Chatbots have been into existence for many years now; however, not many business owners are aware of the same and the benefits they can provide. In fact, it is also believed that chatbots have the potential to replace websites and mobile applications. For something that has so much hype, it is about time that you knew what chatbots are all about.
First, what is a chatbot?
A chatbot is basically a software application, or service, that makes use of natural language processing and artificial intelligence to interact with people through a chat interface to understand what they want. To understand better, here is a quick example:
Let’s say you are looking to purchase a specific style of dress from your favorite online store; usually, you would go through the many offerings they have to find the one, and then complete your purchase. But, if the store has a chatbot in place, you could simply tell it what you want and the product will be displayed in front of you. That’s how simple it is, and it works exactly like what you would experience when you visit a retail store.
Top Benefits of Using Chatbots
Constantly improving customer experience is one of the main responsibilities of all sales and marketing teams. This is a huge challenge and the teams are expected to deliver consistent results. Ever since their introduction, chatbots have done an excellent job helping marketing teams achieve desired results.
✓ 24/7 Availability
When you run a business, your customers naturally expect you to offer round the clock service, to answer any question they might have and clarify doubts. But, offering 24*7 customer support is very difficult when you have people working as customer service agents, and this leads to keeping your customers waiting for a long time, which turns out to be a frustrating experience for them.
When you use chatbots, you can rest assured that your customers will be attended to any time of the day, since the bots never get tired and will get the job done for you on a consistent basis.
✓ Save Money
When you have employees assigned to take care of different jobs for your business, you will pay them for their work, which makes a part of your business expenses; and these expenses are only going to increase as your business grows. With chatbots, however, though you will have to spend a few thousand dollars initially, it would be a one-time investment, and you will be able to cut down on the former mentioned expenses.
✓ Multiple Applications
If you think chatbots are just for product-related support, you are in for a huge surprise! They can be used for a myriad of other applications as well. They can be used as a travel concierge, helping people plan the itinerary for their travel; in banking, to provide 24*7 customer support and perform easy online transactions; for learning different languages; and in eCommerce for a variety of uses.
Importance of Chatbots
What’s the big deal about chatbots? Why are they gaining so much limelight? To answer these questions, you should first learn about the many limitations of conventional online experiences. Some of the major limitations are:
Difficulty in finding services.
Poor and hard-to-navigate mobile apps.
Poorly designed websites.
Difficult to find key business details.
Hard to navigate websites.
Chatbots can help:
Get answers promptly when its urgent.
Get detailed explanations for queries.
Get issues resolved quickly and efficiently.
Get ideas for making a purchase.
Find products or services easily.
Find a human customer service agent to talk to.
With so much to offer, chatbots are definitely a surefire way to increase a business’ customer base, because people are known to spend more time on messaging apps than even on social media.
Therefore, if you are looking to take your existing business online or start one online, understanding that chatbots is most likely to be the future and something people want is crucial, because this is one business opportunity you do not want to miss.
