Any salesperson will tell you that they have a much higher chance of making a sale if they have a conversation. After all, when you have a discussion with someone, you learn about the specific successes and challenges they’re having. So, why aren’t more B2B companies building conversations into their marketing efforts? 

For decades, marketers at B2B companies have been asking leads to fill out forms on our websites. Forms can get the job done, but it’s much better to engage leads in a real-time conversation. Thankfully, this is now possible, and it’s helping B2B companies better capture leads and ultimately make more sales. 

Today’s B2B companies are prioritizing Conversational Marketing and learning how to make it a core part of their marketing and sales strategies. Is your business ready for Conversational Marketing? Read on to find out.

What is Conversational Marketing?

A conversation is an informal discussion where ideas are exchanged. Conversational Marketing helps companies capture and convert leads by making it easy for buyers and sales reps to instantly exchange ideas.‍

Conversational Marketing platforms provide a deep view of people who are browsing your website, so that you can start meaningful conversations with qualified leads in real time. Using such a platform, you can leverage live chat, chatbots, voice-calls, and screen-sharing to sell smarter.

Who can benefit from Conversational Marketing?

Conversational Marketing can benefit any business, but it’s particularly helpful for B2B companies that want to focus on engaging and converting qualified website visitors. It’s especially helpful if you’re using a CRM solution such as Salesforce, as that is the source of truth for all of your prospect and customer data. 

Many companies choose to staff Conversational Marketing platforms with sales representatives, while others rely solely on chatbots. Using chatbots to qualify leads, capture leads, and book meetings for your sales team is a great first step to take with Conversational Marketing if you aren't ready to dedicate sales people to staffing the channel. Chatbots are a great way to help you engage with website visitors in a scalable way.

How to know if you’re ready to invest in Conversational Marketing

If your business drives traffic to your website, you can benefit from Conversational Marketing right away. After all, when B2B sales teams respond to leads in under 5 minutes, they are 100x more likely to make contact with that prospect, according to a study by LeadResponseManagement.org. 

Here are some questions to ask to determine if your business is ready for Conversational Marketing:

• Is your website a core part of your business? Your website is a primary way for customers to learn about your business. If your website is a core part of your marketing strategy, Conversational Marketing is a great fit, as it takes place directly on your site. 
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• Are you driving traffic to your website? If you're investing in marketing advertising, like Google AdWords or LinkedIn, that drive people to your website, Conversational Marketing is a great way to capitalize on that investment and meet with people who engage with your campaigns.
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• Are you using Salesforce CRM and/or Pardot Marketing Automation? Conversational Marketing is most useful when it leverages data from your CRM or Marketing Automation platform, as this information allows you to have relevant and meaningful conversations.
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• Are your sales cycles slow and lagging? Conversational Marketing can speed up a slow sales cycle by getting in touch at the most relevant time. If you’re finding that it’s taking days to convert leads, Conversational Marketing may be the key to converting in minutes.
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• Do you have a sales or marketing team member to own this program? Whether you’re starting off by just using chatbots or you’re launching an end-to-end Conversational Marketing program with a team of sales reps, you’ll need a point person committed to owning your strategy, execution, and results.
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• Can you be converting more website visitors into real leads and sales opportunities? Form fills result in people falling through the cracks and low conversion rates. This is a big problem that can be solved using Conversational Marketing.
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• Do you know who your ideal customer profile (ICP) or key accounts are and want to meet with them? If you know which accounts are most important to your business, Conversational Marketing allows you to instantly meet with VIPs and roll out the red carpet for your most important prospects.
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• Are your salespeople hungry for more sales conversations? Salespeople perform best when they’re having conversations. If yours are hungry for more opportunities then Conversational Marketing provides a way for them to go to bat more frequently, resulting in more conversations and thus more sales.

Wrap Up

Conversational Marketing allows you to engage with leads instantaneously. It allows you to reach qualified prospects without asking them to fill out forms or jump through hoops to get in touch. It saves your sales team from chasing down prospects and sending emails that never get opened.

If you’re a B2B company that is struggling to convert leads, or simply wants a better way to engage with those who are qualified, it’s time to try Conversational Marketing. Watch our 90 second demo video see how you can do this with Qualified ⬇️

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