Chatbots are quickly becoming the new best business friends. They’re able to help you with a wide range of tasks, from responding to customer inquiries to automating routine tasks. And they’re not just for big companies anymore. Even small businesses can benefit from chatbots, as they offer an easy way to keep customers engaged and provide more personalised service. In this blog post, we will discuss what chatbots are, their benefits for your business, as well as how to implement them.
What are chatbots?
Chatbots are computer programs that can mimic human conversation. They are used to simulate a human's conversation through text or voice.
The purpose of chatbots is to make the user feel like they are talking to another person, when in reality they are just talking to a computer program. There are different types of chatbots, but they all use artificial intelligence (AI) to create a conversation. AI is a way of programming computers to make decisions and learn from experience. This makes chatbots smarter over time and allows them to have more realistic conversations with humans.
Benefits of chatbots for your business
The current trend of chatbots has businesses wondering if they need one for their company. The answer is yes, chatbots are a valuable asset for businesses of all sizes. A chatbot can help with customer service, marketing and sales, and even to save some money.
Improves customer service:
Chatbots are able to provide 24/7 customer service without the need for extra staff. They can help customers with common tasks such as finding information or placing orders. Chatbots can also help you manage your customer interactions more effectively by improving your response times.
Improves marketing & boosts sales:
Additionally, chatbots can be used to increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your website or social media pages. They can also help with lead generation, customer segmentation, and product development by interacting with customers and getting feedback. They can even come up with a personalised offer to make it easier for customers to buy by providing customised product recommendations. Chatbots can track customer behaviour and preferences, which allows your business to create targeted marketing campaigns that are more likely to succeed.
Reduces costs:
Chatbots are used to automate customer service, which can save your business money on staffing costs. This automation can free up your time so you can focus on higher-value tasks. In addition, chatbots can benefit your business by reducing its advertising spend by targeting customers with more relevant ads. This makes chatbots a valuable tool for businesses of all sizes.
Implementation: Putting chatbots into action in your business and seeing the results.
Implementation is key, and businesses need to take a strategic approach in order to see the best results. Here are a few tips for putting chatbots into action:
1. Determine your goals. What do you want your chatbot to achieve? Is it meant to improve customer satisfaction, increase sales, or reduce costs? Once you know your goals, you can design your chatbot around them.
2. Choose the right platform. Not all chatbots are created equal - some platforms are better suited for specific tasks than others. Do your research and find the platform that will work best for your business's needs.
3. Measure results. Once you've found a platform that works for your business, set up a testing plan and gather data. How many people are talking to the chatbot? Are they leaving comments? What are they saying?
4. Keep improving. Chatbots are constantly evolving. The technology is improving all the time, and so should your chatbot. The sooner you can make adjustments, the more successful your chatbot will be.
Examples of free chatbot platforms you can start using today:
HubSpot Chatbot. Hubspot offers a free chatbot that you can install on your website. The chatbot is easy to install and it allows you to have a welcome message. You can set the times when the chat will be available, and best of all, you can set an integration to your slack account so when someone starts the chat, you can be notified. Your chatbot can capture the visitor’s email if you are not available, or give them information about your business automatically on a FAQ. You can decide on which page/s the chatbot will show up. If used wisely, you can do a lot!
InstaChamp from MobileMonkey is an advanced chatbot that integrates with your Facebook messenger and your Instagram business account. You can configure it to respond to messages people leave on your posts, or to reply to your DMs directly or when a trigger word is mentioned. It is also another powerful tool you can use to boost your social media engagement. A similar tool you can use is called SocialNowa. I've been testing it recently and they are adding more and more features that I really like. For example, you can connect it to your Mailchimp account, let the chatbot ask for the user's email address and send them a free document per email. In this way, you can engage with them on social media, and grow your email list simultaneously!
Facebook Messenger is a free chatbot linked to your Facebook business page. It can be managed in your Meta Suite account. In the video below, you can see where to find it and how to edit your automated responses.
Chatbots are quickly becoming one of the most popular tools for businesses. This technology can be used to to communicate with customers in a way that is both automated and personal, which frees up time for you and your team to focus on other tasks. Chatbots are also great at gathering feedback and helping businesses improve their customer experience. A chatbot can benefit your business through improved customer service, improved marketing and boosted sales, as well as minimised costs. Correct implementation is of importance, as this will determine the success of your chatbot. When done right, chatbots can become your new business best friend!
If you want to know more or need help with how to use chatbots for your business, book a free call with me.
