Conversational Commerce: Elevate Your Festive Season with Winning Campaigns

Introduction

Seasonal discounts and festive deals have become significant drivers of customer engagement and business revenue. Customers often anticipate these opportunities to purchase desired products at competitive prices all year.   

However, seasonal discounts are not just about generating revenue for the business; they also help foster long-term relationships with customers. Amidst this, conversational commerce has an important role to play. 

With evolving customer expectations, businesses need to adapt by offering personalized and efficient shopping experiences. Conversational commerce—leveraging AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants—enables businesses to gain insights into customer preferences and provide tailored recommendations. 

As a reflection of this shift, 62% of customers now prefer interacting with chatbots over human agents, underscoring the importance of automated communication. Businesses that have yet to embrace these tools risk being left behind. 

An omnichannel Conversational AI chatbot, such as a WhatsApp bot, can streamline all e-commerce activities and reduce friction at customer touchpoints, especially during the festive season. 

In this article, we will discuss how conversational engagement can lighten up the festive spirit of businesses and shoppers alike. 

Let’s get started!

Boosting Festive Sales with Conversational Engagement – The Need

Festive seasons give businesses a golden opportunity to drive sales, attract new customers, and boost brand loyalty. However, as the competitive landscape becomes fiercer every year, brands must go beyond traditional sales tactics. This is where conversational engagement techniques—leveraging AI-driven chatbots, live chats, and messaging apps—can significantly impact.

Why is it important during festival sales? 

1. Click-to-WhatsApp for Direct Connection

In the time of instant support, particularly during festive seasons, capturing customer attention and converting them into sales is paramount. As a solution, Click-to-WhatsApp Ads comes forward as your marketing strategy to drive your customer acquisition. These ads involve a direct and immediate channel of communication, enabling potential customers to connect directly with businesses via WhatsApp.

With a CTWA button, your customer can find a convenient way to engage with your brand. You, now, can turn a mere content on their social media into an interactive shopping experience, leading to higher conversion rates.

2. Increased Sales through Personalization

Personalized experiences significantly boost sales. Dynata reveals that 84% of customers prefer buying from brands offering personalization. Conversational AI can analyze behavior in real time, enabling personalized product recommendations during festive sales, and driving targeted conversions.

3. Scalability Without Compromising Quality

Handling high volumes of festive queries can be challenging. HubSpot reports that 90% of customers consider an “immediate” response crucial. AI-powered chatbots scale customer support without sacrificing quality. 

4. Omnichannel Presence for Enhanced Customer Reach

Customers use multiple platforms, from social media to messaging apps. Conversational engagement across these channels ensures brands meet customers where they are. Gitnux reports that 90% of consumers expect businesses to be consistent and accessible via messaging platforms, making omnichannel engagement crucial during festive seasons.

5. Proactive Engagement and Cart Abandonment Recovery

According to Baymard Baynard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate is 70.19%, so proactive engagement is vital. Conversational engagement can send timely reminders or personalized offers to recover abandoned carts, boosting festive sales.

6. Enhanced Customer Experience and Loyalty

Positive experiences during festive sales foster long-term loyalty. PwC found that 73% of consumers prioritize experience in their purchasing decisions. Personalized greetings, festive messages, and tailored discounts enhance customer satisfaction, turning one-time buyers into loyal customers.

An Engaging Customer Experience: The Journey from Conversation to Conversion

Conversational commerce can help businesses boost their revenue by increasing conversions. The use of Conversational AI helps businesses interact with customers at various touchpoints – right from helping them discover the right product to checking out, and finally offering them the most suitable post-purchase support, 

How Conversational AI Helps Businesses Support Customers Across Their Purchase Journey?

Discovery Phase- Helping Customers Find the Right Product

These days, customers prefer personalized experiences across every step of the purchase funnel. This begins with the very first step- the discovery stage. 

The use of Conversational AI to communicate with customers helps businesses engage in personalized one-to-one conversations with them, better understand their preferences, and offer them product recommendations accordingly. 

It is no surprise that customers look forward to festive discounts so that they can grab the best deals. In this scenario, a business can send customers a limited-period discount offer message, which might create a sense of urgency and prompt them to purchase. 

Here’s an example in the form of a WhatsApp template:

1. Purchasing Phase- Helping Customers Complete the Purchase 

Once a business has attracted customers’ attention, it must guide them through the entire purchase stage. The main motive here is to ensure that the customer does not drop out during any stage. 

