You have most likely tried sending a message to a business\nthrough social media platform or messaging app. What you didn\u2019t expect is an\nimmediate response\u2014in an instant, you were able to receive an answer to your\nquery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In today\u2019s fast-paced world, even customer support concerns\nmust be addressed quickly; otherwise, you\u2019re putting your business in jeopardy.\nFortunately, there are ways to do this without the need to train your\nrepresentatives to type faster\u2014chatbots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chatbots is perhaps one of the most powerful weapons for\nmarketers today, leading to the prevalence of conversational marketing. As\nmarketing aims to find your target audience and communicate to them how your\nproduct or service can solve their problem, chatbots, alongside messaging apps,\nhave become essential in conversational marketing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only can they address consumer concerns swiftly, but they can also be leveraged for engagement because there are billions of possible leads. Facebook Messenger alone has 1.2 billion<\/a> monthly active users. An estimated 5 billion<\/a> monthly active users are logged into different messaging apps. That\u2019s billions of people that you can easily reach out to listen to their needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In its simplest form, a chatbot is a software or computer program that utilizes a messaging app to communicate with people. In light of businesses, it can be used to simulate human conversations through machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and natural learning processing (NLP) to provide customer support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chatbots are programmed to automatically engage with\nmessages they receive. Their responses may be processed in the same way, but\ntheir answers differ depending on specific keywords in the messages. ML\nintegration helps them adapt their responses to fit the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chatbots were reportedly have been in development as early as the 1950s, but it was only recently when it started being used heavily as a business tool. Perhaps it was driven by the rise of mobile use, with data from Google Trends<\/a> showing that the search volume around chatbots grew 19 times more as people began to realize their value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Facebook<\/a>, which owns and operates its own messaging app Messenger, also presented data relevant to chatbots, showing that: <\/p>\n\n\n\n In another survey conducted by conversational marketing platform Drift, it was found that people all over the world are using online chat on business websites to send a message, including key decision-makers and executives (making up 41%). Meanwhile, consumers expect chatbots to provide instant answers, with 75% of the respondents saying so; however, it came to a close second to online chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When choosing the right chatbot platform to build your own\nfrom scratch, here are a few factors to consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Choose a platform that can share messages between users, bots, and your other cross-functional systems, as well as share the success and failure categorization of messages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you can write your code, choose a platform that can\nsupport it. However, you can also go for one that comes with customizable\ntemplates to make things easier and faster. Make sure that updating to improve\nits features can easily be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019d want to work on a platform that supports bots for a\nwebsite, mobile apps, SMS, e-mail or social media, as well as allowing\ninteraction with corporate tools like Slack, Telegram, Skype, and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though you have an option to update your bot, you\npreferably want a platform that will allow it to grow through NLP and speech\nsupport. With these two on hand, your bot will likely have a better\nunderstanding of user intent so it can respond with relevant content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Choose a platform provider that understands your business\nnature and industry. Their experience and knowledge are useful in assessing and\nidentifying which features actually matter to facilitate better bottom lines\nfor you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since chatbot development may be quite an expensive endeavor for small businesses, it will be helpful to go with a provider that offers a free trial. ConvertoBot, for instance, offers a free demo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you think chatbots are only advantageous to large businesses because they can easily afford it, perhaps learning about its benefits can change your mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As you try to scale up, you\u2019re bound to need to be more hands-on,\nwhich also means more workers to pay. While chatbots cannot completely replace\nthe human workforce, it is an inexpensive alternative that requires one-time\ninvestment and can help you cut back on staffing expenses and even\nsignificantly reduce traffic costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Choose to integrate a customer support chatbot to answer simple customer concerns. Of course, you will still need agents to whom you can pass the complex queries. Automating this part of the process can save you time and resources\u2014employees can focus on other efforts like social listening, and you get to reduce costs or allocate it to other business activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A standard customer support call can last for minutes, with at least 7 minutes<\/a> spent on just waiting to be assigned to an agent. The wait can even be longer if the query is done through email. Chatbots are helping eliminate the delay by being a tool that doesn\u2019t need a break and is on 24\/7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Drift survey, consumers find chatbots the most useful when providing quick answers in an emergency. However, understandably, most organizations don\u2019t offer 24-hour support and won\u2019t be able to help when the office is closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With support on board, chatbots can improve customer\nsatisfaction among your customers by giving them the information they need any\ntime of the day (or night). Aside from the wait, the total length of\nconversations may be reduced by employing chatbots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, chatbots are infallible in a way that they are\ncapable of handling multiple queries and are always focused on work. They are\nnot influenced by emotions and can appropriately interact because they are\nprogrammed as such. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chatbots are great lead generation tools. In the process of\nengaging with visitors or giving user support, they can ask the website\u2019s\nvisitors why and how they ended up there to find out if they are qualified leads,\nas well as capture the visitor\u2019s contact information. Once the visitor provides\ntheir contact information, a sales representative can take it from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another way that bots can contribute to company growth is through eCommerce. They can be programmed to sell products based on the user\u2019s behavior, and even remember answers to tailor their responses. Through this, they can create an almost human-like personal interaction and service. You can also use them to send tips and offers to users who opt-in to this service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not easy to gather high-quality leads, but it\u2019s a\nnecessity, nonetheless. This is in part\nbecause potential customers and clients are not always willing to\nprovide their personal information, especially if they don\u2019t have a lot of\ndetails about the business just yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once they have everything they need and have reached out to\nyou, though, you have to be prepared, especially if they have clarifications or\nother concerns. This is where online live chat and chatbots come in. However,\nwhich one is better in lead generation, and will it work for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Live chats are available when a visitor is on your homepage, though it only works if there is a person at the other end of the line. It doesn\u2019t guarantee 24\/7 response as live chat agents will most likely clock out at the end of the workday. In addition, there is a chance for a delay if they can\u2019t immediately reply to the visitor\u2019s message because they may be addressing another visitor\u2019s concern. