Chatbots are all the rage in digital marketing these days. Marketers often rush to adopt the newest, shiniest bobbles in the industry, but you may be wondering if your business would really benefit from using a chatbot. For that matter, you may be wondering exactly how chatbots work. So here’s the lowdown on chatbots for you.
What Are Chatbots?
Simply put, bots are computer programs that can automate specific tasks. In the case of chatbots, the task they are automating is interacting with users through a conversational interface. The chatbots can answer basic questions that visitors to your website might have about your products or services. The more advanced chatbots use AI to mimic human speech patterns, so much so, that at times it can be challenging to differentiate between a bot and a live human being.
Benefits
Chatbots are capable of providing information, responding to customer inquiries, and can even guide customers through the purchasing process and place the order. This provides a level of convenience for users previously unavailable. They would arrive at your webpage and have to search for the information they wanted. Perhaps clicking through several pages before arriving at precisely what they were looking for. But now, they don’t even have to leave the page to ask a question. The chatbot can then provide them with the exact information they were searching for.
How Are Chatbots Used in Digital Marketing?
As they become more popular, new uses for chatbots continue to evolve. They can be used to assist customers with shopping, guidance in browsing the website and providing accessibility for all users. On the business side, they can be used to personalize online interactions with potential customers, qualify leads, and recruit new talent.
Consumer research done by Consumer Report indicates that 83% of online shoppers need support to complete a purchase. They also found that consumers are not patient when it comes to waiting for a response. They tend to abandon shopping carts and head elsewhere after just five minutes. Chatbots can help you capture those customers at the point where they might otherwise turn away. Providing immediate assistance can be the determining factor in whether the potential customer looks elsewhere.
If your company hasn’t explored using a chatbot yet, perhaps it is worth considering. Just keep the purpose of serving the customer at the forefront, and you’ll likely benefit from this newest, shiniest communication technology.