To make the process convenient for customers, businesses can incorporate various interactive features available on WhatsApp that engage users. For instance, they can incorporate the use of catalogs on WhatsApp, from where customers can choose their desired products and view the product descriptions. 

Once the customer chooses the product, he can place the order right from the WhatsApp chatbot. Not only this, but he can also make the payment using the one-click payment option. 

Having a unified platform for all e-commerce activities helps reduce the friction at the various check-out points. This way, customers do not have to switch between Windows or apps for tasks like placing an order or completing a payment. Therefore, there are fewer chances of a customer changing his mind about a purchase and dropping it off. 

For a seamless customer experience, businesses can send them regular updates on product availability.

2. Post-Purchase Support to Customers

Engaging customers post-purchase is just as important as engaging them before and during the purchase phase. Your customer should leave a good impression about your brand throughout. 

As soon as your customer places an order, send them a thank you message on WhatsApp containing other details like the product name, the expected time of arrival, and so on. 

It is also important to retain your customers so that they continue purchasing from your brand. Subscription offers are the best way to ensure this. 

For example, a brand can offer a special offer for its “Premium” or “Gold” members to avoid extra delivery charges. This will lure customers into purchasing the subscription and encourage them to continue ordering from the businesses to avoid paying extra delivery charges. 

Having a Conversational AI WhatsApp chatbot makes it easier for customers to communicate with brands, convey their concerns, and have them answered almost instantly. This not only strengthens conversational engagement but also builds a sense of trust among the customers towards the brand and enhances their loyalty. 

Let us see a few techniques that businesses can adopt to elevate their customers’ festive mood.

Embracing the Festive Spirit with Conversational Commerce 

You can lure your customers towards special offers and discounts during the festive season in several ways. 

1. Customized Wishes for Customers 

You can send customized wishes to your customer based on the insights you gather about their preferences from the data gathered through the Conversational AI chatbots. Not only this, but it is also important to choose the correct time when you should send these messages. 

Here’s a template to exemplify this. Let us say that Iman has been looking for the best gift for a sister on Rakshabandhan. Here’s how a customized wish message can arrest his interest. 

2. Exclusive Festive Promotions

Customers have a soft spot for bargains, and discounts instill a sense of “gaining” in them. 

Festive promotions and discounts are sure to allure customers and can compel them to make a purchase. For example, a simple message stating, “Hey, Iman! Get 30% off on all our purchases. Use the code “RAKHI30” to avail of this special offer. Valid till midnight” can evoke a sense of belonging, urgency, and satisfaction among the customers. 

3. Interactive Content to Engage Customers 

There are many innovative ways like polls, quizzes, and games in which you can engage your customers. 

Let us say that a food delivery brand is looking forward to offering special discounts to customers on Independence Day.

This will excite the customers and prompt them to answer the questions. Once they can complete the quiz successfully, they will purchase it to take advantage of the discount. This, in turn, helps the food delivery brand drive conversion.

4. Flash Sale Alerts

Flash sale alerts or clearance sale messages create a sense of urgency among the customers. The FOMO can prompt them to purchase, helping the business generate revenue. For example, a business can send a message stating, “Hola! Enjoy a flat 70% off all our products till 12:00 noon, and make your Raksha Bandhan celebration a blast. Click here to check all the products we have in store!”

This will compel customers to visit the business’ website and look for items that they might want to purchase. 

Conclusion 

These insights demonstrate how conversational commerce can effectively help businesses communicate attractive deals to customers, benefiting both parties. Customers can easily discover the best offers, while businesses drive revenue. The more engaging the strategy, the better the chances of retaining loyal customers. 

Partner with Gupshup to enhance your customers’ festive fervor. Gupshup’s offerings help businesses better connect with customers, earn loyalty, and build long-lasting relationships.  

Therefore, hire our expert services today and make the most of this festive season! 

FAQs

1. Why are seasonal discounts important?

Ans: Seasonal discounts are important as they help businesses clear their inventory, earn revenue, and develop a positive image among customers. 

2. What is the impact of conversational commerce?

Ans: One of conversational commerce‘s biggest advantages is that it helps businesses establish a strong and personalized relationship with their customers. This helps retain customers and promote conversions, which results in better revenue generation. 

3. Why is conversational commerce effective?

Ans: Conversational commerce involves one-to-one direct interaction between businesses and customers. It allows businesses to interact with customers, gather important information about their preferences, and offer personalized recommendations. This makes customers feel valued and enhances their loyalty to the brand.