AI-guided Selling for Ecommerce

Consumers are looking for a smooth, personalized online shopping experience that helps them find the right solution to what they need or want.

Additionally, they want the experience and connection you can get with an in-person sales experience without implementing pressured sales tactics.

This is where guided selling can help. AI-guided selling is the future of sales, and it can help brands connect with customers, drive conversions, and build long-lasting customer relationships.

In this guide, we’ll review what guided selling is, the underlying methodology, how it helps sales improve win rates, and much more.   

Understanding Guided Selling for Online Shopping

Guided selling brings the advantages of in-person shopping to the online experience. Just as a store salesperson would offer tailored advice, online guided selling provides personalized recommendations to help shoppers make informed decisions.

By answering specific questions about their needs, site visitors receive real-time product suggestions. This is possible because of the underlying AI tool that merges detailed product information with insights on shopper behavior. As a result, consumers get the most suitable product options when deciding what to buy.

Focusing on consumer needs

According to Salesforce’s 2020 State of the Connected Customer, 66% of customers expect brands to understand their expectations and needs. Guided selling helps meet that demand by providing a personalized experience that gives consumers options tailored to what they’re looking for. Focusing on what they want increases the chance of the customer making a purchase.

Selling on value, rather than price

The suggestions should focus on choices that provide value to the customer and best meet their expectations instead of focusing on price. This approach will help the consumer feel heard and provide them with a smoother online shopping experience. And it ensures your product isn’t seen as purely a commodity purchase.

Recommending suitable products or solutions

The goal is to suggest several options that would fit what they need based on data-driven information and reasoning. This approach can save consumers time and help them make purchasing decisions.

Additionally, it serves the role of the in-store salesperson. Instead of asking a salesperson for help, consumers can use the AI tools to get the information they need to direct them toward the best products to solve their problem.

Guided Selling Experiences for Ecommerce

Guided selling in ecommerce allows companies to provide proactive assistance to customers and a smooth online shopping experience.  This can involve incorporating short online questionnaires to help determine the right-fit products.

For ecommerce businesses, this provides a chance to stand out from competitors, increase conversions, increase the chance of shoppers becoming repeat customers, and build brand loyalty and trust.

AI-Guided Selling in Sales

Both B2B and B2C businesses can effectively incorporate guided selling.

As a business, guided selling provides your sales and marketing team with insights and clarity about your consumers and their buying journey that you may not be able to gather on your own. You can enhance your customers’ experience, provide personalization, and better understand their needs — leading to long-term customer relationships. These tools also save you time and can streamline your sales process.

For consumers, guided selling provides a smoother experience and gives them more control over the buying process, especially for complex or high-value products and services. Consumers can feel more confident in their buying decisions, which can lead to a positive customer experience. Additionally, the more customers experience guided sales, the more they will come to expect a personalized buying journey.  

But there are a few differences in how it’s used.

Guided Selling in B2B Sales

Guided selling streamlines the B2B purchasing process. Instead of leaving buyers to sift through extensive product catalogs and navigate complex website menus, guided selling optimizes your product catalog to actively steer customers towards their ideal solutions. This ensures that customers are paired with products that align perfectly with their unique requirements, eliminating guesswork and uncertainty.

Moreover, by incorporating AI tools, B2B sales teams gain real-time access to a wealth of data on their sales processes. But it’s more than just data volume. It’s about harnessing that information to identify trends and customer behaviors. This enables the provision of even more precise guided selling recommendations, ensuring buyers receive the most informed product suggestions possible.

For customers, the benefits include:

• A more streamlined customer journey
• A purchasing approach that isn’t rushed or pressured
• It bridges the gap between personalized in-person buying and in-person online experiences

Guided Selling in B2C Sales

In B2C, guided selling employs a similar needs-driven questioning method, often crafted as online surveys and quizzes to steer shoppers toward their best-fit products.

Customers enjoy using these guided selling platforms, which can strengthen their connection to your brand. This increases their chances of not only buying but also returning for future purchases. Since these tools are available 24/7, shoppers always have access to support, be it for personal shopping or last-minute gift searches.

