How to Use Facebook Messenger to Build Customer Relationships
Photo by Brett Jordan from Pexels
Ever since Google claimed that social media doesn’t directly contribute to search engine ranking, businesses have wondered how platforms like Facebook should figure into their digital marketing strategies.
Facebook has over 1.79 billion daily active users, so it would be unwise to ignore the many prospects looking for product information who could be persuaded to consider your product or service. After all, driving people to your website is only half the battle; you need to effectively communicate with them before you can count on them to purchase.
Each month, 8 billion messages are exchanged between companies and users on Facebook Messenger, and with an 88% open rate and a 56% click through rate, Messenger performs much better than email. Facebook Messenger can be a great way to introduce your company to potential buyers, as well as provide exceptional customer service to those who have already made a purchase. But to get the most out of the Facebook Messenger App, consider using Click-To Messenger ads and AI-controlled chatbots to improve your communication with current and potential customers.
Use Facebook Messenger to Begin and Guide a Prospective Customer’s Journey
If you already have a Business Page on Facebook, you’ll want to be sure that messaging is enabled and that you’ve set up a Send Message button. When users are on your Page, they can get in touch with you by clicking on the button that takes them to a Messenger chat box. You (or whomever at your company is hired to respond to users’ questions or concerns) will need to employ excellent customer service skills and sales pitch techniques during the conversation, respond quickly because people are impatient and expect immediate feedback.
But what if you could free up your time and let a chatbot talk to your prospect as soon as the message comes in? And wouldn’t it be great if you could talk to customers wherever they are on Facebook – not just on your Page?
Facebook Click-To-Messenger ads can appear anywhere on Facebook, will precisely target your ideal customer, and when the prospect clicks on the ad, a chatbot-led Messenger box appears. Since AI controls the conversation, you don’t have to assign or hire personnel to interact with users.
For first-time connections with a particular Facebook user, these tips will help to make a good first impression:
Select Creative That Will Encourage Conversation
The visuals and text you use for your first impression may go a long way in creating a customer’s perception of your company, but your text, images and calls-to-action should also set up the expectation that your purpose is to have a conversation. Take control of the dialogue by using creative that will make your prospects receptive to your message and encourage them to engage.
Personalize Your Greeting
Introduce yourself by name. Even though AI is driving the conversation, it still helps to personalize your chatbot. Also be sure to address the prospect by name.
Guide the Shopping Experience
Your customer conversations could lead to useful information that could facilitate the shopping experience inside the Messenger app. You could provide information via downloads and even help your potential customer learn about the differences between various product models. As the conversation progresses, it’s possible you could make a sale within the app itself.
Use Sponsored Messages to Re-Engage with Potential or Current Customers
If you’ve already contacted a potential customer on Messenger, you can use Sponsored Messages to re-engage them with offers, promotions, and updates about your brand.
Sponsored Messages are ideal for:
- Nurturing relationships with existing contacts by offering incentives
- Picking up where you left off in a previous conversation
- Providing information about new products or features to an existing customer
Use Facebook Messenger to Provide Better Customer Service
Most customers know that most businesses have Pages on Facebook, so it’s not unusual that they would try to contact you there. When a current customer wants to get in touch with your company, it’s usually because he or she has a problem that must be solved immediately.
While you could direct these customers to your website to send a support ticket or have them contact you by phone (where wait times may be an issue) customer service via chatbot-operated Facebook Messenger is immediate and will do much to help the customer feel like your business cares about their experience with your product or service. Facebook calls this strategy “meeting them where they are.”
Telecom company, Samsung, uses Facebook Messenger to engage with their customers, and they rely on chatbots to improve their customers’ experience. Samsung cites Messenger’s “always-on” accessibility that makes people feel as though the company is ready to work for them, to help them navigate decisions, solve problems, offer solutions, and even save them money. Once a company can establish a regular, trusted platform for communication, existing and future customers will seek out that platform in the future. Data collected by Facebook shows that trading messages with a brand makes people feel more confident about it and more personally connected.
Have a Conversation with Your Customers Even if You Can’t Talk Face-To-Face
Just because you’re not able to gather with your customers these days, there are still ways to engage, sell, and provide customer service. Until you can meet in person again, automated use of the Facebook Messenger app may be the most efficient way to communicate and service your customers.