New research for iAdvize indicates that conditions are ripe for so-called ‘conversational marketing’ to drive customer engagement across multiple industries in 2018.

The term is used to describe the use of messaging apps (staffed by both real people and chatbots) by companies as a means of communicating with customers, as opposed to telephone and websites.

iAdvize analysed how different UK sectors are using conversational marketing and the kinds of response and conversion trends they are experiencing.

In terms of conversion rate, the cultural goods industry takes the lead with 27.9% of visitors supported via messaging who finalise their order, slightly ahead of general retailers (22.3%).

Websites selling cultural goods are also the ones obtaining the best satisfaction rate  at 93.9%.

However, when it comes to gross return on investment, the transportation sector reaches the highest average turnover per contact at €354.10. It seems the sales agents are within transportation are the most responsive among the sectors studied, with an average 1st response given within 26 seconds.

It’s also the transportation sector that boasts the lowest conversation closing time. After the last message of a visitor, agents end a conversation within 2 minutes and 55 seconds, iAdvize says allows them to help other new customers who need their advice. In comparison, the average closing time across all sectors is 5 minutes and 23 seconds.

Finally, it’s the food industry which is most successful in terms of handling time (AHT) with an average handling time of 7 minutes and 46 seconds.

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