The outcome is a surge in consumer trust, heightened customer contentment, and a reduction in product returns or refunds.

For customers, this means:

• More confidence in their purchasing decisions, ensuring that what they buy genuinely aligns with what they need or desire.
• Higher customer satisfaction and loyalty levels
• Lower levels of buyer’s remorse and lower return rates

How You Can Leverage AI for Sales

Leveraging AI can help your sales team identify prospects and close deals faster. It can streamline your sales process and increase productivity.

• Gain greater insights into your data analytics by allowing AI tools to assist with analyzing data so you can identify trends, growth, patterns, and more
• Personalize information, messages, and recommendations
• Gain access to real-time data for better decision-making and insights
• Pull information across multiple platforms and channels
• Automate aspects of the sales process to optimize the buyer’s journey and save your team time

B2B Sales and How AI-Guided Selling Addresses Them

Many B2B companies face significant competition. But when used effectively, AI-guided selling can assist your sales team with removing sales complexity, speak to highly configurable products (often with dependencies), and get in front of any legal criteria that needs to be addressed. This enables your team to anticipate objections early on, build more buyer confidence, and nurture leads throughout the purchasing process.

Scaling reach without scaling your sales team

AI provides automations that can help you scale and reach new markets faster without hiring more people or placing more demand on your team. For instance, AI tools and automations can handle routine or easy-to-address questions often experienced early in the buyer’s journey, which can free up your sales team to handle more complex situations.

Furthermore, AI can significantly reduce the burdens of data entry and processing. Platforms such as Zoovu enable seamless integration of your discovery experiences with your CRM, automating the capture of lead information and eliminating manual tasks.

Shortening the sales cycle

A goal of guided selling is to enhance and streamline the sales process. As a result, your sales team is equipped with tools and specific information to help them work more efficiently and remove tedious repetitive processes.

They also are better prepared with the right information to help engage prospects (Think having custom product visuals instead of templated spec sheets) and convert them into customers. And since the sales team is better able to provide the right information to prospects at the right time, they can close deals faster and shorten the sales cycle.

Reduce training costs

AI tools can do the heavy lifting on aspects of gathering data, analyzing information, and compiling analytics. The information also makes it easier for sales teams to complete their tasks.

For instance, you can deploy 3D product configurators to resellers, which not only helps sell more product but also reduces the training time and costs for getting them up-to-seed on new products and features. 

Enhancing lead generation and order flow

AI tools can assist with gathering and analyzing data, which can help sales teams improve their ability to identify high-value leads and help nurture prospects through the sales funnel. For instance, AI can assist with predictive analytics, provide accurate lead scoring, and assist with formulating the best strategy to engage specific prospects.

You can also AI-guided selling experiences to generate print-ready files, bill of materials, and assembly instructions. Then, send them directly to channel partners and manufacturers.

The Impact of AI on Conversational Commerce

AI is making it easier for businesses to provide a conversational commerce experience and help brands build relationships with customers. With the continued advancement of AI, brands can shift away from a one-way interaction with online shoppers to providing a two-way messaging and communication experience.

Creating Personalized and Interactive Customer Experiences

Brands can create a personalized and interactive experience using conversational AI tools.

Here are some of the ways Zoovu helps provide a smooth customer experience and increase customer satisfaction.

Automated Question Ordering

You can ask a series of qualifying questions that engage the customer and route them to the best place to get the information they need. The questions can also nudge customers further along the conversion funnel.

Instant Recommendations

Advances in AI technology have improved the ability of these tools to predict what customers may need based on past purchase history, the current exchange, and other data. As a result, these tools can provide instant personalized recommendations to further assist customers.

Since customers are not watching a spinning wheel waiting to receive their recommendations, this can lead to more purchases, improved customer satisfaction rates, and increased customer loyalty. 

Intent Based Upselling & Cross Selling

Encouraging customers to consider premium products can shift the focus from merely price to genuine value. By understanding a customer’s expressed needs, you can use their intent data to suggest items that align better with their goals — this can include presenting special offers or recommending complementary items as part of the upsell strategy.

