Conversational Marketing for a Small Business in South Africa

Let's talk about Conversational Marketing today. It is the art of providing personalised services and a unique experience to your customers through conversations. In the previous article, we talked about how you can set up WhatsApp Business for your business. Now, let's talk about how Conversational Marketing helps your business in South Africa.

It begins with Understanding Conversational Marketing

Conversational Marketing focuses on opening a peer-to-peer dialogue with your customers to assist them or making a decision with their purchases of products and services. Such personalised assistance establishes a bold yet warm impression on your customers about your business.

Conversational Marketing challenges the traditional norms of filling out forms sending emails for queries or seeking assistance from a business. In the modern world, the traditional contact model is slowly becoming obsolete. In 2024, many of us South Africans do not prefer calling or filling out forms to wait for responses. Conversational Marketing bridges that gap and provides a comfortable yet effective dialogue option for your customers.

Forms of Conversational Marketing in South Africa

In the previous article, we briefly talked about how WhatsApp Business could prove to be an effective tool for your business. WhatsApp Business is likely the most successful Conversational Marketing model in South Africa. Almost everyone in South Africa uses WhatsApp. We are familiar with the app; we literally live with the app.

Now, if you provide an opportunity to let your customers contact through via WhatsApp within a single click, chances are they are going to take it. Your potential customers can send you a WhatsApp message at their convenience. Although they expect a near-instant response, it is okay to take a few minutes to formulate a proper response to your customer's queries.

This is where automated responses also help you to attend to your customers' requests on WhatsApp business.

Other alternatives are other Instant Messaging apps, such as Facebook Messenger or Instagram. Furthermore, many websites also have an in-built chatbot that acts as a FAQ answerer or a bridge that connects a user with customer service personnel.

Why does Conversational Marketing work in South Africa?

Throughout the last decade, South Africa has experienced multiple revolutions in the communication sector. One of the results of this evolution is the Instant Messaging technology. We have been using the technology since the 2010s and it has been getting better, faster, and more reliable over time.

It essentially eliminates the need to call (and the need to be present for the call). It is fast, efficient, and very convenient for all of us. The technology allows us to remain anonymous and yet conveniently connect with anyone with little to no effort.

People love it. Even introverts do! Instant messaging technology has made our lives convenient and has changed the way we communicate and make purchases. And if a business does not understand that, then we can safely say that the business is stuck in the past. Sure, emails and phone calls are still considered a standard. But even the corporate world has adopted instant messages over relying on emails for all conversational needs.

Your customers are used to forming bonds with people via texts and emojis. Now, as a business, if you are willing to provide the same form of communication your customers are comfortable with, then they are going to have a positive impression of your business. It's as simple as that!

And that is why Conversational Marketing works in South Africa.

The Stats show it!

Drift, a US-based B2B sales company has written an elaborate article about Conversational Marketing. We highly recommend you give it a read if you are interested in this topic.

According to their article, and we quote, "The B2B buying process has become cold, impersonal, and way more painful for the buyer than it needs to be." This is true. The modern view of a traditional corporate setting and business practices has become stoic and negative.

Their study says that, and once again we quote,

• 27% more B2B buyers expressed frustration with old-school forms in 2021 than in 2020;

• Email usage has dropped by 25% since 2020; and

• The demand for immediacy has grown by an average of 64% year-over-year.

Stats are just there for your reference. But think about this for a second from a modern buyer's perspective. Your buyers, especially if they are late Millennials or Gen Z, are definitely going to opt for a business that provides a more personalised experience. However, you may experience otherwise if your primary target audience is the Baby Boomer Generation or Gen X.

So, Should I be adopting Conversational Marketing in South Africa?

You must! This is not even a question anymore. If you want to stay relevant to the contemporary time, you must consider adopting conversational marketing tactics in your business practices.

If you are confused, just start with a WhatsApp Business account in South Africa and take it from there. The best part of this practice? It is an easy-to-setup and easy-to-understand process. For more information on setting up a WhatsApp Business account, please refer to our previous article.

On the other hand, if you are a small business in South Africa looking to sell on Takealot, we have a perfect course for you. Skill Space's Takealot Seller Course goes in-depth with the procedures of setting up a Takealot Seller account in South Africa. It is free for a limited time, so hurry up and take advantage of this beneficial offer to become a successful Takealot Seller.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. More information about our contact is available here.