The lifeline of any business, particularly e-commerce, is customer service. It is of utmost importance that companies can respond right away to their customers’ questions and concerns, and this can be tricky especially if they have limited manpower or they do not operate on a round-the-clock basis. Many digital marketers keep emphasizing the importance of customer engagement, but many companies find it hard to engage their followers from a range of social media platforms. This is where chatbots come into play.
What is a chatbot?
A chatbot is essentially a computer program that is designed to have conversations with humans over the internet. Chatbots are differentiated based on how they are built – there are those that use Artificial Intelligence, or AI, as well as those that follow multiple choice scripts where a selection option leads to a certain path, and so on. These chatbots are built to enhance the user experience, offering customers more personalized service.
Multiple-choice-script-based bots are the most commonly used ones, as they are generally safer than their AI-based counterparts because they can be “controlled” to an extent because their data set is limited. This means that if you are a business owner using a chatbot, you know that while it interacts with customers on behalf of your brand, it will not say anything that is inappropriate and might be damaging to your brand. Many chatbot companies in the Seattle area are now growing and offering this special service.
Here are some ways a chatbot can help your business:
It gives your website higher user engagement
Most businesses have an online presence, whether it’s through a website or social media platforms. Operating your business online means that user expectations have changed – which means that your customers will want to get answers to their inquiries right away, regardless if it is outside the operating hours.
Chatbots provide the user with an interactive experience, letting customers feel that they are not ignored and someone is helping them resolve their issues. When done right, chatbots can provide customers with a positive experience, so you have a higher chance of retaining them.
It can be an effective sales driver
Chatbots can send users product suggestions that they can add to their carts. It can even send coupons to users that they can use for in-store purchases, or alert customers of any ongoing promotions or discounts before they check out. Chatbots can be extremely intelligent and may be your best sales “person” yet.
It gives you maximum returns at minimum cost
Chatbots are not very expensive, especially since platforms such as Facebook Messenger provide the infrastructure and APIs necessary for creating them. Additionally, with the availability of chatbot platforms and APIs, tapping into a larger user base is possible. Best of all, they are low-maintenance and do not require any labor-intensive work, since they are fully automated. Users can engage with your chatbots without human interaction from your end.
Chatbots are the cheapest and fastest way to provide your customers with an engaging experience. Get in touch with a chatbot company near the Seattle area, so businesses could learn more about how they work and how they can benefit them.