For instance, when purchasing a camera for travel, the AI would recommend lenses that are not only compatible with the camera but are also specifically tailored for travel purposes.

Post Sale Benefits of Guided Selling

The benefits of guided selling don’t stop once the sale is complete. Here are ways guided selling can continue to help even after the sale is finalized.

Creates Consumer Satisfaction

Guided selling helps provide customers with a smooth, personalized online shopping experience, which can enhance overall customer satisfaction even post sale, since recommendations based on needs-based questions instil confidence and make them feel heard.

Reduces Returns

Since the guided selling provides suggestions tailored to the customer, they are more likely to find exactly what they need — resulting in fewer returns.

Customer Loyalty

Having a positive shopping experience can increase customer loyalty and result in repeat business.

For instance, 91% of people polled in Salesforce’s 2020 State of the Connected Customer report were more likely to buy again after a positive experience.

Analysis & Insights

AI-powered guided selling also helps you gather and analyze key data.

Most tools provide insights into WHAT was sold. A guided selling tool like Zoovu helps you understand WHY those products are sold.

Choosing an AI-Guided Selling Software

AI-guided selling software is a sales tool that can help you provide a relevant, personalized buying experience for your customers. It helps you identify customers’ needs, provide tailored recommendations, and streamline the sales process by making it easier for customers to find what they want.

Here are some things to consider when looking for the right AI-guided selling software for you.

All-In-One

You may want an all-in-one product discovery platform that integrates data cleansing and customer experiences all in one central place.

AI-based Content Enrichment

Content enrichment can be a tedious, manual process. You want to choose a software that leverages AI to reduce the amount of manual labor.

AI-based content enrichment can assist you in automatically extracting meaningful information from your data and customer exchanges. These tools can also help with sentiment analysis so you get a better understanding of how you’re connecting with your customers.

Scalability

You want to look for software that can scale and adjust to your needs as your business grows.

So, you can get the most out of your investment by putting your selling experiences directly on distribution channels and partners web properties.

Integration

The platform you choose should integrate with your existing tech stack, like your ERP and CRM. This will make it easier to get the software up and running and streamline the process for your staff.

Behavioral Insights

Your software should always understand what customers are really looking for and be able to surface that to them as well as the insights to your team in interactive dashboards and reports.

Secure and Stable

When investigating software, make sure that the data is secure, has individual roles and permissions, and that it follows rules and regulations for your area. You can often find out this information on the software’s website, the data processing agreement, or by talking with sales.

Ongoing Development

Both AI and guided selling software are evolving quickly. You want to choose a partner that is investing in the cutting edge of the AI space.

Any Language

You’ll want to use software that can accommodate your customers no matter where they live or what language they speak. For instance, Zoovu is available in multiple languages and works with many global brands.

Automated Optimization

AI-guided selling software can provide a variety of automation to help you optimize your sales process. For instance, using machine learning, Zoovu collects, analyzes and visualizes billions of interaction data and patterns.

Steps to Build Your AI-Guided Selling Experience

When starting your AI-guided selling experience, you’ll want to be clear on your goals and KPIs and evaluate your current store and website.

Once you know your goals, what you want to monitor, and areas to improve, you can start setting up your AI-guided selling experience.

Product Catalog

You need to understand your product catalog and be able to identify in clear language what products will suit different customer preferences and needs. The clearer you are on this information, the easier it will be to set up effective conversations that provide your customers with the right recommendations and information.

Questions

You’ll need to identify a comprehensive list of targeted questions and conversation flows that take into account your customers’ preferences, needs, and painpoints. You’ll want to keep questions clear and short. The questions and conversation flow should focus on moving customers forward through the buying journey.

Answers

You’ll need a database of  accurate and relevant answers that your AI assistant can provide based on the customer’s inquiries.

Having an in-depth understanding of your customers’ wants and needs is essential for both questions and answers. Also, make sure answers sound human and are consistent with your brand’s tone.

