Undoubtedly technological advancements have a great impact on how businesses communicate whether internally, customers, or with other businesses. Tried-and-tested technologies are already revolutionizing in business communication. AI chatbots are one of them. Bots are on the rise, and they are becoming more effective, engaging, and easier to use.
Oracle research says 80% of businesses plan to utilize chatbots by 2020.
Chatbot technology has drastically transformed overall business communication. Businesses are adopting bots into different business functions. Automating the business with AI chatbots helps to deliver a better customer experience. Bots can easily handle first level queries without human involvement.
But before we discuss how businesses are using chat let us know what is chatbot exactly?
Chatbot is an AI-based computer program that simulates human conversations. They are also known as digital assistants that understand human emotions. Bots interpret and process the user requests and give prompt relevant answers. Bots can be deployed across websites, applications and messaging channels via voice or text.
Here are the key areas where chatbots have a greater impact.
Chatbots For Customer Service
Customer service is one of the key business functions where chatbots play a vital role. Business Insider reports say 67% of consumers worldwide used a chatbot for customer support. Customer service chatbots are widely being used across websites, apps, and social media to engage customers 24x7 with prompt answers.
Chatbots with conversational AI can fulfill the below parameters.
● It delivers personalized customer experience that builds long lasting customer relationships.
● It provides a high level user experience with your brand that increases customer loyalty.
● Positively affect the customer’s perception to receive positive feedback and build a satisfied customer base.
Bots help businesses to save customer support costs and improve the key productivity metrics that enhance the customer service experience. Some key use cases are:
● Online Support - Bots help businesses to deliver real time support and engage customers 24x7.
● IT Helpdesk - Chatbots can help your IT helpdesk to boost team productivity and drive efficiency.
● Bookings & Appointments - Bots can handle FAQs within applications and enhance user engagement. You can keep customers updated by sending notifications.
● Contact Center - AI in contact centers follows a predictive analysis. For example: if there is a product launch AI will be able to predict the intent of the customers reach out and agents can be adjusted accordingly.
Chatbots For Sales & Lead Generation
Lead generation is the most important function of every business.
According to Chatbots Life, the top 5 industries profiting from the incorporation of chatbots are real estate (28%), travel (16%), education (14%), healthcare (10%), and finance (5%).
Chatbots helps businesses to pre-qualify potential prospects and automate your sales funnel. Bots automatically direct the leads right into your CRM or to the sales reps to assist them further.
The key use cases of sales bots are:
● Segment Your Audience - Bots help to segment the target audience by identifying the product interests of visitors and customers.
● Pre-Qualifying Leads - Pre qualify leads with a programmed sales questionnaire. Then they are directed to the next level of the sales funnel.
● Bookings - Bots help in bookings and scheduling appointments for hospitality, health care, or personal services.
Chatbots For Marketing
Bots are capable of learning from previous user interactions and share relevant information regarding your brand, services, and products. Moreover, they are also able to up-sell and cross- sell in a personalized, conversational, and engaging way.
57% of businesses agree chatbots deliver large ROI with minimal effort.
The key marketing use cases are:
● Product Recommendations - With bots, you can recommend products or combo offers based on the customer journey.
● Start A Proactive Conversation - Bot can initiate proactive conversation while the customer is stuck within the product and guide towards the right direction.
● Personalized Notifications - You can learn your customer behavior and improve your conversations by personalizing it.
Conclusion
These days where social messaging applications are in limelight, adopting chatbot technology to communicate with customers in a great way. AI chatbots are indeed the best way to redefine business interaction with customers. By automating the different business functions with chatbots, you can improve customer experience in the following ways.
● Bots are the best solution to deliver real time support.
● AI bots are active 24×7 to engage customers to handle FAQs and reduce support tickets.
● Chatbots can be easily scaled during the busy hours to engage customers and deliver better customer experience.
Based on the customer experience, businesses can choose the use of chatbots for communicating with their customers.
