Your Guide to Chatbots & What They Can Do for Your Business There’s been a lot of “chat” about chatbots in the marketing world this year. What’s all this talk about AI-powered chatbots about? Are chatbots just a passing fad or should you be looking into them more seriously? Do B2B brands even need
Your Guide to Chatbots & What They Can Do for Your Business
There’s been a lot of “chat” about chatbots in the marketing world this year. What’s all this talk about AI-powered chatbots about? Are chatbots just a passing fad or should you be looking into them more seriously? Do B2B brands even need to worry about chatbots or are they just for B2C?
Luckily, Dream Factory has the answers to these questions and more! Read on as we tackle what we consider the top chatbot myths of 2018.
Fact or Fiction? “All chatbots use AI.”
This is: Fiction! Chatbots can be powered by AI, but not every chatbot uses AI.
Generally speaking, a chatbot is just a computer program that can “chat” with your users in a natural, conversational manner while automating tasks for your business. That’s it!
Some chatbots are more sophisticated than others, and only the more advanced versions are powered by “machine learning” to engage intelligently with your visitors:
- AI-powered chatbots can follow more complex requests and learn to adjust their responses over time by tailoring them to each specific user.
- Simpler chatbots are programmed (by humans!) to follow “if-then” statements with pre-written answers.
Chatbots are still a pretty new technology, though, so not all chatbots are that complicated just yet. That said, exciting possibilities for chatbots are opening up all the time as developers explore innovative ways to use this technology!
In the end, it’s up to you to determine which kind of chatbot you think is a good investment for your business.
Fact or Fiction? “Chatbots make most users uncomfortable.”
This is: Fiction! It’s estimated that by 2020, chatbots will be involved in as much as 85% of all types of business to customer interactions. If anything, the world is getting more comfortable with their friendly neighborhood bots.
Lots of users want to get answers about businesses through messaging systems, way more than you could expect to handle manually. Having a chatbot means users with questions get answers immediately, which increases user satisfaction and the likelihood they’ll convert to a lead.
This of this question a different way: poorly designed chatbots make users uncomfortable. A user expects that your chatbot will be able to answer their questions accurately and politely, resulting in a positive interaction. If your chatbot doesn’t do those things, you’ll get frustrated visitors!
Fact or Fiction? “Chatbots are just for B2C, not B2B.”
This is: Fiction! A chatbot can be a useful way to interact with both B2C and B2B customers.
Think of a chatbot as a friendly guide to your business and your offerings. If a visitor wants to know when your hours of operation are, for example, the chatbot is there to answer. The key difference between B2B and B2C is what questions your audience will have and what tone they expect from you.
In other words, a B2B manufacturing business focused on targeting engineers shouldn’t have the exact same type of chatbot as a B2C business selling makeup to teenage girls! Like we said above, good chatbot design is key to success.
Fact or Fiction? “Chatbots help save your business time and money.”
This is: Fact! Chatbots are generally a one-time investment with an incredible long-term payoff.
Like other forms of automation they handle dull, repetitive tasks to free up your resources on more important matters.
To name a few possibilities, a chatbot can provide:
- 24/7 online customer service with immediate response times
- Sophisticated data about your typical users discovered via machine learning
- Internal onboarding support for new employees
- Integrations with platforms such as Slack to streamline operations
And that’s just scratching the surface. The future is bright for chatbots, and day by day, we’re learning more about how to use them at Dream Factory to enhance your business’s success.
Want to know more about Dream Factory’s analytical, results-driven marketing solutions? We’re here to provide the strategies you need. Contact us and learn what options are right for you.