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chatbots, on the other hand, answer all of the challenges of\nlive chat. In terms of cost-efficiency, bots are a better option. It can also\nbe programmed to replace static forms on your site for when the visitor is\nready to convert, so it can collect the information you need to move them\nthrough the next stages of the buying process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, regardless of the chat widget you choose, both are\neffective in lead generation as long as the visitors get the content that they\nneed to make converting a lot easier. Now that you understand what chatbots are for, the advantages you can enjoy by employing them on your processes, and the factors that make it ideal for your business, it\u2019s time to get it running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many possible uses for chatbots, and you need to find out yours first so you can properly define your goal and create a use case. Talk to your teams to know what you\u2019d like to accomplish. In the case of leveraging a chatbot for lead generation, make sure to discuss the challenges your teams face when it comes to generating leads and how the program can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chatbots can be placed on any of your channels. For instance, you can host it on your homepage for visitors who already know what your business is and what your products and services are. You may even put a chatbot on your eCommerce site. You can also integrate it with your email autoresponder or CRM, and on your business\u2019 Facebook page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The bots need to be programmed accordingly. You can tailor a\nchatbot for your business and to your target audience. Be sure to take into account\nthe demographics of your users for each network. So, gather as much information\non your prospects and customers as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What kind of content would you like your visitors to see\nand engage with during their chatbot interaction? You can start with FAQs or\nquestions they are likely to ask the bot. You can find out about the frequently\nasked questions by asking your Customer\nSupport, Sales, and Marketing\nteams\u2014or those that often interact with customers\u2014about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evaluate whether or not you need new content or if your\nexisting ones are enough to support your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Give your chatbot a personality to humanize the experience, but don\u2019t forget to align it with your brand. You may also want to be transparent with the users that they will indeed be talking to a bot, though you can choose to give it a name. Make sure to tap your creative team and copywriter when starting with this process, including setting clear guidelines for a consistent bot voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A welcoming opening message and greetings can help in\nengaging users to get them to respond. A few tips to remember are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A map of your customers\u2019 journey helps determine where the\nconversation with the bot may go. There are tools available that can help you\nvisualize what the conversation journey may look like. Add all the possible\nquestions as possible replies that they can click or tap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each question should have the ideal replies that the user can choose from. Create multiple answers for every problem, so you have better chances of satisfying their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the questions you ask and the responses available to the user, you need to continue building the conversation. Make sure that each stage is satisfying the customer\u2019s needs, and know which point to bring in a customer service representative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bring personality to your bot by including emojis, images,\nor animated GIFs into the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The chatbot interaction should culminate with a CTA to move the user forward. It could be linked to a specific product page on your website, to the checkout page, or an option to share their experience with a friend on the social network. Be smart about where the CTA should lead to, as this kind of interaction could lead to high-value conversions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A chatbot conversation can turn to a complex map of messages, so test every possible interaction. This assures you that your users can find valuable information easily and will not be stuck or feel frustrated with the experience. A live preview functionality can significantly help you out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lastly, put your chatbot live and monitor its interactions,\nmaking sure that there are no leaks in the journey or users are not stuck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One-on-one conversations with your prospects are the best way to truly capture them. So many businesses have realized this potential that according to a survey by Oracle, 80%<\/a> of businesses want chatbots by 2020. This is not surprising since chatbots address one of the main concerns in business-related communications, response time, and availability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With more and more messaging apps popping up today, and\nbusinesses moving in the digital space for marketing and promotions, you will\nneed every tool in the arsenal possible to meet your goals. Build your own ConvertoBot\ntoday and put your customers\u2019 needs to heart for a better bottom line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ConvertoBot is a leading chatbot website<\/a> and social media bots platform. Set up a free account<\/a> today. Articles you may also like:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You have most likely tried sending a message to a business through social media platform or messaging app. What you didn\u2019t expect is an immediate response\u2014in an instant, you were able to receive an answer to your query. In today\u2019s fast-paced world, even customer support concerns must be addressed quickly; otherwise, you\u2019re putting your business…<\/span><\/p>\nWhat is a Chatbot?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to\nChoose the Right Chatbot Platform<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Customizable and Can Be Integrated with Your Other Systems<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Easy to Use<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Multiple Channel Support<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
NLP and Speech Support<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Industry Experience and Domain Knowledge<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Offers Free Demo or Trial<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What are the Benefits of Using Chatbots for Your Small Business?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Save Time and Money<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Provide 24\/7 Support for Improved Customer Experience (CX)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Get More Leads and Sales for Growth<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Chatbots\nand Lead Generation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Chatbots\nvs. Live Chat<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to\nUse Chatbots for Lead Generation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Define Goals and Use Case<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Choose the Platforms <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Build Your Content Strategy<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Craft the Bot\u2019s Voice and Personality<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Write an Opening Message<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Map Out Customer Journeys<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Get the Best Possible Responses<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Build Out All Conversation Trees<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Add Visual Components<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Guide Customers to Checkout Using CTAs<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Test Your Conversations<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Push Live and Monitor<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Conversations with Chatbots<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n