Chatbots are the new buzzword in the digital marketing industry. The use of chatbots can make your business stand out from the crowd and increase its customer base.
Chatbots are the technology that is most talked about in todayâs digital marketing. It is a part of the AI era and it has opened up new opportunities for businesses to interact and engage with their customers like never before.
The idea behind chatbots is not new but the technology used to create them has changed drastically over time. We have seen chatbots being used for personal assistants like Siri, Cortana and Google Assistant but the scope of chatbots is much broader than just helping you do things around your home or office.
Chatbot in Digital Marketing
With the advent of voice search and virtual assistants like Alexa, Cortana and Siri, it was only a matter of time before marketers started using this technology as well. The first step towards using chatbots in marketing was taken by Facebook Messenger when they launched bots as part of their platform in April 2016. This move by Facebook was followed by many other messaging platforms like WeChat (China), Line (Japan), WhatsApp (Facebook), Slack etc.
Look no further if youâve been trying to figure out what chatbots are, what they can do for you, and how to use them. Everything you need to know about chatbots will be covered on this article.
What is a chatbot?
Chatbots are computer programs that mimic human interaction for a variety of purposes. Examples include using chatbots to answer simple customer questions, provide information or entertainment, and perform functions such as online banking.
Chatbots can be designed to respond to a specific set of user inputs and produce a specific output. They are usually implemented through natural language processing (NLP), but increasingly use machine learning (ML) techniques also.
They are typically used in the form of question-and-answer systems, where the answers are provided by database information and rules for how to respond to specific questions. The term âchatterbotâ is sometimes also used to refer to this type of system, although its original meaning was an artificial intelligence software that conversed with human users.
While some readers might think of chatbots as simple scripts that provide canned responses to inquiries, theyâve evolved into much more than that. Chatbots can analyze data and make decisions based on it. They can even learn from past interactions with humans so theyâre able to provide more accurate answers over time.
Chatbots are also growing more intelligent thanks to natural language understanding technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). These technologies enable chatbots to understand what you mean when you ask them questions â even if you donât ask them in exactly the same way every time.
Chatbots are used for various tasks including customer service and marketing. In some cases, chatbots may be used to automate the jobs of real employees. Some companies use chatbots to engage with customers; for example, Dominoâs has developed a Facebook Messenger bot that customers can use to get information about their orders.[2] Other companies use chatbots internally for use in productivity enhancement or administrative functions.
The most common form of chatbot is an intelligent virtual agent that appears as either an app or website on your mobile device, desktop computer or other connected device. These agents tend to be built using natural language processing and machine learning technologies.[3] They can understand you when you speak to them (textual) or through your actions (non-textual).
What are the benefits of chatbots?
Chatbots offer businesses an opportunity to engage with customers in real-time, solve problems and drive sales â all without the need for human intervention. Hereâs how:
A customer service chatbot provides 24/7 customer support and can handle any type of query â from product information to help finding a store location â in seconds.
Chatbots can help you scale your business by automating your marketing efforts and reducing costs associated with hiring human resources. In fact, chatbots can reduce marketing costs by as much as 50%.
For example, if you have an ecommerce business that sells products on Facebook Messenger, then you could use a chatbot like Pillow Talk to schedule Facebook ads based on user preferences and interests. This way, you donât have to spend time manually creating ads or planning out campaigns yourself. In addition, Pillow Talk will help create custom audiences who see your ad so that you donât waste money by reaching people who arenât interested in your product or service. This makes it easier for you to reach the right audience at the right time â which means higher click.
Chatbots improve customer service, according to survey by LivePerson found that 50% of consumers would rather use a chatbot than speak with an actual person when they have a question or complaint.
Chatbots are great at handling routine queries from customers so they donât need to wait on hold or make an appointment with an agent. This frees up agents to handle more complex issues and focus on building long-term relationships with customers instead of just handling basic questions.
Chatbots reduce costs because they can eliminate the need for expensive call center agents who can charge anywhere between $8-$25 per hour depending on their skillset and location. It also eliminates the need for expensive software licenses since many chatbot platforms are free or have inexpensive monthly fees.
Chatbots are an easy way for businesses to communicate with their customers, either through text or speech. For example, if a customer has a question about your product or service, they can submit it via Facebook Messenger or another messaging app and receive an answer from your bot almost instantly. These answers can be customized based on each individualâs preferences.
