In the modern digital world, where we’re always “on”, we get easily frustrated when we have to wait.
It could be waiting for a page to load, an advertisement to finish, or a customer service representative to get back to us, but the truth is that our patience often runs out – quickly. For better customer support, at least, there is a simple solution: it’s chatbots. And it’s something that you should be using NOW.
If your business or brand is thinking about using a digital chatbot, stop thinking and get the chatbot up and running already!
Why use chatbots? Below, we explain the three main reasons.
1. Robots like digital chatbots aren't replacing us, they're helping us
There is a debate over whether humans need to fear the robot revolution. For some people, it is worrying that their job may become obsolete due to advancing technology, but for most of us, robots and artificial intelligence can actually help us do our jobs better and open up new opportunities. For example, chatbots can be activated outside of business hours so that you don’t lose potential early-hour or late-night customers. This can also be helpful for expanding your business into different countries and time zones. Your chatbot can be set up in a variety of languages (more than most humans speak), so you’re likely to capture an audience that would have before been impossible.
2. Engage with customers in the right place, at the right time
It’s always nice to be greeted with a warm smile and helpful attitude – but what do you do when it’s in a virtual setting? Chatbots offer the function of engaging consumers with customized welcome messages. Determine who can see these messages, where, and when. In addition, chatbots use conditional logic to be able to best determine their next response (and you can enable quick responses that customers choose to get where they want to go faster). Your chat will also be able to direct customers to your database of previously asked questions/FAQ, also referred to as a knowledge base. If all else fails, you can program the chatbot to assign tickets to relevant team members, thus passing the problems onto the right person.
3. A digital chatbot gets your visitors to give a little more
We have all had the experience of being on the phone with customer support and having to go through dozens of questions before getting down to the important stuff. Frankly, it’s annoying, but it’s all part of the job. With chatbots, you can ask for more information in a gradual, non-persistent manner. The visitor can control their own experience and either ignore or engage with the chatbot as they like. Moreover, this handy tool is able to recognize new and returning visitors, and you can program the flow of questions based off of what they’ve previously shared. Based on the information given, your business can then qualify leads, put them into certain lists, and automize the next steps.
Extra: A customizable chat, almost like the real thing
At mbudo, we use the HubSpot platform for just about everything, including chatbots. With HubSpot, you’ll make your operation even more sophisticated and responsive by using what they call “chatflows”. There are two types to choose from: live chat and chatbots. Like its name suggests, the live chat lets visitors chat directly with your live team or customer support. If there is no one to respond, you can configure it so that a chatbot takes over during the times the team is away. Chatbots, as we’ve read, are an automated tool that can provide a variety of benefits. Although these chat functions don’t offer the exact same level of service that a real human can, they come pretty close.
Whether we like it or not, chatbots and artificial intelligence are part of the present, the NOW…not the far-away future. Big businesses and brands are already successfully using chatbots (these chatbot success stories are proof), and you should too.
Chatbots aren’t just the customer service reps of the future, they’re the voice of your brand, the face first seen on your company website or social media channels, the problem-solver for all those pesky questions. They can have an immense impact on who chooses to stay on your site and who leaves after not being able to find what they’re looking for.
If you don’t start using tools like a digital chatbot, your customers will take notice and it could affect your growth and even the viability of your company itself. If we learn to use technology like chatbots to our advantage, seeing that the positives outweigh the negatives, we will find that there are endless opportunities for growth.
Get in touch with mbudo if you want to see how we can help you develop your chatbot strategy.
Mary Swick
Mary is a professional copywriter with over 10 years of experience in Marketing and Advertising. As an American expat in Madrid, she enjoys the relaxed Spanish culture, hiking, and the latest shows from Netflix and HBO. Mary also loves cats and music (she's the office DJ!)