Sunday is the perfect day for rest, have a good time with your family or order some food. In my case, Sundays are pizza time (who doesn’t love pizza?), but I hate ordering it. I feel that the person who’s attending me is not kind (will judge me if I order a Hawaiian pizza). Yes, millennials are too lazy to pick up the phone and call for a pizza.
That is why many brands have already moved forward and have implemented chatbots as assets. An example is Pizza Hut, in the US, where you can order your pizza from Facebook or Twitter without having to make a call.
The bot is complete: it allows you to reorder previous orders, connect your Pizza Hut account with your social media platforms. Or don’t have to worry about explaining your address or give your phone. It works perfectly with GPS; sounds fantastic, huh?
Not only the large restaurant chains are betting to implement chatbots, but also transport companies. Lyft in the States implemented a chatbot to request your car, known the exact location of your driver, and do it from your Facebook, Slack, or by voice commands with Alexa. They are giving users more disruptive experience with their trip.
What is a chatbot?
It is possible to explain it with your own words, yet here we are to go a bit deeper. The deal with chatbots: it’s a software that can have a conversation with a human, and collect information of customers or answer search queries.
It sounds futuristic, but it’s not. Inevitably HAL-9000 or a Jarvis comes to mind when we hear about chatbots and AI (artificial intelligence). Putting Sci-Fi aside, chatbots are a great solution to specific requirements such as marketing, sales, and customer service.
Nowadays, chatbots have more personality, like an avatar.
It feels like you’re talking to a human, thanks to AI. It gives us remarkable benefits having chatbot connected to your platforms. The conversational interface with humans can occur so naturally, providing a positive experience for users. We can even now add them to different messaging apps like Messenger, WhatsApp, Slac
Advantages of chatbots in Business.
To answer all user’s inquiries, without worrying about the response rate. A chatbot gives us immediacy in digital channels, as well as being able 24/7, respect the image and communication of our brand, and generating leads automatically.
What are the downsides of implementing a chatbot?
So in this blog, we will try to communicate in a brutally honest manner, so it is important to emphasize that a chatbot is not a human. That is the first challenge that you have. Many users don’t find comfortable talking to a bot, as they are on a regular conversation; it loses the authenticity and information about it.
On the other hand, chatbots will figure it out all inquiries that a user has. However, some doubts may arise, leaving the chatbot without any possible answer and requiring the help of a human; bots are not for all types of companies. There are some fields like medicine, legal that requires a complete human intervention, leaving chatbots as something odder than solutions.
What are the recommended questions for your chatbot?
It is something we can’t answer with precise clarity. However, if you’re aware of how is your customer journey; and how the bot is a solution to this process, you’ll know the answer. There’s a pretty solid example of essential questions for your bot; we call it chatbot for dummies.
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Facebook recently made some significant changes in its Messenger app. One of the most remarkable was an app implementation that allows developers to create guided conversational flows so users can have a more automatized experience. Long story short; a complete bot experience.
This will help the business to connect with more customers and users. The best part? It doesn’t cost a dime. You need Messenger, a Facebook page, and a URL where you will send the webhooks.
After talking with more than 12 chatbots; we identified positive aspects and at the same time, obstacles that even with AI are there; we can conclude that:
They are an excellent option, but not the final solution. With the advance of AI systems and Machine Learning algorithms, chatbots are more independent, can answer questions by the feedback of users. Because it’s essential to have someone available to verify communication and support aspects.
Always available [24/7]: Chatbots will still have time to answer queries. Besides, they will keep proper communication tone; a chatbot will never be in a bad mood or scattered.
A chatbot is not a cheap thing. Most software are freemium, like ChatFuel. They have limited features for fundamental solutions. If you are looking for specifics, you may need a premium one. With prices between $15 to $ 2K per month, depending on the needs you require for your business.
A chatbot can be a persona; We can tell if we’re talking to a bot, and it can be “bored.” So with AI research, chatbots can understand more human language and give you a more natural conversational experience.
If you are thinking about having a chatbot to get results, that’s a win for you. It has some obstacles; however, in the end, results are well worth it.
If it is crucial to take into account some aspects before implementing it, get to know users, their customer journey, and buyer persona.
We always recommend testing before investing, so it’s a good thing that most of these providers offer a free trial with their services.
Probably your chatbot won’t be a game-changer for your business. But it will undoubtedly give you an extra hand on your sales funnel and customer support.
Nowadays, more users prefer talking to a bot instead of human beings; and this is thanks to AI and Machine Learning. Bots are giving more accurate answers, have more human responses, and even are funnier than we. We expect that they don’t become a HAL-9000 or a Skynet shortly.
