Conversational marketing is all about engaging with your customers - creating a much richer relationship with them. As a restaurateur, find out how you can develop it with the new tools at your disposal!
If we had to define conversational marketing, it simply means establishing mutual communication between you and your customers. It's about developing a customer relationship that's no longer one-way, as advertising messages can be! Instead, the emphasis is on discussion between the two parties, and engaging in conversation to find out what your customers really want.
In concrete terms, more and more companies are implementing "conversation". This can take place via a wide range of media, particularly in sectors that go beyond restaurants and retailers. This includes exchanges via social networks, or Whatsapp Pro messaging systems.
AI-based chatbots are also part of this trend: they automate conversational marketing, even if this doesn't necessarily apply to restaurants. Last but not least, one of the most universal methods is to offer surveys, to get feedback from your customers.
Conversational marketing is part of a broader concept known as relationship marketing. Its aim is to build a more complete and lasting customer relationship! We no longer simply talk about what we offer, but consider the customer, sending personalized messages, contextual invitations, and so on...
Ultimately, conversational marketing aims toincrease customer engagement. It encourages them to get involved with you, initially through exchange and discussion. This builds a stronger relationship, where the customer feels more valued, in line with what the new generations want.
And therein lies the difficulty for restaurants: how do you implement conversational marketing when you have relatively few points of contact with your customers (current or potential)? Not to mention the fact that, as a restaurant owner, you often have little time or resources available...
In other B2C sectors, chat marketing is often implemented through chatbots, but this phenomenon remains somewhat marginal for a restaurant.
The solution is to deploy exchange channels wherever your customers are: in theatres, but also on their smartphones! This is the principle behind SMS marketing. Automated, it allows you to consolidate customer relations with contextual reminders (for birthdays, invitations, menu launches, etc.), but also to listen to customers who can respond to text messages.
Another highly effective method is the use of fun surveys, either in the sales room or at the point of sale. They are becoming increasingly popular thanks to connected touch-screen tablets. This is what Pongo is doing with its survey function: it can also be a conversational marketing assistant for retailers.
The survey function allows you to ask any question you like and survey your customers. Would you like to ask your customers which flavor of ice cream they prefer? Tomato-mozza or Caesar salad? Acai or frozen yogurt?
The benefits are manifold: this type of conversational marketing can, for example, enable you to redesign your map according to what your customers want (with "customer choice" items). Above all, it provides you with richer data on their preferences, which you can then link to your customer database.
Taken together, these ideas provide the basis for a new generation of customer loyalty. Whatever you decide to do, they'll help you listen to what your customers want!
