Want a website that your potential customers can talk to? Consider chatbots.
Computer programs that have actual, real-time conversations with customers via messengers on social media or your website are called chatbots. Chatbots are chat interfaces that business owners and digital marketing firms utilize with their web design to converse with users and work well with almost every popular message application.
Chatbots can take on distinct personalities, and they understand written and spoken text while interpreting the meaning. When interacting, chatbots look up the information that the users are searching for, and then they deliver it. Many modern smartphone apps use chatbots to function and communicate.
Different Types of Chatbots
Businesses can use this form of artificial intelligence to amp up customer service efforts considerably. Before jumping headfirst into chatbots, it’s essential to know the three main types of chatbot technology.
Command-Based Chatbots
Command-based chatbots rely on a programmed database of replies and inquiries. This type of chatbot will reply by selecting an answer that matches the query of the user. Command-based chatbots do not have the capacity to create new or original text.
Instead, command-based chatbots can:
● Answer a limited set of questions; manual help is likely needed for atypical questions
● Cannot perform functions outside its pre-programmed code
● The chatbot cannot answer a question that it doesn’t understand but will employ a dynamic search to answer questions
AI-Based or Machine Learning Chatbots
Chatbots rooted in artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning chatbots can answer obscure questions. Your clients and website users will not have to be specific when interacting with an AI-Based chatbot.
These chatbots will create replies all on their own using the natural progression of language and processing. Over time, AI chatbots gain intelligence, learning to reply based on past questions, and given answers.
Message Chatbots
These chatbots are programs or apps that use message-based communication channels. Most often, the browser will engage with the chatbot on the site and the messages are relayed to a specific individual through an app that the site owner downloads on their smartphone.
Communication takes place in the same manner as someone directly texting the website owner.
What Type of Chatbot Should You Choose?
Each category of chatbots has its pros and cons. Command based chatbots can respond reliably and in a grammatically correct manner. However, they’ll be unable to respond to questions outside of their programmed base of knowledge.
Machine learning chatbots (AI-Based) require a considerable amount of learning data and struggle with the formation of long sentences. It’s up to you and your digital marketing team to decide the best chatbot for your business.
Message chatbots require a live person to attend to the browser chats which defeats the purpose of having interactivity 24/7.
The Benefits of Having a Chatbot
Many businesses, ranging from small and mid-sized to large corporations, use chatbots to communicate with users. Without question, chatbots are definitely popular among smaller companies because they assist with customer service response time.
With a chatbot, customers know that their inquiry has been received. A chatbot makes them feel seen immediately, and they can rest easy knowing that you’ll be attending to their request as soon as possible.
Chatbots for Specialized Tasks
There are many tasks that chatbots can perform quickly and efficiently when compared to a human response. Simple tasks, such as checking the weather, calling a cab, or managing dinner, run very smoothly when handled by chatbots. Businesses can use chatbots to order and manage inventory. The options are endless.
Better Service
The world is morning toward a mobile future, and mobile phone internet searches are on the rise, outnumbering laptop and PC users considerably. Employing chatbots in mobile apps helps to create an incredibly streamlined app interface. When you implement chatbots, your app or website user can compare, browse, buy, and receive support all in one place.
Scale Up Operations
Chatbots don’t have the same limitations that human agents exhibit when handling live customer service conversations. There is no limit to what they can take at once, and they operate without an upper limit. When chatbots are available to complement your human customer service or tech team, your business gets the boost it needs, especially if you regularly receive many customer queries.
You Sell Similar Products and Services
If you have a product range where your inventory is made up of pieces that are similar to one another, your prospective clients might need assistance in selecting the right product. Not to mention, customers typically seek out advice when buying expensive items, such as cameras and smartphones. Chatbots can help your customers find the direction they need without taking up precious employee time.
Actively Marketing Content
It’s standard for digital marketing agencies to have clients employ a chatbot when there’s an active SEO marketing campaign running across multiple channels. If you have a chatbot in place, you can answer ad inquiries without making consumers wait to hear from you, which is likely to drive your conversion rate.
Chatbot Cons
There are a few cons to using chatbots to reply to customers instead of a human being. It’s vital to remember that a computer will never replace a personalized experience, so if you build your business on that premise, any use of a chatbot should be sparing.
Limited Responses
After hours and when your human agents are busy, your chatbot will take over, and they will do so with limited responses, no matter which type of bot you choose to employ. Chatbots will hand out faster customer service responses overall. Still, they won’t always have the answer and might leave a client or two feeling frustrated at the lack of instant human interaction.
Unable to Improvise
Humans can improvise and use tone to turn potentially negative customer interactions into a positive experience on both ends. Chatbots cannot roll with the punches in this way, and if things don’t go well and your human team is busy, you could very well lose a client.
In some situations, the customer should wait for a live agent. They’ll have time to calm down, and people can show empathy where robots cannot.
They Won’t Work for Everyone
Not all businesses can use chatbots successfully. In fact, there are plenty of mid-market companies that feel they have enough employees to answer client inquiries without the help of a chatbot. There is a fine line between the need for a chatbot and the proper delegation of tasks.
Factors to Consider Before Implementing a Chatbot
Before you move forward with a chatbot, make sure you take the time to consider what type of chatbot you need and whether your company will benefit or if you’ll be adding a level of unnecessary confusion.
Chatbots can take on a significant workload in the right business setting, but there’s no point in employing one if you don’t have a use for it. If you choose to move forward, ensure that your chatbot has the right tone, and make it available across every channel necessary.
Your chatbot is working to represent your business, so it’s up to you and your developer to align it with your needs. If you can comfortably move forward knowing that your chatbot is putting it’s best robotic foot forward for you, then, by all means, move forward!
Establish Your Chatbot with Make It Loud
Make It Loud is a digital marketing firm that has been servicing our clients for more than 15 years, and we’re ready and waiting to answer any questions that you have regarding chatbots and how they work. Our success is only apparent when we grow our clients’ online presence, helping them succeed on many digital channels across the web.
If you’re ready to take your business to the chatbot level, give us a call today!
