As a business owner, it is prudent to operate in a way that is aligned with the prevailing business climate. One such way to do this is to consistently upgrade the technology you use in your product life cycle and the use of Chatbots is a worthy avenue to pursue. They are not a new technology but their popularity has increased because of the results they have yielded.
Let’s take the Publix weekly ad as our case study. Say you want to order a ready-made meal under $10. You have a number of options; the chicken tender whole sub for $6.99, or simply fresh salads at $7 for two, among others. You have to browse through all the pages to see if there’s anything else within your range and that may take a while. A chatbot becomes handy because it can be programmed to ask you all the relevant questions and offer you the best option in a few seconds.
There are a number of benefits to using chatbots and we will give you some of them below.
1. Instant Customer Service
Chatbots are available 24/7/365, therefore queries or questions raised by your customers are immediately attended to. They are not subject to human emotion as well, hence where an agent or the customer may lose their patience, the chatbot is consistent in how it works. The chatbot being always online also means that your customer will not experience any delays, leading to their increased satisfaction. Considering that the chatbot is limited in the detail it gives, it can pass on information to agents to further handle a query for the customer. How much communication it gives is dependent on how you have programmed it.
2. Data Collection for Marketing
A chatbot can be set up in such a way as to collect customer information while they are being assisted. This way, you can make up mailing lists for potential customers and have a higher chance of making a connection with them. The chatbot is able to pull up customer purchase or browsing history on your website or app. This allows it to make product suggestions that are suited to the customer’s interests. This process will also make it easier when sending the customer marketing information via email as it will be based on their interests only, removing the irritation of receiving irrelevant mail.
3. They Can Help Reduce Operational Costs
The use of chatbots can reduce the costs associated with hiring customer service agents that will be available 24/7/365 and training them. Chatbots can be the first place of contact for the customer.
Research has shown that a lot of queries received from customers are general and can well be handled by chatbot software instead of human service agents. The more complex issues can then be directed to agents.
4. They Meet Customer Expectations
A properly designed chatbot with the right language and appropriate responses will deliver exceptional customer service. Customers want to be assisted immediately with as little fuss as possible, and the chatbot can deliver on this mandate. Purchases can also be finalized on the chatbot, reducing the need to leave the chat and go back to another page on the website. Streamlining this process means it works faster, leading to better customer satisfaction.
There are many other benefits to using chatbots; you will need to make it as relatable as possible. Tailor it to your market and ensure it uses the language your customers will understand.