Imagine how long it used to take to tell your story back in the Stone Age with cave paintings and symbols. The way we communicate with each other has come a long way.
Or has it?
Hell, maybe not much has changed considering we speak in emojis these days.
After having conversations with a number of different people today (clients on the biz tip, healthcare providers for my parents, my wife), I realize there is a time and place for just about all forms of communication.
I’d prefer to speak with the person about to care for my elderly parents. But I would rather text my wife to talk about ‘what’s for dinner?’ And I’d rather Slack message my team to talk about on-boarding a new client. If I’m buying a new piece of equipment, I want to chat my question in real-time versus submitting a form and waiting for Lord knows how long for a response.
We humans have so many different ways to communicate today.
Let’s focus on the business side. B2B for the foodservice equipment space to be exact. Communication is key, right?
What if we starting to think about each way we communicate as a ‘conversation’?
What types of conversations do you have with your colleagues, your partners, suppliers, dealers, and end customers? Do they all want to communicate the same way? Does it make sense to communicate with all of them the same way?
You see, we communicate with people in all types of formats: phone, text messages, face-to-face, social media, chat, video conferences throughout the Buyer’s Journey. But it’s more than communication. It’s conversations we are having. Short conversations via texting that continue to keep a project rolling along.
Conversational marketing is here: real-time, one-on-one conversations that occur throughout the Buyer’s Journey. Whether you want to capture new leads or connect with your best leads, targeted chat/messaging allows visitors and buyers to get immediate answers.
It’s used on websites. It’s used on Facebook (Messenger and Instagram) and other social platforms. And yes, bad marketers will screw it up like they do most new marketing technology. But we still have the time to ‘do it right’. And it ain’t going anywhere soon.
For example, I just ran a full initial interview for a new potential new hire over LinkedIn Messaging. All by typing. Over messaging/chat. I’m still shaking my head about it, but it makes complete sense to me now and has been added to our hiring process.
We see a tremendous opportunity with chat/messaging for manufacturers and their distribution channels. Today, a visitor who has a question [that can be asked and answered in 10 seconds] has to fill out a web-based form, submit it, and wait for a reply from a salesperson. This outdated process can take up to 1 - 2 weeks (or longer) depending upon a company’s lead/conversion processes. We can do better. We have to.
How do you want to be communicated with when you buy things? Or when you want support? Or when you need something NOW?
Think about it.
Want to talk chat/messaging with me and its impact on your business? Book 15 minutes with me by using my Meetings app below: