Chatbots are now the in thing in enterprise all across the globe. They have totally taken the business world by storm. Essentially, chatbots are aptly named after their function as chatting robots. In the past, gathering different customer data on, for example, product feedback or determining the preferences of a certain market for a product, was expensive and very limiting to itself. It was hard work, as well as being time-consuming.
Today, companies are able to reach out and make themselves available for customer queries and feedback, without having to employ more and spend more. Chatbots are a product of Artificial Intelligence (AI), implemented in messaging apps or platforms like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp; they help improve the overall customer experience through intelligent and efficient communication.
Chatbots can be implemented anywhere you have an online presence. However, messaging apps are the best platforms to use for your chatbot, if you want to get the most out of it. In 2015, a study showed that messaging apps have overtaken social media sites in numbers of users.
Gone are the days when messaging apps were merely applications for communication. Today, people are not just able to connect with their friends and family, they are also able to connect with different brands (from any part of the world), as well as all the other content they can access with these apps. If you want more out of your chatbot, messaging apps are the way to go.
These days chatbots play an important role in enterprise. However, few people know that chatbots have been around for a long time—they just weren’t making a significant impact on our lives. We met their earlier occurrences in those automated prompts guiding us through the seemingly endless customer service hotlines, or the those faux accounts spamming around AOL Instant Messenger.
These days, the intelligence of some chatbots is such that it is difficult to distinguish them from human customer service representatives.
A primary and very popular reason companies are seeking out their own chatbots is for customer service. Many businesses understand the importance of having a forum where customers can raise their concerns and provide feedback, or communicate other easily resolvable problems. This line of communication, although important, is limited to catering for existing customers.
To utilize it for marketing purposes, you have to move it up to your sales funnel, or the process that potential customers go through during purchase decision-making.
To use chatbots as a marketing tool rather than just a customer service tool, you only need to move the game up a notch. Here are three ways you can do just that:
Social media messaging apps
Wherever you are making an online presence, your chatbot can live. You do not want your chatbots to just exist though. You want its environment to be thriving as well. Placing a chatbot in your website is good, but deploying it in popular messaging apps like Facebook Messenger will give you an edge in the game.
Humanizing bots
Chatbots are by definition not human, so never make the mistake of making them come off as humans. You won’t be fooling anyone and it may even cause people to doubt your product or your company’s credibility, and, well, earn a bashing from people on social media. However, this does not mean your chatbots should retain the personality of robots all the time.
Giving your chatbot a “touch of humanity”, such as a sassy personality (for example), or any personality that reflects your brand or company, will create a sense of authenticity that makes a mark on anyone interacting with your chatbot. Furthermore, this not only gains you the approval of your existing market, but attracts the attention of prospective customers as well.
Remember that authentic content and personalized experience encourage people to engage. When chatbots are able to offer these to your market, you will gain the appreciation and trust of the consumers. This will have a substantial impact on your goal to attract more customers. And nothing beats a good word from a satisfied customer after all!
Make the most of it
Communication is the best and most effective way of getting key insights and analytics. And the preferred and best way to do this is through messaging. There is actually a lot of knowledge to be gained about your market in every interaction a person has with your chatbot. Extract all the available data from every interaction to know your market better, and you can improve your brand or products to increase satisfaction and gain more customers.
Research has shown that Australians are happy to interact with chatbots to get things done and their concerns addressed to. Chatbots actually provide leverage in many aspects of marketing when programmed and implemented the right way. You need to understand that chatbots should be treated as an extension of your brand, and whatever character or personality it presents to the market, it will reflect on you or your company.
Gemma Reeves is a seasoned writer who enjoys producing helpful articles and interesting stories. She has worked with several clients across different industries such as advertising, online marketing, technology, healthcare, family matters, and more. She is also an aspiring entrepreneur engaged in assisting other aspiring entrepreneurs in finding the best office space for their business.
Check out her company here: FindMyWorkspace