One platform for all customerâs queries. While using a chatbot on a single channel can have its benefits, you will gain the most if you can integrate a chatbot so that it is connected to all of your communication channels. This utilizes the botâs effectiveness across all channels and also allows your staff to manage handoffs from the bot on a single platform.
Chatbots can also be used for marketing purposes by sending out personalized messages to users based on their behavior and preferences. For example, if someone adds something to their cart but doesnât check out right away, a chatbot could send them an offer to get them back into the buying process as soon as possible before they forget about it entirely.
Chatbots can also help you personalize your customer experience. For example, if everyone in your company uses the same chatbot to respond to customer questions, itâs likely that your customers will hear the same answers each time they ask something. That can get annoying for customers who are looking for personal attention from their favorite brands.
A good solution is to have multiple chatbots â one for each department â and let each bot respond only to queries that are relevant to its area of expertise. This way, you can ensure that every customer receives a personalized response from someone who knows exactly what he or she needs.
Chatbots have even been shown to increase productivity among employees by taking over tedious tasks like scheduling meetings or ordering supplies. They can also help employees focus on more important tasks at work by answering simple questions quickly and efficiently so they donât need to interrupt busy people with trivial requests that could easily be handled by automated systems like chatbots.
Finally, chatbots can improve customer engagement and satisfaction â which ultimately leads to increased sales â by presenting offers or coupons at key moments during conversations.
Types of chatbots
Menu Based Chatbots
This type of chatbot has a list of pre-defined responses that it can give to users. The answers are stored in a database and they are triggered when you ask specific questions.
A menu based chatbot is one of the simplest types of chatbots. It works by responding to simple commands like âyesâ or ânoâ. For example:
A customer wants to buy a product from your store. They ask for it by typing in the message âI want to buy this productâ. The chatbot replies with âOk! Please select your shipping address and payment methodâ. The customer then selects their shipping address and pays for their order using Paypal/Venmo etc.
Rule-Based Chatbots
This is similar to menu based chatbots, but they have more flexibility in their answers because they use algorithms instead of databases. They can also learn from previous conversations so they can give better answers in the future.
A rule-based chatbot works by searching through a database of rules that were created in advance by an expert bot developer using Natural Language Understanding (NLU). The NLU allows users to ask questions about specific items, categories or phrases and has been trained to respond with the correct answer.
Smart chatbot
A smart chatbot relies on artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning to learn from past interactions and adapt accordingly when new information comes in. For example, if someone asks it how long it takes to get from Los Angeles to San Francisco by air, it will be able to tell them exactly how long this trip would take based on current flight schedules and weather conditions.
They donât just read from a set of rules but understand natural language and context too. With smart bots, if you say âI love dogsâ, they will understand that you mean âI love dogsâ and not âI love doggiesâ which means something else entirely.
Hybrid chatbot
These combine both rule-based and smart bots into one product which allows users to use their own words or choose from preprogrammed one. Although they have the ability to perform some rule-based activities, they are also able to understand the meaning and context of messages in order to respond in a way that is more similar to a human.
Voicebot
A voicebot allows its user to communicate with a product or service by speaking. A voicebot can understand the spoken inquiry or request and craft an appropriate audio answer using artificial intelligence and natural language processing (NLP). You can think of a voicebot as a smart chatbot, even though they are not the same thing. Both utilize the same underlying technology and are made to recognize a customerâs query, find the appropriate response, and give it.
Voicebots are unique because they move more quickly. Voice is the most rapid mode of human communication; it is quicker than typing or using a mouse to select options from drop-down menus. As a result, voicebots have enormous potential for improving the level of customer support a business provides.
Chatbots through the marketing funnel
The main benefit of chatbots is that they can be used at any stage of the marketing funnel. They can help you with everything from generating awareness to converting leads into sales.
Here are some ways you can use chatbots:
Awareness stage: Chatbots can provide valuable information about your products and services, allowing customers to learn more about you before they make a purchase. This helps to build trust by giving potential customers an opportunity to interact with your business before committing to making a purchase decision.
Engagement stage: Chatbot technology provides an easy way for customers to receive answers to their questions, which makes it easier for them to engage with your brand. They can also be used as a virtual assistant or concierge service, providing useful information and responding to customer queries 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Consideration stage: Chatbots can be used as an interactive tool during the consideration phase of the buying cycle by helping potential buyers find products or services that suit their needs. This is particularly beneficial if you want to target users who may not be ready to buy immediately but are looking for more information about what you offer before making their final decision on whether or not theyâll purchase from your company in future.
