Today's marketing and sales teams are under immense pressure to deliver results and continuously improve the customer experience. That's a daunting task. Not to mention the ever-increasing expectations of today's users.
New tools designed to simplify human-computer interaction have recently hit the market. Whether you view the technology as a passing fad or believe chatbots will revolutionize the way people communicate, the impact of chatbots on online experiences is real and measurable.
What are chatbots?
Chatbots are software applications that use artificial intelligence and natural language processing to understand what users actually want, via messaging apps, websites, mobile apps, or over the phone.
Chatbots are often described as one of the most advanced and promising interactions between humans and machines. At the same time, they offer companies new opportunities to improve customer engagement processes and operational efficiency by reducing typical customer service costs.
Also, users are increasingly turning to solutions that are faster, shorter, but also more interesting. In addition to entering into conversations with users, chatbots also learn about user behavior. Specifically, there is a possibility for the bot to recognize which user it is. The bot can recognize your previous customer, can know their shopping habits, their previous orders, and offer them an additional product/service. And all this through an automation system, and without staff intervention.
Insight into users' thoughts is valuable for any company. When morocco phone number data people engage with a chatbot, it provides direct insight into key words. This allows companies to focus on creating content that they know their users want.
Types of chatbots
There are different approaches and tools you can use to develop chatbots. To achieve the desired results, a combination of different forms of artificial intelligence (AI) such as natural language processing, machine learning, and semantic understanding may be the best option.
Traditional chat bots are built to collect potential users, while on the other hand we have artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots which are much more complex.
Rule-based chatbots - These chatbots follow pre-designed rules, using a decision tree.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chatbots - An AI chatbot can understand language beyond a set of pre-programmed commands and continue learning based on the input it receives.
Live Chat - These bots are primarily used by sales teams. They can also be used by customer support organizations, as live chat is a simpler option for answering questions in real time.
Advantages of using chatbots
Processing time - If you don't respond within the first five minutes of a customer contacting you, you reduce your chances of converting them into leads by 400%. So, when a customer contacts you with a query, they want their answer as soon as possible. Slow response times can be avoided with chatbots.
Improved customer service - 73% of people prefer to talk to companies via live chat, while 56% would rather send you a message than call for customer support.
Reduced effort for your team - With a chatbot, the pressure on your social engagement team is significantly reduced. Instead of spending time handling the same user queries, they can hand it over to the bot and focus only on specialized problems that the bot cannot handle.
Faster Sales Prequalification - By programming a bot to obtain information about potential customers, you can filter out specific potential customers. Your sales team can then focus only on quality customers, which in turn enables immediate sales prequalification.
Building a contact list - Chatbot can help you build a contact list and provide you with more options for sending information, news, and updates in a variety of ways, beyond email newsletters or social media updates.
The idea behind chatbots is to engage a user on the platform they already use, without having to direct them somewhere else, which is why you should add chatbot widgets to most of your communication channels, including email, Facebook, and your website.
Clearly define your goals and make a list of the functions your chatbot should perform. Then, choose a channel for interacting with users: website, mobile app, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or another platform. Choose the right software based on your needs to streamline your business.
The digital marketing agency GRM Digital is at your disposal for any additional questions. Contact us.