Asking whether chatbots are right for your business is like asking if social media marketing is right for you. If they haven't made it to your industry yet, bots are well on their way.
Messaging apps are becoming the next big thing in marketing. Social media is still king, but messaging apps are slowly taking over. The way to capitalize on this is through bots.
Tread carefully, though.
When a new channel starts to show promise, we tend to get overexcited and overwhelm our audience.
A little restraint will go a long way, especially with chatbots. As efficient as they are, research shows that people really don't like them. They can be the key to overwhelming success but their proper application is crucial.
What Exactly Is a Chatbot?
There's a simple answer and a complicated answer to that question. Forget the complicated answer, as it doesn't pertain to you as a marketer.
All you need to know is that a "bot" is a piece of software that automates a task or a group of tasks.
There is a variety of bots available. Some are able to handle a range of tasks, while others are more limited. Bots are designed and built to do very specific things.
In practical terms, this means that the chatbot program will have a series of pre-written responses to interact with humans.
For example,imagine your company that manufactures harmonicas. People often find themselves on your website trying to find the best harmonica for them. Instead of directing them to support staff, you implement a chatbot. When the person visits your site, the chatbot initiates interaction. It then reads the visitor's questions and uses preprogrammed responses to answer them.
Instead of communicating with another person, your customer gets an answer from an automated system. It's more streamlined, faster, and, best of all, instantly available.
The Benefits of Bots
The surface benefit of using chatbots is pretty obvious. You don't have to pay a staff member to engage in customer service. But that's not all. Bots are useful in a lot of other ways, as well.
Messaging apps are becoming the next big thing in marketing. Social media is still king, but messaging apps are slowly taking over. The way to capitalize on this is through bots.
Tread carefully, though.
When a new channel starts to show promise, we tend to get overexcited and overwhelm our audience.
A little restraint will go a long way, especially with chatbots. As efficient as they are, research shows that people really don't like them. They can be the key to overwhelming success but their proper application is crucial.
What Exactly Is a Chatbot?
There's a simple answer and a complicated answer to that question. Forget the complicated answer, as it doesn't pertain to you as a marketer.
All you need to know is that a "bot" is a piece of software that automates a task or a group of tasks.
There is a variety of bots available. Some are able to handle a range of tasks, while others are more limited. Bots are designed and built to do very specific things.
In practical terms, this means that the chatbot program will have a series of pre-written responses to interact with humans.
For example,imagine your company that manufactures harmonicas. People often find themselves on your website trying to find the best harmonica for them. Instead of directing them to support staff, you implement a chatbot. When the person visits your site, the chatbot initiates interaction. It then reads the visitor's questions and uses preprogrammed responses to answer them.
Instead of communicating with another person, your customer gets an answer from an automated system. It's more streamlined, faster, and, best of all, instantly available.
The Benefits of Bots
The surface benefit of using chatbots is pretty obvious. You don't have to pay a staff member to engage in customer service. But that's not all. Bots are useful in a lot of other ways, as well.
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