Flow

You want to set up simple and logical conversation flows that provide customers with the right information, options, and product recommendations. Ideally, keep conversations short, such as three or four questions. And make it easy for customers to select another option or go back. The goal is to guide customers through an intuitive and helpful buying experience, considering different decision paths and potential outcomes.

With Zoovu’s selling assistants,, you can let the platform design the order and optimize the flow for you.

Assistant UI Design

Make sure the UI design is easy to use and keep design and information on brand for a cohesive experience. This should create a cohesive experience across any and all devices. 

Product Recommendation Page Design

Your product recommendation page should be easy-to-understand and visually appealing that presents the AI’s recommendations and suggests the best-suited products. This helps mirror the experience of buying in person since a salesperson would help explain or illustrate why they’re recommending certain products.

Also, make sure the design is easy to engage with and is on brand.

Images

In addition, make sure to Integrate high-quality product images to enhance the customer’s understanding and showcase the offerings effectively in the AI-guided selling experience. This should provide key information at a glance.

Tips for Guided Selling Questions

Your guided selling questions will help guide customers through the selling process similar to a salesperson in a store. So you’ll need to create questions that fit your products, your customers’ needs, and that help them identify what they want so they can make an informed buying decision.

Your questions don’t contain difficult or obscure words

Keep your questions simple, clear, and easy to understand. You don’t want to confuse visitors by using words or technical jargon that they might not know. Instead, you want to focus on the problem you are solving using the simplest language possible. 

For instance, don’t ask: ‘How much PSI does your high-pressure water jet need?’ Instead, ask: ‘What will you be cleaning?’ 

Your questions are need-based

Your questions should focus on what the customers need and want since the goal is to help them find the information or solution they’re looking for. Keeping your focus on the client will help ensure your questions move them successfully through the conversations instead of getting in the weeds with extraneous information.

For instance, instead of asking, ‘What type of screen do you want?’ You can ask: What type of content will you consume?’

Your questions have an open response

Using questions that require an open response (as opposed to a yes/no or one-word answer) will give you more information and feel more like a two-way conversation.

Additionally, customers will be able to provide more clues as to what they’re looking for, which can help when providing recommendations or information.

For instance, instead of asking ‘Do you like hot weather?’ You can ask: ‘What climate do you prefer?’

When in doubt, use questions that start with Why, How, Who, What, When, Where, Who.

Everyone can understand your question

Make your questions are easy to understand and read. Otherwise, people will be more likely to stop engaging with the chatbot.

This means keeping your reading level at a 5th grade level and splitting up longer sentences.

You only ask necessary questions

Customers do not want to engage in long conversations, so keep questions focused only on what’s necessary. Delete any questions with no mapped answers. This will provide a smooth and efficient experience for customers.

You have enough questions to fill in the most important product attributes

You want to make sure you ask enough questions to be able provide sufficient recommendations. After all, it is better to recommend a customer with 10 products that match their needs than with 20 products that only match some criteria.

In order to do that, you need to ask a sufficient number of questions to gather the information you need. While the exact number of questions will vary depending on your business, a good starting point is to open your product catalog and make sure all the main attributes are mapped to questions.

Your questions have an open response

Using questions that require an open response (as opposed to a yes/no or one-word answer) will give you more information and feel more like a two-way conversation.

Additionally, customers will be able to provide more clues as to what they’re looking for, which can help when providing recommendations or information.

For instance, instead of asking ‘Do you like hot weather?’ You can ask: ‘What climate do you prefer?’

When in doubt, use questions that start with Why, How, Who, What, When, Where, Who.

Everyone can understand your question

Make your questions are easy to understand and read. Otherwise, people will be more likely to stop engaging with the chatbot.

This means keeping your reading level at a 5th grade level and splitting up longer sentences.

You only ask necessary questions

Customers do not want to engage in long conversations, so keep questions focused only on what’s necessary. Delete any questions with no mapped answers. This will provide a smooth and efficient experience for customers.

You have enough questions to fill in the most important product attributes

You want to make sure you ask enough questions to be able provide sufficient recommendations. After all, it is better to recommend a customer with 10 products that match their needs than with 20 products that only match some criteria.

