Chatbots and conversational AI tools have been heralded as the next best thing in the text space since the turn of the decade, but over the last few years, their implementation has seen a steep rise in popularity, quickly becoming one of the most exciting and fresh tools for handling customers for business, no matter their size. While not all businesses can introduce bots on the scale of an organization like Facebook, which has developed chatbot services to support almost 11,000 bots, finding the perfect bot for your small business is a critical next step in customer acquisition.
What are Chatbots?
We get it- the term chatbot can seem very intimidating for someone with no experience, but we’re here to prove these little tools are actually fairly simple programs! At their core, chatbot programs are built off scripts, all aiming to mimic human conversation. In some cases, more complicated chatbots combine their scripts with artificial intelligence, empowering bots to understand more complex customer queries and questions. With the addition of AI, chatbots can operate in a manner in which they are “learning” by processing individual queries and examining past responses.
Benefits of Chatbots
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, chatbots have quickly moved to the forefront of many businesses and organizations. In all sectors, from healthcare to law to even entertainment. With both customer-facing and internal capabilities, chatbots can cater to many different businesses goals. Below are just a few examples of the ways that chatbots can help any small business.
1. Customer Service
For those with limited experience in using chatbots, the most obvious implementation for conversational AI tools is in dealing with customer service. Particularly for businesses whose main audience is millennials, a group who vastly prefer chatting in comparison to calling a customer service representative, these tools are absolutely invaluable. Scripted chatbots are capable of holding conversations for users and customers on a 24/7 basis, and for queries that strike outside the chatbot’s script, bots can directly link customers to live agents or team members. From a financial perspective, a chatbot provides a far greater return on investment than employing a full-time call center, or full-time customer service representative, and for businesses with fewer resources or limited means, a chatbot is a perfect investment.
2. Increased Customer Acquisition
While many start thinking about chatbots as a customer service solution, these bots can serve many additional functions which can dramatically increase revenue for your business while still ensuring customers are satisfied. One of these additional functions is to develop customer acquisition. There are a variety of ways bots can go about this, but one popular method is to ask customers who are already engaging with a chatbot to put down their phone number or email address. Just this simple tool can help your bot amass a large base of customers who are interested in your product and business, allowing your sales team to track them down and complete any sales, helping your business and audience base grow.
3. Streamline Payment Systems
One aspect of chatbot implementation that developers often miss is their ability to significantly improve small businesses’ payment options. For many small businesses, finding the perfect method to allow customers to complete purchases can challenging. However, a well-designed chatbot can be built to allow customers to pay directly through the chatbot, without ever leaving a dialog box, giving your customers the ultimate one-click shopping experience.
There’s no denying that chatbots are here to stay. As their usage continues to increase, many businesses are singing their praises, reporting significant increases in revenue and traffic. The important thing to remember is that while it’s not too late to get a chatbot for your small business, it’s essential to ensure you find the right bot for your business’s needs and use it effectively to build a robust relationship with your customers. For more information on the latest chatbot news, head to Discover.bot!
