Importance of Chatbots Part 2

In our previous blog post we discussed what a chatbot is and some of the benefits businesses can gain from incorporating chatbots into their omnichannel efforts, and we also touched on conversational commerce. In the second part of our chatbot discussion, we are going to delve a bit deeper into the use of chatbots in conversational commerce and customer service.  We’ll also detail how to create a tailored chatbot for your own business that will wow your customers and truly appeal to their needs.

Businesses should always be looking for ways to improve their customer service. The better your customer service, the more likely a customer will choose your company over others as they’ll be confident that any issues that arise will be taken care of promptly and personally. 

Recent studies have shown that consumers are only interested in interacting with just a few apps on their phone. In fact, “Consumers spend approximately 78% of their smartphone time using an app, and loyalty runs deep – nearly 88% of this time is spent within only 5 apps.” This is where chatbots come in, offering conversational commerce with a convenient and easy to use interface.

Chatbots offer immediate, 24/7 personal customer service that individuals are looking for because they do not work under specific hours like normal reps and can usually answer questions based on customer personalization that has been developed from purchase history and previous interactions. A well-crafted chatbot will also know when a situation is out of their hands and can transfer to a human representative to finish resolving the issue. 

Do you know what generation loves chatbots? Millennials. Do you know what generation is often the hardest for businesses to grow their conversational commerce with? Millennials. Millennials are a great audience to target with chatbots because their preferred form of communication is messaging since many dislike verbal communication or long emails. They are looking for the instant responses a chatbot provides. With a collective buying power estimated at approximately $200 billion, any business that can start up conversational commerce with a millennial with have a clear advantage over the competition. 

Chatbots are great for businesses because, thanks to artificial intelligence, they can help you build your sales and cultivate relationships with your audience. When creating a chatbot, it’s important to think about what your customers will want to gain from the experience and what solutions your bot can provide. 

This is very important to remember when designing chatbots because they offer so many unique design options and while you may feel like your chatbot needs every accessory and option available, it really comes down to what will be appealing for your customers, not you. Murray, from B2C, describes the ideal chatbot situation for businesses, “Personality is very important, but usability and functionality will determine the success of your bot.” Take the time to ask your current customers what they would like to see, from a customer service standpoint, from a chatbot. 

Once you have targeted what your audience wants from a chatbot, you can take advantage of platforms like ChattyPeople that offer a way for individuals, without any prior coding knowledge, to make a chatbot in minutes. With their innovative platform, you can set the tone and personality of your chatbot as well as specify the channels in which you want your bot to be available, such as Facebook messenger. They even make chatbots for businesses to sell directly to customers in the app and set up delivery options as well.

Once you have created your chatbot, it is important to think about the different devices your bot may be accessed on and if your bot can handle it. Test your chatbot on all the channels you think your customers might use, like mobile and desktop. Think about how you want to market your newly created chatbot, focusing on ways it can enhance your brand and improve growth.

As you develop your bot further by creating its name and personality, as well as having it interact with customers, make sure to continuously monitor the metrics to see what adjustments may be needed to make your chatbot perfect for your business.

So, what have we learned? Most importantly, that chatbots are the new, up and coming digital technology trend that will help propel businesses into the age of conversational commerce. Since these trends are currently the way of the future, start creating a chatbot for your business now so that you can reap the benefits later.  Focus on creating a functional chatbot that complements your customer service and helps your company’s personality shine through.