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Moving from a physical location to an online storefront is usually not an easy process, nor is it easy for small businesses that are already online to continue generating leads and increasing sales during difficult times.
Fortunately, Facebook has the answers when it comes to improving customer experiences, managing catalogs, providing assistance for specific inquiries, and many other facets of small business management online.
By using tools like Facebook Shops and Facebook Messenger together, companies can boost their sales, increase awareness, and improve their interactions with customers across several shopping platforms, namely Instagram, Facebook, and Shopify.
Learning how to integrate these two Facebook business management tools can be a new challenge, but there are undeniable rewards for business owners who learn how to make the most of both tools.
Facebook Shops and Facebook Messenger
Recently, Facebook launched a brand-new tool designed to help small business owners move their stores to online platforms in order to keep companies running in spite of the pandemic. Facebook Shops is meant to integrate online storefront features on Facebook and Instagram with Shopify checkouts and shopkeeping tools. With this free tool, business owners can better organize their inventory and sales.
Along with the Facebook Shops tool, business owners can utilize Facebook Messenger to help generate even more customer traffic and sales. Using both tools together can benefit small businesses in a number of ways.
Consult with Customers Through Messenger
Facebook Messenger can serve many customer service functions, allowing users to reach out to their favorite brands through the Messenger app itself, WhatsApp, or Instagram Direct. Much like customers would do in physical stores, they can contact a customer service professional to ask questions, get support, track their orders, and a variety of other inquiries.
During these customer service interactions, support specialists can direct buyers to their Facebook stores, help them choose specific products, and if needed, walk them through the new, simple checkout feature when they’ve located what they want.
Despite the fact that these interactions are taking place online, they’re now able to be just as useful as in-person inquiries.
Linking Ads to Your Facebook Shops
If business owners already have Messenger chatbots working to support their customers, there is an added benefit to using Facebook Shops. While handling customer service inquiries, Messenger bots can also post ads that link customers to their Facebook Shops. The same ads can be posted throughout Facebook, on business pages, and on personal pages to generate leads.
The two tools can also be paired so that they are able to support one another. For example, Messenger bots can post ads that link to the shops, and the Facebook Shop front can make it easy for customers to locate and contact customer support through Messenger.
Implementing Chatbots
Chatbots are highly valuable in the world of small business, and when companies move their stores online, a chatbot can be a great benefit. Once business owners set up a Facebook store, a chatbot can field most of the customer service inquiries that come through. By doing so, these bots can not only answer questions and provide support, but they can also help customers reach a company’s Facebook Shop, browse, and complete their checkout all on one single platform.
Encouraging Interaction
While selling products on Facebook is typically the main goal of a small business when they start using Facebook Shops, there are additional benefits to becoming familiar with this new tool. Rather than simply focusing on generating new leads and making sales, companies can take new steps toward getting to know their customers and adding some fun to the shopping experience.
By adding quizzes and questionnaires to your Facebook Messenger chatbots, you can allow customers to learn more about their own unique needs and personalities. Once results have been generated, Facebook Messenger can link to a specific product on Facebook Shops that fits the customer’s preference. It’s an easy way to encourage your customers to spend time at your shop, take the steps needed to invest in the right products, and have a rewarding shopping experience.
As time passes, Facebook strives to make online setup easier and more rewarding for small business owners. By pairing Facebook Shops with Facebook Messenger, companies can do more to increase the number of leads they convert, the degree of customer satisfaction, and the overall shopping and buying method that has been improved to make shopping online quick and convenient.
If you’re a small business professional and you’d like to take full advantage of the benefits presented by Facebook’s tools, Automated Dreams is here to help.