Conversion stage: a chatbot can help answer questions about pricing and product options, schedule an appointment or make reservations, or even process payments.
Chatbots can help at every stage of the customer journey
One of the reasons chatbots are so effective is because they can help customers at every stage of the customer journey. Here are some ways that chatbots can be used:
Searching for products/ services â Chatbots make it easier for customers to find what theyâre looking for by allowing them to search for products/ services by keyword or category, helping them avoid having to wade through pages of results.
Checking prices â Customers donât always know what they want until they see it â so if theyâre not sure exactly what product or service they require at this stage, it can be useful for them to compare different options before making a decision on their purchase. Chatbots can provide this functionality by comparing products against each other and suggesting alternatives based on user input or personal preferences (e.g., size/ color).
Onboarding: Chatbots make it easier for new customers to set up their accounts and get started. They can also answer questions about how to use products or services and provide product demos.
Make it easy for them to buy. Once someone has decided that they want to make a purchase from your company, having a chatbot as part of your website makes it easy for them to complete their order without having to wait on hold or deal with an online form. A chatbot will take all of the customerâs information and then process their order.
Customer support: Chatbots can be used as virtual assistants that answer simple questions about your business or product. They can also help resolve more complex issues by connecting customers directly with human customer service representatives when necessary.
Marketing communications: Chatbots can send personalized messages based on what someone has done on your site or app, such as buying something or signing up for an account. They can also send updates about promotions and new products or services you may offer.
When customers need help with an issue or question, a chatbot can answer their questions quickly and easily so they donât have to wait on hold or call again later. This helps reduce friction in the customer experience and makes it easier for them to resolve their problem quickly and efficiently. For example, if a customer needs help finding a hotel room during peak travel season, Booking.comâs Booking Bot can search for available rooms that meet their criteria and then book them directly through the bot.
How can you use chatbots for your business?
Resolve frequently asked questions
Your customers may have many questions about your products or services that they would like answers for before making a purchase decision. Chatbots can answer those questions quickly and easily by providing a list of relevant articles about products or services that you offer. This helps customers make informed decisions about whether they want to purchase from your company or not.
Collect customer data and information
People love talking about themselves so it makes sense that businesses should take advantage of this opportunity by collecting customer data and information from them through chatbots. The AI technology can ask customers basic questions such as their names, email addresses, phone numbers and other personal details that they prefer not to share with sales representatives over the phone.
Better customer support
A chatbot can handle routine tasks such as answering simple questions about products and services, searching for information and scheduling appointments. This is especially useful when dealing with large amounts of customers on social media platforms (Facebook Messenger and Twitter).
Recommendations based on the userâs interests
Chatbots can analyze the data collected from previous conversations and recommend products or services based on the interests of each individual customer. For example, if a customer has shown interest in one type of product but hasnât bought it yet, the chatbot will suggest other similar items next time they log in or send an e-mail message.
Offer sales assistance
Chatbots can interact with customers in real time to answer questions about products, services and more. This is particularly useful for upselling or cross-selling products or services, because you can offer a range of options based on what the customer is looking for.
Prevent abandoned carts
If you have an ecommerce website, chatbots can help recover abandoned carts by asking customers if thereâs anything else they need before they check out. For example, if someone adds a product to their cart but doesnât complete the purchase, a chatbot could send an automated message asking if they want additional items added on.
Provide personalized service
Chatbots can be trained to recognize certain words or phrases so they provide personalized responses based on what your customers ask them. For example: âI need new shoes,â might prompt one response while âWhere are my sneakers?â might prompt another response entirely.
Chatbots are especially useful if you have a physical store. You can set up a bot to answer basic questions about products or their availability at different locations.
Upsell and cross-sell
A chatbot can start a discussion with a customer based on what they are looking for or the page they are on and guide them toward alternative options that might be applicable to what they had in mind.
Similar to this, the chatbot might suggest things that âgo along withâ the one the customer was seeking for by analyzing their intent. Consider these to be product suggestions that are more conversational in nature, like a dialogue with the salesperson you just met.
