Are Chatbots the Future of Marketing? The Battle of the Bots!
Put simply, Chatbots are ‘The Next Big Thing’ – the future is here! Chatbots are an obvious choice for meeting consumer demand’s for instant answers and according to a Gartner study from February 2018, 25% of customer service operations will incorporate virtual customer assistants or Chatbots by 2020. Love them or hate them, Chatbots are here to stay. While they aren’t a new business tool, the utilisation of Chatbots have certainly gained momentum in the last few years. Data from Google Trends shows over the last five years, search volume around “chatbots” grew 19x as individuals and businesses began to realise their value.
In this blog, we’ll show you how to leverage Chatbots for the incredible tool that they are and allow you to better serve your customers in ways that matter most.
If you still aren’t convinced that Chatbot’s are important, think again.
Facebook recently released a host of data proving the value of bots for business:
- 2 billion messages are sent between people and businesses monthly
- 56% of people would rather message than call customer service
- 53% of people are more likely to shop with businesses they can message
- Plus they save you time by saving countless hours by automating responses, what a bonus!
In Spicy Land, we believe it’s key to engage with customers on all channels.
One billion people now use Facebook Messenger every month and today, over 100,000 bots are being used on Facebook Messenger to collect information, make product recommendations, take orders and even to advance social good.
Our websites have come a long way from the days of ‘live chats’. These days Chatbots are intelligent and capable of completing a host of different tasks; everything from booking meetings with sales reps to encouraging prospects. When you add Chatbots to your marketing and customer service strategies, successful bots will add value and improve the user experience.
To guide you on the right path, here are a handful of tips to ensure your Chatbot experience is simple, straightforward and serves the needs of your cherished customers:
Tip 1: Augment the Human Experience–Don’t Replace It
The first rule to remember: any and all experiences should facilitate a bot/human handoff. While bots can make conversations simpler and easier, they should never totally replace the human experience. A handy tip would be to use a simple automated message on on your companies support handle before connecting your customer to a human representative.
Tip 2: Make It Clear The Experiences Are Automated
It’s important that people engaging with your brand in Direct Messages understand when they’re dealing with a Chatbot versus a human. Give your bot a unique, branded identity by giving it a name and selecting a custom avatar that helps establish clear expectations with your audience upfront.
Tip 3: Proactively Greet People With a Welcome Message
Use a welcome message to set clear expectations: Say hello, ask a question and provide instructions on how to get started. A friendly welcome message with accompanying quick replies will guide people successfully with minimal confusion.
Tip 4: Use Quick Replies to Guide People to Better Outcomes
It’s critical to define what your Chatbot can do and how it can provide help. With clear and quick reply options, you can prevent people from getting frustrated and moving on.
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Tip 5: Use Emojis When Possible, Especially in Quick Replies
Create bots that communicate with style and personality. Include fun copy and hashtags in the messages, and utilise emojis in quick reply buttons to create visual cues that complement the accompanying text.
Tip 6: Always Offer a Way to Exit the Experience
Just as people like to press #0 on the phone, include a way to reach a human or get out of a structured set of questions. Consider including a Quick Reply for “Speak to an agent” or simply a generic “Something else” option. Always provide a way to connect to a human.
Tip 7: Gather Valuable Customer Feedback
Is your Chatbot a good experience for your customers? Find out by getting automated, in-the-moment feedback through links to surveys.
Spicy Broccoli believes robots should never fully take over your social media presence. Forms of automation, such as Chatbots, when implemented carefully, are effective because they are really fast and never get tired.
Chatbots help by complementing the customer service representative— who are often juggling multiple support conversations and dealing with high volumes of inquiries across channels. The result is quicker issue resolution and happier humans on both sides of the conversation. Ultimately Chatbots are the eager helper we all need in our lives.
Desperate to start creating your own Chatbots? Let us know if you need any help!
Let’s chat! Contact us today at info@spicybroccoli.com
