5 Reasons Why You Should be Using a Chatbot

Chatbots have been on the rise for a couple of years now and many businesses have already adopted this new technology. Artificial Intelligence, or AI, bots are bringing a new way for businesses to communicate with their customer base by offering assistance, with virtually zero wait time.

So What is a Chatbot and Why is it Becoming a Big Deal?

A chatbot is a program, powered by rules and machine learning, which simulates a real interaction with users via a chat interface. In other words, a chatbot is a service that can have a conversation with you, and in many cases, just like a real person.

Chatbots comprehend language, not just commands, since they use artificial intelligence. Therefore, the more conversation chatbots have with users, the more intelligent they become, and the more they can assist your customers while your staff are busy.

Let’s take a look at the top 5 benefits of chatbots, to have a better understanding of how they can contribute to your business.

1) Keeping Up with Current Trends

According to Business Insider, messaging applications had reached more users than social media networks in the first quarter of 2015. Since customers typically prefer to interact with brands via chat – because it’s easier and faster to use – businesses now have the opportunity to reach more customers via chatbots while staying trendy for their customers.

Furthermore, most chatbots have the option to integrate with your social media platforms; apps your customers are already using daily.

2) Improved Customer Service with Extensive Assistance

A survey shows that 83% of online shoppers need support during shopping or booking. Therefore, your customers may require help trying to understand which products, services, or memberships fit their needs and budget. Moreover, shoppers may not find what they are looking for or may have registration, payment, checkout and delivery questions. In all these situations, chatbots can provide assistance in real-time like a salesperson in a real store. This frees up valuable time for your employees to focus on other immediate tasks

3) Improved Customer Service with 24/7 Support

We all know customer experience is one of the most important factors for success. So, whether you are a national or a local business, having good customer service 24/7 has a positive impact on your customer satisfaction. Chatbots are available at all times of the day, every day. If you have customers calling your business or viewing your website after hours, a chatbot can start a conversation with them and help them through their buying journey, all while your staff are off work.

4) Improved Customer Service with Proactive Interaction

One issue many businesses face is that they often take a passive approach to customer interaction, meaning they only respond to customers when they are contacted. In a competitive marketplace, your brand does not have the luxury to be passive anymore. Since organizations don’t have enough manpower to constantly initiate conversation, chatbots allow you to start a conversation with each customer, regarding any issue, any time of the day. This will make your customers feel like their opinions, concerns, and questions are valued even before they express them, improving your brand perception in the long run.

5) Increased Sales and Cost Savings

According to research, companies that engage with their customers on social media were able to increase the customer spend by 20-40%. While social media is doing its job, chatbots can contribute by engaging with costumers while you’re offline.

In addition, implementing a full functioning chatbot is much cheaper than hiring employees for each task. Since chatbots are automated solutions, they allow organizations to handle many customers at once, and simultaneously. By “employing” a chatbot you will not only save on employee costs, but you will also avoid the problems caused by human errors, such as time delays. Because customers can easily access chatbots within seconds and start interaction immediately, user acquisition is associated with lower cost.

In Conclusion…

As you can see, chatbots can be a great back up for employees for relatively basic and repetitive tasks with great speed. They are also cost-effective, easy to implement, and easy to maintain and use. Therefore, chatbots are helping businesses gain the cutting edge over their competition by maintaining positive brand perception and assisting consumers through their buying journey. Don’t be the last one to the finish line!

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