Marketing Chatbots: How to Use Them to Get Ahead

With the ever-rising shift towards the online world, virtual business interactions are at an all-time high. According to recent data from Facebook, people exchange 20 billion messages with businesses each month. Finding ways to connect with customers is now more important than ever. How can your organization levy this rapidly changing technological landscape? One way to leverage today’s world of digital business is chatbot marketing. This readily available technique is quick and comfortable for customers and allows you to easily engage with leads.

Chatbot marketing is a marketing strategy that employs the use of computer programs to engage with inquiring customers. These custom-built conversational bots can ask and answer questions that are critical to your company. Most chatbots are programmed with simple branching conversation trees. These streamlined paths of dialogue are triggered by customer activation and follow specific layouts based upon which option a customer chooses. You can often find these chatbots popping up in the right-hand corner of various websites.

Facebook’s Messenger application is a prime example of chatbot implementation. Business users can program their bots to perform an astounding number of tasks. Whether it’s something as simple as a product recommendation, or something complex like medical advice, Messenger’s chatbots have been hard at work since 2016.

 Here are a few other companies using marketing chatbots to great success:

1. Spotify

Finding and sharing new music has never been easier thanks to Spotify’s adaptive chatbots. These systems will even send you new recommendations when you ask for them.

2. Mastercard

Mastercard’s chatbots allow you to check your transaction history in an instant. With a simple question, you can look through a sorted list of purchases.

3. Pizza Hut

Can you order a pizza with Pizza Hut’s chatbots? Of course, you can! The platform can also be used to check deals or re-order favorites.

4. The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal’s chatbots allow you to stay up to date on all the financial information you could want. Simply ask the bot a question and watch the information appear.

Let’s dive into chatbot marketing features and how you can use this tool to enhance your organization’s workstream.

Chatbots are tailor-made by your company. These bots can ask meaningful questions and feature specifically designed responses. Everything is customizable. Do you want a chatbot to answer frequently asked questions? How about one that automates appointment setting, allowing clients to easily connect with you? Chatbots can direct customers to new products or provide signups for your newsletter. They can be employed as an FAQ service or direct clients to the appropriate member of your team to help them with their inquiry. There are limitless opportunities to employ this ever-growing technology.

Chatbots are not a replacement for your marketing team, though they can alleviate some of the work. Countless manual tasks can be passed off to your newest technological team member (AKA your chatbot). Chatbots can serve as your company’s initial connection to a potential lead. Having a chatbot to tackle basic requests or easily solved problems upfront allows your employees to engage with customers who require more hands-on interactions. Chatbots can be used to take back your team’s time, allowing them to focus on different tasks, increasing potential productivity tremendously.

Being able to connect with clients online is a must. Facebook’s data shows that 69 percent of people in the U.S.  are more confident in buying from a company they can message. Finding a method to maintain an approachable online presence is of the utmost importance. Chatbot marketing holds a unique advantage above other techniques—it’s always running. Chatbots can participate in mission-critical conversations with customers at any hour of the day.

Imagine returning to work with new meetings already scheduled or hearing a comment from a happy customer, pleased that their question was quickly answered. Your company’s ability to engage with customers is no longer limited to your marketing team’s schedule. Chatbots hold an active online presence long after you’ve signed off for the day, continuing to connect with your valued customers at any hour.

Chatbots are an incredible way to funnel customers to the right places. They can help direct leads to the specific information they are searching for. Let’s imagine a potential customer has been eyeing a product but doesn’t know where to find it. Once connected with even a simple chatbot, the customer is sent in the right direction, without the need for team member assistance. Never lose a customer to delayed responses. Your chatbots can provide instant feedback and efficiently connect potential clients with your company. With newfound direction, your chatbots can direct leads and bring the correct information into your customer’s view, and not to mention, improve traffic to your website.

Facebook’s recent data reveals that 56 percent of people would rather message than speak to customer service. No one wants to wait on hold for an hour only to learn their question can’t be answered by the individual they’ve reached. Marketing chatbots allow your customers to skip the line and dive headfirst into quality troubleshooting without the hassle of waiting on hold. Simple questions can be sifted through seamlessly and directed to the appropriate channels, leaving your customers satisfied and ready to engage.

Chatbots are an incredible way to push your company to the next level. Whether you are looking to toughen up your customer support, or simply automate certain time-consuming tasks, chatbots can be instrumental in covering some extra bases, while freeing up your team members in the process.

Ways to get started:

Perhaps you are looking for an FAQ chatbot, something always there to answer your client’s questions. Maybe your team could benefit from a sales chatbot leading your customers in the right direction. Whatever you are looking for, our experts would love to help you begin implementing marketing chatbots into your business.