Make ordering easy
One of the most common uses of chatbots is making it easier for customers to order products or services. It can be as simple as having a bot that allows customers to place orders, or it can supplement live agents with basic questions like âwhat would you like?â. In some cases, it can even replace the need for an agent altogether!
Make order tracking easy
Another common use case for chatbots is tracking information about customer orders. This could include tracking when an order was placed, what items were ordered and if there have been any changes since then (such as shipping address). This data can be used to improve customer support by better anticipating their needs and making sure they get what they want when they want it â all without having to contact customer support directly!
Collect reviews and feedbacks from customers
Another great use for chatbots is collecting feedback from your customers so that you can improve your products or services in future releases or versions.
Order tracking
You can use a chatbot to offer order tracking to visitors on your website and social media accounts. Visitors will be able to ask where their order is, see if itâs been shipped and even get a message when it arrives at their home address.
Educate your customers
A chatbot can help educate your customers about products, services and more with just a few simple questions. This is especially helpful if you sell something complicated or high-end that requires more information than simply reading from a description on your website or social media account.
Lead generation
A chatbot can also be used as a lead generator by asking visitors certain questions about their needs and interests. The answers can be used for marketing purposes by adding the visitorâs information into a database for later follow-up or segmentation purposes (e.g., email campaigns).
Process return and exchange requests
Customers may want to return or exchange items they purchased from you because they changed their mind sometimes, a chatbot execute these tasks instead of customer support agents in your company.
Offer coupons
One of the most common ways that chatbots are used is to offer coupons and discounts to customers. This can help you increase sales and get new customers as well as keep your current ones happy.
Assign requests to the support team
Another great way for chatbots to be useful is to assign requests that come in through chat to the appropriate department in your company. If a customer wants help with an issue, they can ask the chatbot who will then ask them some questions about their issue so that it can be passed on to the correct department, who will then contact them directly with further information or instructions on how to proceed.
Do quizzes and contests with customers
Chatbots can also be used for fun things like quizzes or contests where customers need to answer questions correctly in order to win prizes such as cash or gift cards. This type of thing helps bring more people into your business by creating an enjoyable experience for them while also getting them excited.
Chatbots best practices
Just because chatbots are convenient doesnât mean theyâre easy to set up. Youâll need to consider how you want your chatbot to work and what kind of data youâll need to give it the best answers possible. Here are some tips for getting started:
- Know what kind of bot you want (and why)
- Determine your goals for implementing chatbot technology into your business
- Consider how much time you want to spend managing a chatbot vs doing other things like customer service or product development
- Use a conversational tone
- Use simple language and be concise
- Give them personality but keep it professional
- Provide useful information rather than selling something
- Make sure they link back to your website
Things not to do with your chatbot
Here are some of the poor practices you should not do:
Donât ignore the basics of good design. A well-designed chatbot will be easier for your customers to interact with and will help them achieve their goals faster. If it doesnât look like a human would talk, then itâs probably not going to feel like a human is talking either.
Donât use too many buttons or menus. If you need more than three actions for a transaction, then you probably need more than one button on your chatbot.
Donât make the bot too complex.
Itâs tempting to make the bot as intelligent as possible and have it answer nearly any question, but this could lead to a frustrating experience for your customers and hurt your brand. The goal of a chatbot is to get customers in and out as quickly as possible. If they canât find what they need or figure out how to use your chatbot, they will be frustrated and leave without engaging with your brand.
Donât expect people to know what ânormalâ behavior is for a chatbot.
Even if you invest time and money into creating an advanced chatbot that can handle any question thrown at it, donât expect people to know how to interact with it. A human-like interface may sound cool, but it can also lead to annoying mistakes like asking questions that are too specific or saying something inappropriate because it doesnât understand context or tone of voice well enough yet (yet).
Wrapping Up
Chatbots are one of the hottest trends in software technology right now, and theyâve got a lot of potential to revolutionize business communication. The most obvious promise is to reduce the amount of calls you have to field and your time spent managing customer relationshipsâessential for any growing business. But they can also help you attract new customers, provide services better tailored towards individual needs, and even anticipate what you customers need before they know it!
If you are a business owner, thinking about what kind of marketing strategies can help you with this and boost your ROI then opting for chatbot technology is a smart choice. First, understand the working mechanism of a bot, and after that pick a right bot development company like Digital Vidya which has rich experience in building chatbot and cognitive services.
