketing tools to increase sales by creating an inbound sales pipeline that makes it easier to convert customers. Conversational search helps you get straight to the point and collect the information you need to convert a customer. 

Whether that's their buying preferences, contact information, or availability, chatbots make it more efficient to extract this information quickly and create an effective sales funnel.

Think of how many customers visit your website and leave without ever buying anything or booking a consultation. Chances are that some of them would have converted if sent in the right direction. Conversational search allows you to create a pathway for customers to quickly follow, leading them to make a sale or book an appointment with a live representative.

Once you have their buying preferences and information, it makes it much easier to guide them into your sales pipeline than if they were just an anonymous user browsing your website. Plus, if they decide not to make a purchase, you can always use their information to follow up at a later date.

Leverage the Benefits of Machine Learning

Machine learning offers immense benefits for companies looking to use online marketing tools to increase sales. Scalability is perhaps the most obvious. Depending on your traffic, you'd need to hire hundreds of employees to greet every customer who visited your website. But with automated chatbots, you can easily converse with hundreds of customers simultaneously without any delays.

Plus, AI programs can also respond faster and offer intelligent conversation analysis that exceeds what a human being can do on their own, allowing you and your team to focus more on the big picture of your business.

Reach a Wider Audience with Multi-Channel Integration

Modern consumers rely on many different devices and channels to shop online. So if you want to use online marketing tools to increase sales, you must be sure that they are optimized for every device your customers use, including tablets, mobile phones, laptops, desktop computers, and more. 

Using AI chatbots that can adapt to various channels can help you reach more customers by responding to inquiries through devices that would be more difficult for a human representative.

Conversational search is the future of digital marketing. Still, if you want to take advantage of this revolutionary strategy, you need an experienced tech partner to guide you in the right direction. Trust Soluntech to help with any of your conversational search or IT needs. Whether you’re just exploring the idea of adding a chatbot to your site or you need more robust tools to enhance the program you’re currently using, schedule a free consultation. We’re happy to advise you on the next steps.