Everyone being online is great for online businesses that use e-commerce and social media to sell. But that also means that our clients can also easily find our competitors as an alternative!
How can businesses make a difference? Many times, it all boils down to which business connects with customers more. Maybe it's their branding, maybe it's their service. But many times, a business that builds a relationship with their customers is the one that wins the race.
Thankfully, chatbots can help make this relationship building easier.
Chatbots Make Quick Work of Routine Customer Issues
Most of the time, our customers' questions and issues are simple and straightforward. They can usually be answered with a quick response that shouldn't take hours to get to, especially when your customer service staff are swamped.
Customers who are able to quickly get answers from an automated chatbot through artificial intelligence, keyword triggers, or conversation flow questions mean they're spending less time explaining the issue to someone else.
TOP TIP: Make sure your chatbot is easy to talk to! Providing an easy-to-read "menu" of options that quickly narrows down your customers' concern is a big plus. Take the time to add keyword triggers based on how your customers talk so that your chatbot can understand your customer better.
Chatbots Lessen Customers' Wait Times
When customers are forced to wait, impatience grows. Especially these days, when people expect things to happen quickly! A few minutes can be all it takes for your customer to look for your competitor instead, who might be able to help her faster.
TOP TIP: while chatbots can quickly answer customers' questions, make sure that there is an easy way for customers to ask for a human customer service representative. Sometimes the only way to resolve an issue is through talking to a human being! Does that mean your chatbot is useless? Not at all. It's still fielding the majority of routine questions your customers ask, leaving your human staff with more time to dedicate to special issues.
Chatbots Can Screen Serious Buyers
We've all been there. All those potential customers who are just asking and aren't serious about buying your products. We spend a good amount of our time talking to these people, when we could have been focusing on serious buyers instead.
How does weeding out bogus buyers help us connect to customers easier? Simple: we have more time to dedicate to people who are serious about buying from us. That means we're giving them the best customer experience we can give, as we have more time to focus on them rather than hurriedly answering questions across multiple potential buyers.
TOP TIP: screening for serious buyers works for both e-commerce and service-oriented businesses! You can delegate answering all those "hm" questions and taking orders to your chatbot so that you only need to verify payment (or even let your chatbot take payment for you automatically!). For other businesses, make sure your chatbot asks enough questions for you to have a good basic understanding of your customer's needs, and take over from there.
Chatbots Are Great With After-Sales Support
Many times, we conveniently "forget" about our customer once we've dispatched their order. But we're all missing out on this gold mine of opportunities to make a great impression on your customer.
Try having your chatbot automatically drop a message to your customer a day or two after their order, to check in on how they're doing. If your product has a bit of a learning curve, use your chatbot to guide your new customer through your product, or send them tips on usage.
TOP TIP: look into drip marketing to make sure that you're making the most out of your chatbot! This is a great way to stay top of mind for your customer, and you can strengthen the relationship you've started with them.
Steady Wins the Race
It may be tempting to use gimmicks and promotions to attract customers, but a consistent and steady customer experience is always best when it comes to business. A chatbot like Chatbuddy isn't a get-rick-quick scheme, but a serious tool you can use to build your business.
If your customers can rely on you for solving questions and issues quickly, timely responses, stellar service, and great after-sales support, they'll go back to you again and again.