What’s wrong with traditional marketing automation?

It focuses on sending messages, not holding conversations. Customers can’t easily respond within the same channel, making engagement feel one-sided.

Why are two-way conversations important?

They allow customers to act immediately — asking questions, confirming purchases, or resolving issues — without leaving their chat app. This improves conversion and satisfaction.

How does Bird make this possible?

By integrating channels like WhatsApp or Messenger into Bird’s Conversations API , Flows , and Inbox , businesses can manage both outbound campaigns and inbound replies in one place.

What’s an example of this in action?

A company can send a WhatsApp notification via Salesforce Marketing Cloud, let Flows handle automated replies, and seamlessly transfer complex inquiries to agents in Inbox — all within one thread.

Do agents see the full conversation?

Yes. Inbox shows every message from every channel, ensuring context isn’t lost as the conversation transitions between automation and human support.

How does this benefit customers?

They never have to switch platforms, reintroduce themselves, or repeat information — every interaction feels connected, fast, and personal.

What’s the bigger takeaway for marketers?

The future of automation isn’t about volume — it’s about connection . Turning campaigns into conversations builds stronger customer relationships and boosts long-term engagement.

市场自动化的利与弊：从单向信息到双向对话

鸟

2020年8月31日

市场营销

1 min read

关键要点

- Traditional marketing automation has limits. Tools like Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Marketo excel at one-way, scheduled messages but struggle to convert them into live, conversational interactions.
- Customers expect to reply. Modern audiences want to engage directly within the same messaging channel — not click external links or switch platforms.
- Two-way messaging drives better outcomes. By integrating Bird’s Conversations API, Flows, and Inbox, businesses can seamlessly shift from marketing to sales to support — all inside a single chat thread.
- Real-world proof. Similar conversational automation has improved experiences across industries — such as healthcare platforms that reduced costs and wait times with appointment-based messaging flows.
- Unified engagement, not fragmented tools. Bird’s omnichannel stack lets teams collaborate across multiple apps (WhatsApp, SMS, Line, etc.) without losing message context or continuity.
- From automation to conversation. Businesses can use Flows to respond to replies automatically, qualify inquiries, or route high-value conversations to live agents in Inbox.
- Customer-first continuity. End-users experience an uninterrupted thread of communication, while agents see full conversation histories across all channels for better personalization.
- Outcome: A consistent, human-feeling experience that transforms static campaigns into interactive, trust-building dialogues.

Q&A Highlights

What’s wrong with traditional marketing automation?
It focuses on sending messages, not holding conversations. Customers can’t easily respond within the same channel, making engagement feel one-sided.
Why are two-way conversations important?
They allow customers to act immediately — asking questions, confirming purchases, or resolving issues — without leaving their chat app. This improves conversion and satisfaction.
How does Bird make this possible?
By integrating channels like WhatsApp or Messenger into Bird’s Conversations API, Flows, and Inbox, businesses can manage both outbound campaigns and inbound replies in one place.
What’s an example of this in action?
A company can send a WhatsApp notification via Salesforce Marketing Cloud, let Flows handle automated replies, and seamlessly transfer complex inquiries to agents in Inbox — all within one thread.
Do agents see the full conversation?
Yes. Inbox shows every message from every channel, ensuring context isn’t lost as the conversation transitions between automation and human support.
How does this benefit customers?
They never have to switch platforms, reintroduce themselves, or repeat information — every interaction feels connected, fast, and personal.
What’s the bigger takeaway for marketers?
The future of automation isn’t about volume — it’s about connection. Turning campaigns into conversations builds stronger customer relationships and boosts long-term engagement.

营销自动化平台（如 Salesforce Marketing Cloud、Marketo 等）在大规模发送一次性电子邮件或消息给个人方面表现出色。但是，您如何能与客户推动更多的对话式互动？

好

营销自动化平台（例如 Salesforce Marketing Cloud、Marketo 等）非常擅长大规模地向个人发送一次性电子邮件或消息。

您可以构建非常复杂的旅程，这些旅程会对用户行为做出反应并在一天中的不同时间发送消息，同时有成千上万，甚至数百万用户同时经历相同的自动化旅程。

坏的

然而，市场营销自动化平台在将这些交易消息转换为企业与客户之间的双向对话方面做得并不好。

如果用户想对消息采取行动并与代表交谈怎么办？

历史上，这个问题通常通过发送一次性消息来解决，其中的行动号召是链接到另一个系统：“您订购的 Acme Toolbox 正在运输途中。要监控其状态，请点击此处或更改送货信息” 或 “新的产品详情已上线。点击此链接了解更多信息”，其中可能进行双向互动。

但这样就把行动的负担转嫁给了客户。一旦企业开始在消息应用程序（如 WhatsApp、Line、Viber、WeChat 等）上与用户沟通，用户就不想使用不同的工具来继续对话。偏好是在同一个聊天窗口内，甚至在同一对话中，从营销体验顺利过渡到购买/支持体验（看看以销售和服务为导向的聊天机器人的兴起可以证明这一点）。

然而，市场营销自动化平台在将这些交易消息转换为企业与客户之间的双向对话方面做得并不好。

如果用户想对消息采取行动并与代表交谈怎么办？

然而，市场营销自动化平台在将这些交易消息转换为企业与客户之间的双向对话方面做得并不好。

如果用户想对消息采取行动并与代表交谈怎么办？

更好

在Bird，我们花了多年时间了解客户沟通，并开发了强大的工具帮助企业创造出色的客户体验：具体而言，通过conversations API、Inbox 和 Flows。

当您在Bird上启用一个社交渠道，比如WhatsApp，整个对话将通过我们的conversations API进行。医疗保健组织在这些对话方式方面处于领先地位，DrDoctor's NHS患者体验转型演示了如何通过自动化预约流程在提高患者满意度的同时节省数百万。任何监听该对话的应用程序都可以通过接收和发送消息进行参与。

这意味着您可以在一个（内部）平台开始对话，并在另一个平台继续对话，而最终用户不会注意到转换 - 提供无缝的市场营销 - 销售 - 支持体验，全部在客户首选的通信渠道上。