What is a ChatBot and Why Should You Care?

In an article last year, The Guardian declared that Chatbots, computer programs that mimic conversation with people, “can transform the way you interact with the internet, from a series of self-initiated tasks to a quasi-conversation”.

Chatbots have been around for a while, but they’ve come of age and are a lot more accessible and usable by business owners like you and I these days.

Today, some Chatbots are so good (with very clever Artificial Intelligence) that its hard to tell the difference between that and a real chat with a Human!

Chatbots can be used to do all sorts of things for your business. From qualification and engagement of prospects on your website, customer service, to customer interaction, to marketing campaigns. One of the reasons Chatbots are rising in popularity is that Facebook recently allowed branded chatbots onto its Messenger app – which opens up all sorts of easy to build opportunities for small businesses.

So how can Chatbots benefit your business? Here are just a few ways…

Lead-nurturing

Chatbots can collect information about a prospect on your website or campaign landing page, you can create custom messages that guide them along your “funnel”. This leads to better qualification of leads, and higher conversion rates. You can “throw” a prospect straight into a conversation in Facebook Messenger from a link on your website (Try it for yourself… visit www.looktouchfeel.co.uk and look for the “Let’s Talk” pop-up, top right).

Customer Service

Some of us are impatient. We are getting used to being able to do everything online / via our mobile – ordering food, banking, shopping etc. We don't want to sit on a phone waiting to speak to someone who reads a script!!

This is where chatbots can come in handy. Instead of having to call and wait on the phone to ask a quick question, you can message a chatbot and get your answer straight away! This option will lower the stress of dealing with customer service and increase customer satisfaction!

Continued Engagement

Maintain a presence on Messenger via a chatbot to keep in touch with your clients and prospects.

Adweek's Tomanchek wrote early last year:

“Messaging apps are used almost nine times a day, five times the average for all mobile apps,” the site said. “A month after installation, messaging apps have nearly double the retention rate of the average for all apps, 68 percent versus 38 percent.”

By having a presence on a messenger app via a chatbot (i.e. A Facebook Messenger Chatbot), you can continue to engage with those that have come into contact with your business.

If you’d like to talk about how Chatbots and other Automation can rocket power your business, either get in touch via our website (and try out the Chatbot of course), through this direct link, email me, or give me a call on 01327 828 443.