Over the past few years, chatbots have revolutionized digital marketing. The software has been adopted by businesses of all sizes the world over. Due to the prominence of technology and messaging apps, chatbots have given businesses a new way to efficiently communicate with their customers.
What Are Chatbots and How Do They Work?
A chatbots is a software application that’s programmed to mimic human conversation with customers online. This software can be used on a variety of messaging apps to help businesses improve their customers’ user experience. Because they’re so efficient, chatbots are very popular in the field of customer service, taking on roles previously performed by real people.
Chatbots work with natural language processing (NLP). This is the same technology that’s used by popular virtual assistants. With this technology, chatbots can instantly process the text presented to them by users. The bots use a series of algorithms to interpret and identify the specifics of each query before sending the correct response.
Why Are Chatbots A Big Deal?
For any business to be successful in the digital age you need to use technology to your advantage. Chatbot software helps to streamline day-to-day tasks which are an important part of every business.
Most importantly, a certain level of efficiency is expected in the digital world. When a customer submits a query online they expect a response in a reasonable amount of time. However, it isn’t always possible (or practical) to get to each query personally. Fortunately, chatbots are designed to support businesses in their customer relations endeavors.
Chatbots and Live Chat – The Advantages
Chatbots are a great way to maximize productivity, improve efficiency and keep your customers happy. The software can also be used to your advantage in the following ways…
- Advantages For Customers
Unlike their human counterparts, chatbots can receive and process hundreds of queries simultaneously. They are also available 24/7 which means customers don’t have to wait for an agent to become available. With the help of live-chat bots, customers can self-serve. This is done by prompting the chatbot to display the relevant information.
Chatbots can create a unique service experience for customers. Whether it’s by adding a touch of humor or magically providing answers from a data-base, chatbots can make a good impression on customers for your business.
Chatbots actively learn through every customer interaction (and the magic of machine learning). This means these bots can respond intelligently to queries with relevant answers and suggestions based on key topics and conversation history from your business’s database. So customers are never left wanting because chatbots always have an answer.
- Advantages For Businesses
Chatbots provide proactive support to your sales team by engaging with visitors to websites based on specific rules. For example, a chatbot can prompt a customer to start a conversation after they have scrolled through half of a product page.
Chatbots can filter and organize queries. This allows human agents to pick up where the chatbot left off. Chatbots can also be programmed to redirect only complex queries to human support agents. This sort of efficiency will save you a lot of time and money.
If your team’s productivity needs a boost, a chatbot can help. Sending out text reminders, newsletters and email blasts can become tedious for humans. But these repetitive tasks are crucial for customer retention and lead generation. This means they need to be done frequently and on time. Fortunately, chatbots can be used to perform these boring but vital tasks.
Chatbots are multifunctional. They can work as a form of live-chat, self-service to lessen the volume of emails and phone calls your team has to deal with. This will lighten your team’s daily workload and save you money on support staff costs.
Final Thoughts…
Chatbots can be used to create personalized support experiences in live-chat situations. Depending on your business objectives, your chatbots can be programmed to display articles from your data-base, provide product suggestions to customers and even hold their own in one-on-one live-chat conversations.
With more people preferring to communicate via online messaging, it’s not surprising that digital marketers have embraced opportunities where chatbots can provide these unique interactions.
To learn more about bots and how to apply them, completing an accredited Digital Marketing Course is an absolute must.
