A guest post by Cam Sivesind is the Senior Content Writer for LeadsRx, a multi-touch attribution platform that helps enterprise marketers improve return on ad spend (ROAS). Cam knows a lot about chatbots.
The chatbot software brings a lot to companies to enhance their customer relations. These virtual and conversational assistants have become in the world of technology, tools that many people rely on to save time. Younger consumers who grew up with technology often prefer to chat with bots instead of hopping on a call, so it is worth exploring this ever-improving technology.
Thinking about investing in a chatbot?
Here are the main advantages and disadvantages of chatbot software:
The Advantages of Chatbots
1. Automated customer service
Chatbots are primarily used to answer user questions or help them find specific information. If the customer is faced with a more complex problem that the chatbot cannot solve, then the chatbot will direct them to the appropriate service.
Chatbots can also be used to greet customers. Through a series of questions, they direct them to the information available online (FAQ) or immediately to the appropriate service to handle their request.
In this way, chatbots take on secondary tasks and allow your employees to have more time available to focus on generating new customer leads.
2. A 24/7 response
Clients who ask a question via live chat expect an immediate response. It is what a chatbot offers precisely – no queues and instant response day or night. You meet the expectations of prospective clients as quickly as possible.
3. Optimized sales
Your customers can order your products directly through your chatbot. They no longer have to call you or search your website for long. All they have to do is ask what they want, and the chatbot will find it for them. Thus, the sales process is simplified and faster, and the customer experience is greatly improved.
In addition, the chatbot can also suggest other products that may be of interest to your customers or prospects and thus generate additional sales that otherwise would not have happened.
4. It can influence purchasing decisions
You can turn your chatbot into a personal assistant who can interact with future customers, ask them questions to target their preferences and offer personalized advice and products. So each of your customers has their shopping assistant, without costing you more time and money.
5. Integrated payment solutions
Chatbots can directly integrate the majority of existing payment solutions, which helps to make the sales process easier and faster. Most importantly, the customer stays on your site, and they’re not redirected to another site to complete their payment.
6. It increases customer engagement
Chatbots help you improve your knowledge of customers and offer them an adapted route to provide them with a personalized offer and effective customer service. In this way, you maximize the customer’s experience with your brand and build on their satisfaction.
7. Reliability
Customer service is not an easy job. Responding to disgruntled, angry, even downright angry consumers all day long can be psychologically taxing. Stressed employees will perform less well, which can impact the satisfaction of your customers and the reputation of your company.
Unlike a human being, a chatbot has no emotions and is indifferent to pressure, does not feel stress, will not feel overwhelmed, and will never burn out. He always offers a constant, polite, and straightforward response to customers, whatever the request.
The Disadvantages of Chatbots
- Repetition
The main disadvantage of a chatbot is its repetition of the same sentence frequently and its lack of vocabulary. Chatbots do not always have the correct answers in their database.
2. Lack of Escalation
Another drawback of chatbots is the lack of an escalation protocol during installation since the finding is that most of the chatbots that the company uses require human input to optimize results. A chatbot often has limited language skills as it is unable to answer one-sided questions and personal or even contextual questions.
3. Security
Finally, it is essential to pay attention to security and respect for the user’s privacy when setting up a chatbot.
Correctly programmed and effectively integrated into the customer journey, using a chatbot can benefit your digital marketing company. Your teams can focus on tasks that offer more excellent added value, provide an immediate response around the clock, and free up time.
Many customers may prefer to talk to a bot instead of a human. To older business managers, that may surprise them – but it is part of understanding how a diverse group of customers have different communications preferences.
Get started with a basic chatbot, then develop its skills. The possibilities are limitless.
Cam Sivesind – Cam Sivesind is the Senior Content Writer for LeadsRx, a multi-touch attribution platform that helps enterprise marketers improve return on ad spend (ROAS). He takes pride in assisting organizations to use attribution, especially content attribution, to garner more out of their marketing campaigns. He has more than 30 years of journalism, writing, marketing, communications, and PR experience, working for newspapers, trade associations, and a C-level networking and idea exchange. He holds a journalism degree from the University of Oregon
Photo by Eric Krull on Unsplash
