Why Businesses Should Be Using Chatbots

Efficiency needs to be a top priority if you want your business to be successful. Your digital marketing efforts need to be on point, as does the day-to-day tasks which are an essential component of every business. Most importantly, your customers expect a certain level of efficiency. This is especially true in the digital space. When a customer sends your business a query online they expect a response in a reasonable amount of time.

But if you’re receiving hundreds of queries a day via various digital platforms, it isn’t always possible (or practical) to get to each query personally. Fortunately, with the help of chatbots, this impossible task has become very doable.

What Exactly Is A Chatbot?

A chatbot is a software application that’s programmed to mimic human conversation with customers online. These bots are used on a multitude of digital platforms (like social media) to help brands improve their efficiency and overall user experience. Due to their efficiency, chatbots are very popular in the field of customer service, taking on roles previously performed by real people.

How Do Chatbots Work?

Chatbots work with natural language processing (NLP). This is the same technology that’s used by popular virtual assistants like Siri (Apple), Alexa (Amazon) and Cortana (Microsoft). With this technology, chatbots can instantly process the text presented to them by users. The bots use a series of algorithms to interpret and identify the specifics of each query before sending an appropriate response.

There are three types of chatbots:

• Rule-based Chatbots
• Intellectually Independent Chatbots
• AI- Powered Chatbots

How Using Chatbots Can Benefit Your Business

Chatbots are used to support businesses by improving efficiency with regard to customer relations. By adopting this technology businesses can benefit in the following ways…

• Boost Operations

Unlike real people, chatbots have no limitations. While a customer service employee might be able to handle up to four conversations at a time, a chatbot can function without any limits. By adding chatbots to your human team your business will be able to connect with more customers and even generate more leads.

• Money Saving

As a business owner you have a lot of costs to consider, like overheads, employee salaries and more. As your business grows the expenses add up considerably. Fortunately, chatbots are a one-time investment that will save you money in the long term. By incorporating a customer support chatbot into your digital strategy you can screen and solve simple customer queries automatically. Chatbots can be programmed to redirect only complex queries to human support agents. This will save you time and money without missing a beat.

• 24 Hour Availability

Chatbots are essentially robots – it’s right there in the name. This means they don’t need time off and never get tired. Chatbots can are able to answer customer queries 24 hours a day, even on weekends and holidays. This will boost customer satisfaction and help increase your brand authority in your industry.

• Operate On Multiple Platforms

Chatbots can be a great help if you’re actively marketing content on a multitude of digital channels at once. Chatbots can simplify and streamline your interaction with customers cross all your digital platforms. And customers love instant interaction and feedback. So with the efficiency of chatbots responses, the happier your customers will be.

• Automate Repetitive Tasks

No one likes doing the same work over and over again, especially in a short period of time. Chatbots can help you automate tasks which need to be done frequently and on time. Not only is it an excellent way for businesses to be efficient; it also gives customers a better users experience.

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of advantages to incorporating chatbot technology into your business. Since chatbots are always working your business has the potential to grow even on your day off. And thanks to the constant advances in technology chatbots are getting smarter by the day which makes them easier to use. It also means they can take on more of the heavy workload. It’s safe to say that chatbots are more than just a passing trend so try it out and enjoy the all the amazing benefits.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

Want to learn more about Chatbots? Check out the Digital School of Marketing’s Social Media Marketing Course for more information