In order to do that, you need to ask a sufficient number of questions to gather the information you need. While the exact number of questions will vary depending on your business, a good starting point is to open your product catalog and make sure all the main attributes are mapped to questions.

For example, it starts by gathering key need-based information, like who will use the mattress, bed size, how you sleep, and more. It makes it easy for people to get more information about questions and seamlessly guides them through the process.

The recommendation page is visually appealing, on brand, and provides an analysis so you understand why it selected the mattresses it recommended. Then, it goes on to provide recommendations for items you may need if you’re buying a mattress, like a pillow topper, pillows, and quilts.

Another example that effectively uses chatbots to guide customers to the products that fit them is Carmax.

Buying a car in person can be challenging, doing it online even more so. Yet, Carmax’s chatbot provides a clear, easy-to-use process that helps potential buyers get the information and recommendations they need to help them.

Customers can type in a message or select an option by clicking a button. This takes them to the next step efficiently. Additionally, the chatbot will include images or instructions to help ensure the reader understands how to do a step, like when asked to copy a car’s link into the chatbot to check the car’s status.

Future Trends and Innovations in AI for Sales

As AI technology grows and evolves, it will become increasingly important for businesses across industries to leverage AI innovations to help streamline the sales process.

Here are some expected future trends and innovations.

Exploring emerging technologies and their potential in sales

Intelligent search and product configurator are two emerging technologies that can have an important impact in sales.

Intelligent search is powered by AI and machine learning. It uses natural language search capabilities to help quickly return accurate answers even from unstructured content. This type of tool can be used to assist customers in finding the information they need and can help create smarter chatbots. So your customers have a better search experience.

Product configurators are helpful for complex products and purchases. But AI can help shift the exchange from technical features to a needs-based approach. With AI acting as a bridge, it can help businesses provide customers with products tailored to their specific requirements. In ecommerce, this could allow online stores to sell more complex configurable products. For instance, visual configurators let shoppers modify items so they can visualize what it will look like when it’s customized to better fit what they want. 

The Evolution of AI in Ecommerce and Its Impact on Guided Selling

As AI evolves, it will continue to play a prominent role in ecommerce, helping both businesses and their customers. Ecommerce businesses that embrace the changes will benefit by providing high-quality, personalized customer experiences that will instill customer loyalty.

As AI continues to get better at mimicking human conversations and tone, AI-guided selling tools will be able to create a natural two-way conversation, similar to an in-store experience. Additionally, advances will continue to improve on technology like customized visual search, which can make online shopping easier.

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In our digitally-driven era, guided selling software is reshaping business-customer interactions. Leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning, and diverse consumer data, conversational commerce and guided selling assistants are making online shopping experiences more personalized than ever.

However, choosing the right product discovery software is crucial. It’s essential to find a tool that aligns with business goals, integrates seamlessly with existing systems, offers customization, and provides real-time analytics.

In sum, as digital shopping experiences evolve, businesses using guided selling software astutely will lead in offering unmatched personalized customer journeys.

FAQs

How does guided selling software work?

Guided selling software uses AI technology, machine learning, consumer behavior, data, and analytics to provide consumers with a more personalized online shopping experience. Examples of automated tools that help with guided selling include chatbots, live chat, and sales engagement software. You can use data from various sources, such as prospect, transaction, website, social media, and consumer surveys.  

How can AI enhance customer experiences in sales?

AI technology and automation are enhancing customers’ experiences in sales by enabling companies to provide personalized and tailored product recommendations that meet the customer’s needs. Additionally, these tools can help improve the online shopping experience, increasing customer loyalty and satisfaction. Plus, customers will be more likely to shop again given the positive experience.

What are the key features to look for in guided selling software?

When it comes to guided selling software, you have options. To help choose the right one for you, first consider what you’re hoping to get out of the software and your goals.

You also want to look for software that integrates with your existing tech stack, offers flexibility so you can tailor it to fit your needs, streamlines the sales process, and a centralized hub. The software should also respond in real-time and provide visibility to your sales pipeline and analytics.