Having a conversation is the best sales strategy – and you’re already doing it every day
“Conversations with customers will increase sales, even if the product or service is never mentioned.”
Introduction:
Businesses constantly look for the most effective ways to boost sales and keep customers engaged, satisfied, and happy. New, trendy sales tools and strategies are always emerging but a great business owner never forgets the classics. What is a timeless and simple way to engage with customers? Having a conversation.
Talking to your customers, hearing their needs, and building relationships through meaningful interactions are the secret ingredients to create a special place for your business in the customers’ hearts. This doesn’t mean that you as a busy business owner have to stop each customer on their tracks and start a conversation with them every time they come around. Although that would be ideal – there are only 24 hours in a day.
This is where automation comes into play. With platforms like Solustats, automating customer conversations via SMS and other digital channels can help you maintain those crucial customer interactions without overwhelming your resources and time (and vocal cords).
Why do conversations matter in sales?
Sales isn’t just about transactions, it’s about building trust, and relationships, and understanding your customer’s unique needs. What do you get as a business owner when conversing with your customers? Here are a few things:
Better understanding of customer needs: You can’t sell effectively unless you know what your customer is looking for. How else would you know what they like or what should you sell to them? Conversations help you gather insights into their preferences and pain points.
Building a relationship: A sale is often the result of a relationship. Conversations create a personal connection between your business and the customer and help establish trust. It all builds up to long-term loyalty and you start noticing that one-time customers return to your business and buy again - Returning customers are the essence of good business.
Handling objections: Conversations allow you to address any concerns or hesitations customers may have. They give you feedback, that is essential for you to better your service or products. This also increases the likelihood of a sale as well as makes your customers feel listened to.
Right time, right automated message
Automation has drastically changed the way businesses interact with customers. In the past, customer communication was limited to phone calls and emails, which were often time-consuming and difficult to scale. Today, businesses can use platforms like Solustats to customer conversations through SMS, chatbots, and other digital channels. This makes it easier than ever to engage customers at the right time with the right message. By automating conversations, you’re not replacing the personal touch, you’re just amplifying it.
Reach customers instantly with short messages
SMS (Short Message Service) remains one of the most direct and effective ways to communicate with customers. Unlike email, which can often be ignored or lost in spam folders, SMS messages have an open rate of over 98%, with most people reading them within minutes. Automating this would allow you to:
Send personalized messages with automation tools, like Solustats. You can send tailored SMS messages based on customer behavior, preferences, and purchase history. For example, if you own a fitness clothing store and a customer orders a simple shirt, you can send them a message letting them know of the new color collection of the same shirt later on. (Tip: If you ever find a piece of clothing that fits perfectly, get it in every color).
Missed a potential sale? It might be impossible to pick up every call your business receives. If it happens and you miss a call from a customer, you can now follow up instantly with an SMS to keep the conversation going - And give them an apology for missing their call. This message is fully automated and is sent to the caller the minute they hang up!
Send promotion offers, like a limited-time offer, or remind them of a flash sale. Reach out to your customers and ensure that they don’t miss out on a great deal. Short messages are effective as they are usually read immediately. With a good call-to-action within the message, you might be able to trigger an instant visit to your business’s page!
Handle inquiries 24/7: Automation means you can provide answers to common questions even when you’re not available, ensuring customers get the information they need it when they need it.
Nurture your lead and build a relationship over time
Sales is rarely a one-and-done transaction. For many businesses, it’s about nurturing leads and building long-term relationships that eventually lead to returning customers. Automated conversations allow you to keep the dialogue open, even if the customer isn’t ready to buy immediately (as they usually aren’t). Here are a few SMS examples for a local business to send to a customer:
Welcome messages: When a new customer subscribes to your service or signs up for your newsletter, send an automated welcome SMS. This is a good way to start the relationship with a positive vibe. A message like this will immediately separate your business from a competitor!
Provide value over time: Automation allows you to send educational content, helpful tips, or product updates that keep your customers engaged and interested in what you have to offer. You can choose the pace of how often messages are being sent so that your dear customers don’t feel like they’re being spammed.
Drip campaigns: Set up a series of automated SMS messages that are spaced out over time to guide your customers through the sales funnel. For example, if you run a gym, you might use an automated SMS campaign to send new members tips on nutrition, workout routines, or how to get the most out of their membership. By delivering consistent value, you build trust and make them more likely to purchase additional services from you!
You’re not available right now? Reply anyways!
One of the biggest obstacles to closing a sale is response time. Customers today expect instant answers to their questions, and if they don’t get a response quickly, they may move on to someone else. Automating your conversations ensures that customer inquiries are handled immediately, even when you’re not available. Whether it’s a question about pricing, product availability, or even your location, automation can provide the answers quickly and accurately. This is why your response time matters:
No more drop-offs: When customers need to wait too long for a response, they’re likely to abandon their purchase. The attention span of humans is getting so short that there is a risk of your potential customer not even remembering you the next day! That’s why an instant response might save that sale.
Satisfied customer? Where? Helpful answers show customers that you value their time and that leads to higher satisfaction and loyalty. A satisfied customer is the happiest customer - And you want them to shop at your local business. With Solustats, you can automate SMS replies to common customer inquiries that you’ve chosen beforehand, ensuring that no question goes unanswered. You also can reply manually to inquiries that require a more complex answer. For instance, if you own a local restaurant, you could send a follow-up SMS after someone dines with you, thanking them for their visit. If they reply to you with a more specific question, like a party reservation for next month, you can craft your reply and plan it out with them.
Personalized conversations at scale
One of the biggest challenges for any growing business is maintaining the personal touch as the customer base expands. However, automation doesn’t mean sacrificing personalization. With the right tools you can automate personalized conversations at scale, giving each customer the attention they deserve without overwhelming you or your team. You can divide your customers into segments based on their preferences, buying behavior, or demographics. Then send personalized SMS messages that speak directly to their needs.
You can also leverage the data your business has gathered from previous interactions to create your automated conversations. For example, if a customer regularly buys your services, you can send them SMS messages with relevant reminders about things that they wouldn’t otherwise think of. Conversations as the ultimate sales strategy It’s easy to get lost in the sea of sales tactics and new marketing trends. But at the heart of every successful business is something as simple and timeless as a conversation.
Conclusion
Talking to your customers, understanding their needs, and building relationships through effective interactions is the best sales strategy you can utilize. It is also the easiest to teach to new team members, as they are probably having tens (if not hundreds) of conversations every single day anyway. However, as your business grows, it becomes more difficult to maintain those conversations manually...
That’s when automation is introduced. Solustats offers a solution for your local business that allows you to send those automated messages when you, as a business owner, are too busy to handle those conversations manually. Whether you’re following up on a lead, nurturing a relationship over time, or sending instant responses to missed calls and messages, automated conversations allow you to keep the conversation going and help you build lasting customer loyalty.
Your local business understands the importance of good customer service, and with a modern extra touch, you can make sure that you differentiate yourself from the competitor next door.
Ready to find out how automated conversations would work the best for your business? Try it free for the first 14 days at solustats.io
