With artificial intelligence (AI) getting mainstreamed, more applications of the technology are being discovered each day. AI-powered chatbots are being deployed by businesses to streamline and automate customer support functions.
While some chatbots can respond to basic user queries, the more sophisticated ones can comprehend complicated issues and carry out a natural human-like conversation. No wonder, the likes of H&M and American Express are leveraging the technology to create an unsurpassed customer experience.
In this brief post, we will discuss the major benefits of using chatbot services for your business. So, let’s begin.
1) Round-the-Clock Customer Support
While you may not run a 24*7 business, your customers can have issues even during odd hours of the day. Waiting for hours to get their issues resolved can frustrate your customers and tarnish the reputation of your business.
The key lies in implementing chatbot services-chatbots can deal with customer queries 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. They can handle multiple queries simultaneously and offer instantaneous answers without getting perplexed, exhausted or annoyed.
While it’s true that chatbots cannot completely replace your support agents, they can take some load off their shoulders by answering simple, routine queries and transferring only the complex issues to human agents.
2) Enhanced User Engagement
In order to keep users interested in your brand, it’s vital that you take steps to boost user engagement. Chatbot services can be immensely helpful here. Chatbots can not only maintain users on your website for a long time by providing them with the information they’re looking for but also recommend products and services based on their browsing and purchasing history.
They can further engage the customers by sending them to push notifications and apprising them of new, exciting offers. What’s more, chatbots can be integrated with social media marketing channels such as Facebook Messenger to create a seamless customer experience.
3) Cost-effectiveness
According to Chatbots Magazine, implementation of chatbot solutions can trim down customer service costs by around 30%.
Across the globe, businesses receive close to 265 billion service requests every year. If these businesses hire human agents and add other resources to deliver 24*7*365 support, they will need to spend a considerable amount of money.
Chatbot services can be used to respond to routine customer queries, freeing up support agents for complex issues. In some instances, chatbots can be the first point of contact in a complex query also, which can then be escalated to the appropriate support agent.
Chatbots can thus supplement the work done by humans, allowing businesses to work with fewer agents and bring down operational expenses considerably.
4) Enhanced Lead Generation
Chatbot services can supplement your lead generation efforts. Chatbots can understand the needs of your prospects and offer them relevant answers. They can also follow up on your visitors from the time they first visit your site to the time they make a purchase. Chatbots can expedite the lead generation process by offering users prompt answers to queries pertaining to your business. They can route the qualified leads to suitable customer support agents, helping them close a deal in the minimum possible time.
5) Seamless Customer Journey
Businesses often lose valuable prospects halfway through a marketing funnel. E-commerce companies, in particular, find users abandoning their carts on account of a complicated check-out system or hidden costs.
Chatbots integrated with business websites streamline the buying journey of customers. They pop up on websites to offer additional information about the product or shipping. At times, they also offer discount codes or lead users to FAQs, user guides or related videos and articles. All this makes the customer journey smoother and boosts up conversion rates.
6) Fewer Errors
However competent your customer support agents may be, they can always make mistakes. They can address a customer with a wrong name, direct him to an incorrect webpage or agent and even get aggressive or rude. None of this happens with a chatbot. Your virtual agents always provide users with the right answers. When they don’t know the answer, they route the query to a suitable agent. Besides, they don’t experience fatigue or irritation even after working for hours at a stretch. These features make them an asset to any business.
7) Monitoring of Customer Data
Chatbots can be seamlessly integrated with websites and messaging applications. This allows them to gather valuable insights about your prospects and customers. You can use this information to get an assessment of their interests, preferences and pain points and, accordingly, bring in new products and personalize your offerings.
The Final Word
Chatbots are revolutionizing customer service in ways we wouldn’t have imagined a decade back. With advancements in AI-ML and Natural Language Processing (NLP), chatbots are expected to become more intelligent and human-like in the days to come.
