The Biggest Problem With Conversational Marketing and How to Fix it

Conversational marketing is a gamechanger in an era when smart devices are practically glued to our hands. The reason conversational marketing is so effective is that it doesn't feel like marketing — it feels like a conversation. It comes naturally to your team and your customers.

But if conversational marketing is one of the most effective strategies out there, how could there be problems with it? Of course, nothing is perfect. And the biggest problem with conversational marketing has nothing to do with software bugs or less-than-ideal returns on ad spend.

The biggest problem with conversational marketing

It's one thing to review basic stats, like chats completed, clicks-to-call, and the number of reviews received. But if you're not using integrations to view that data in context to your marketing campaigns, you're not harnessing the full potential of your conversational marketing software.

Your ad campaigns and messaging stats might be housed on different platforms, but they shouldn't be separate. Ads are driving leads to your site, and a percentage of those new users are starting chats with you. If your chat software doesn't track URLs, how can you tell whether your paid ads are driving new chats?

That's why integrations are essential for conversational marketing. UTM tracking should be built into your conversational marketing software so you can easily see where your chats come from. That information should link to your Google Analytics account. Finally, all those new leads should be logged automatically through an integration with your CRM.

You should also consider how many messaging platforms you're using. It doesn't always make sense for local businesses to have a full 24/7 customer support staff. That's where automation comes in. Chatbots give customers instant, round-the-clock access to your business even outside of operating hours.

But you're probably using other messaging options through social media to connect with your customers. Integrating your Facebook Messenger with your conversational marketing platform allows you to create custom Facebook Messenger bots and manage all your messages in a single dashboard.

These are just a few possibilities of integrations. Plugins with third-party integration apps like Zapier make it easy to connect your conversational marketing software with all your tools, saving you time during performance reviews.

How to measure and review your conversational marketing results

Measuring is easy and automatic after you've set up integrations. Once the data starts rolling in, make time each week, month, or quarter to review your data. Here are a few KPIs you should measure and adjust to increase sales, generate more leads, and knock your goals out of the park every time.

The number of automated vs. live chats

Automated chat makes it easy for your team to manage messages. But it's still a good idea to track the ratio of automated to live chats. A consistent ratio of high live chats could indicate that your chatbot isn't equipped to answer your customers' queries.

If that's the case, how should you approach it? The solution requires a bit of digging. Delve into the depths of your chat logs and read back through chats in which users asked to speak to a human. Consider the chatbot's response to their initial query. If you find any discrepancies, revisit your chatbot scripts to add new questions and answers.

Pages that drive the highest and lowest numbers of chats

It's likely that your homepage will be one of the highest drivers. But if you're looking to drive more chats on a page, evaluate your chatbot greeting on that page. Compare the scripts and copy of your highest- and lowest-performing pages to uncover strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement.

Reviews received

If one of your goals is to generate more reviews, consider adding a prompt for users to leave a review after completing the chat. Worried about getting bad reviews? Don't be. With ZyraTalk, negative reviews go straight to your dashboard instead of going live so you can address them privately.

Addressing shortcomings of your conversational marketing efforts

Own your performance, communicate with your team, and create an action plan. Setting measurable, attainable goals is always key. And while some results may be out of your team's control, you can always test new strategies and approaches.

Conversational marketing is a more consensual form of marketing that gives prospects and customers the ability to opt in, rather than forcing them to opt out. Naturally, it performs better than forms and pop-up ads. But integrations give you the highest possible ROI by streamlining your processes.

Marketers have a million and one tools at their disposal. Reviewing analytics of each one is cumbersome and frustrating. But it doesn't have to be. Your tools should work for you, not the other way around.

Complete with all the integrations you could possibly want or need, ZyraTalk is the ultimate solution to conversational marketing's biggest problem: mass amounts of data analyzed in isolation. Book your free 15-minute demo today to discover how we can streamline your marketing and provide an outstanding customer experience. (Mention this blog post and we'll throw in a 30-day, risk-free trial run.)