Bots, or chatbots, are becoming increasingly popular tools in business. They are used in a range of different industries for various types of task. There are also multiple types of bot being used from simple, hard-coded bots to bots that have advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence architecture, i.e. bots that get better the more they are used.
Your business can benefit from bots too, even if you are an SME. Also, they are not as expensive to deploy as you might think. The types of things they can do include handling many tasks that are predictive in nature, including many interactions with customers.
Here are seven ways to use bots to help streamline your business.
Respond to Customer Service Questions
Even if you have good information on your website, including an FAQ section, some of your customers will still want to ask you questions about your products or services. Many of these questions are repetitive, making a bot the ideal solution.
Generate Sales
Depending on your business, you can also use bots to generate sales. Companies that are having particular success with this are food delivery companies. The bot asks the customer a range of questions to take the order without any human involvement whatsoever.
Influence Buying Decisions
You can also use bots to help influence buying decisions. Clothing retailers are a good example of this. One scenario is where a visitor arrives at a website looking for a pair of shoes. The bot can ask a series of questions and offer potential options to help that person decide. There are lots of benefits of this approach, including keeping the potential customer on your website rather than them browsing away to look elsewhere.
Make Payments and Other Processes Simpler
You can also use bots for payments and other processes and tools. In the payment example, having an intelligent bot lead the customer through the payment process is more efficient and effective than letting the customer do it on their own via your website.
Improve Content Experience
If you have a content driven website, you can use bots to improve the experience of your visitors. The bot can ask questions to get a better understanding of what the visitor wants to read before then suggesting content they might be interested in.
Deliver Information to Customers
In many businesses, delivering information to customers is an essential administrative process. It is also one that is often automated. Think of your delivery process, for example. You probably have a system that automatically emails customers when you dispatch their order letting them know it is on the way. Bots can take this to another level. The travel industry is a good example. This is where chatbots know your location and can give accurate information on, for example, how long it will take you to get to the airport to make it on time for your flight.
Learn More About Your Customers
Chatbots don’t just interact with users and customers – they can also gather valuable information too. You can use this information to improve your business and get a better understanding of your customers.
Chatbot technology is advancing at a rapid rate and they will be used more and more in almost all industries. The sooner you get involved, the easier it will be to take advantage of the opportunities that bots offer.
