Tips for conversational marketing this Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day presents a unique opportunity for businesses to connect with their audience on a deeper, more personal level. In the realm of marketing, conversational approaches offer a powerful means to engage customers authentically and foster meaningful relationships. 

As cupid's arrow takes aim, businesses can leverage the spirit of the season to infuse their marketing strategies with warmth, empathy, and a touch of romance. Here, we explore three essential tips for harnessing the power of conversational marketing this Valentine's Day, enabling brands to capture the hearts of their customers like never before.

Nikhil Sattur, Head of Customer Growth – India, Infobip:
Valentine’s Day means romantic dinners, roses, and chocolates, but real life doesn’t always match the fantasy. What if a customer wasn’t able to send roses due to a delivery snag? As a business, you need to be there to assist customers whenever and wherever they need it. 

In 2023, we saw a significant increase in Valentine’s Day messaging trends on our platform, with more people interacting across messaging channels. There was about a 47% increase in WhatsApp interactions, a 140% increase in mobile app messaging and an 88% increase in emails during Valentine’s Day compared to the previous year. Since customers increasingly want conversational experiences, conversational marketing is an effective approach to engaging them through direct messaging on different platforms and creating meaningful journeys.

So, how can businesses achieve it? Firstly, retailers must embrace an omnichannel approach to adapt to changing consumer expectations. It is possible by integrating various digital channels like SMS, email, messaging apps, and social media into a seamless customer engagement platform, ensuring customers feel supported at every step of their journey. 

Incorporating Valentine’s Day-themed colours or heart emojis into marketing conversations can also add an emotional appeal that will help you to create a deeper connection with the customers. Next up is personalisation. With a customer engagement solution, you can craft tailored journeys via targeted marketing initiatives, leveraging insights from customer segments, behaviours, and preferences. 

When seamlessly integrated with a customer data platform, this facilitates the automated collection of audience data, enriching your understanding and enabling the delivery of a superior and personalised customer experience. Additionally, 24/7 automated support will enable you to manage a higher volume of inquiries. 

Incorporating chatbots and implementing self-service alternatives reduces friction, enhances your contact centre performance, and ensures swift responses to customers and quicker issue resolution. In a nutshell, by implementing these tips and strategies into a broader conversational marketing campaign, businesses are poised to attract more than just fleeting interest, they are cultivating loyalty and setting the stage for repeat purchases, ultimately making customers fall in love with the brand.

Jigar Viradiya, Founder and CEO of Vastranand:
With the encompassing and captivating offerings to present their loved ones with a gesture of love and the ethnicity of a saree to give it a traditional touch, we may communicate personalized messages with our customers.  To promote Valentine’s Day, we might work together and arrange interactive sessions with the influencers. To continue the brand's indirect advertising, invite the audience to provide feedback so that they may learn more about the direct product review.

* Specific offering for Valentine's Day: Create messages exclusively for buyers that are inclusive and exciting, highlighting the opportunity to give traditional and indigenous sarees as a gesture of love and ethnicity to their loved ones, thus capturing the romantic side of the occasion.

* Collaborate with influencers to come up with Valentine's Day marketing campaigns that showcase the different ways how your product of gifting is special for their loved ones. Connect the audience with live workshops, Q&A, and interactive material to boost sales and brand visibility.

* Request direct feedback from individuals to gain insight into their tastes and views on the products. Set up these suggestions to keep refining while softly developing the brand through word-of-mouth advertising and positive reviews.

Aditya Yadav, Brand Manager Denver, HSP:
* Create engaging frameworks: Make your communication relatable and share-worthy by personalizing content, focusing on recent trends, and using language that resonates with your audience.

* Utilize multiple channels for connection: Reach out through digital marketing tools, physical gestures like cards or freebies, and warm interactions such as meetings or calls. Prioritize building relationships over immediate sales. 

* Acknowledge customer engagement: Show appreciation for customers' time, feedback, and social media content they create. Acknowledgment strengthens the bond between your brand and your audience.

Conclusion
On Valentine's Day, businesses have a prime opportunity to captivate their audience through conversational marketing. By embracing authenticity, emotional resonance, and personalization, brands can forge connections that transcend mere transactions, creating lasting bonds built on trust, understanding, and genuine care. 

In a world inundated with generic advertising messages, the power of conversation lies in its ability to humanize brands, making them relatable, empathetic, and ultimately, irresistible. So as the world celebrates love and connection, let us not forget the invaluable role that conversational marketing plays in bringing brands closer to the hearts of their customers, today and every day.