How Can I Use Chatbots and Other Automation Tools to Improve the User Experience?

Brands have been using automation tools to help them with such problems for quite a while now. And one of those automation tools is chatbots.

Over the phone customer service has long been a struggle for many businesses, whether they’re in the retail industry or the manufacturing industry. There’s who-knows how many people in the queue waiting on hold whilst reps work to solve each problem as it comes.

And now with the internet, businesses and brands have to go that one step further as customers begin to have higher expectations, like instant gratification. Receiving information instantly and in-the-moment is rewarded these days with consumer loyalty and satisfaction at such an easy user experience.

What Is A Chatbot?

It’s highly likely you’ve already had a customer service experience online with a chatbot. On a website, they’re usually the little “chat to me” option on the bottom right corner of the webpage. Ask it a question and it tries it’s best to help you out.

When a customer opens a message on your social platform or website, this activates the chatbot. In many instances, the chatbot will offer different ways of assisting a customer before they even send a message through. And when the chatbots just aren’t helping the customers get the information they want, they may provide the option of sending the customer through to a real agent.

There’s actually different types of chatbots, too.

1.     Machine Learning Chatbots

A machine learning chatbot uses artificial intelligence (AI) to obtain information and insight in order to create an experience that’s more personal to each customer. They can be quite limited if they don’t have much information to go off so the more they know, the better they’ll understand the needs of every individual customer.

2.     Rules Based Chatbots

As expected of a rule-based chatbot, this specific bot allows the admin to create a series of events that are triggered by certain interactions with customers. For instance, some questions will have triggered responses if it’s a more generic topic that could apply to multiple consumers.

How Chatbots Have Been Improving the User Experience

Customer service is so important and in many ways, chatbots are perfect at providing it for businesses. There’s always industry competition and technological advances or updates happening which is why it’s important to make customers satisfied and create loyal ones.

But that’s not the only reason why chatbots are great for improving the user experience.

Instant Responses

When customers reach out with questions, especially simple ones, they want a quick response from the support team. Of course, it can be hard to manage all the requests, especially for those bigger businesses experiencing a much larger volume of them. So though it’s not possible to meet every single question with a reply immediately, it’s important that someone can.

Ergo: chatbots. Simple solution. Not only can they handle multiple conversations at one time but they also provide customers with those quick, simple responses right from the get-go.

The more complex questions may pose as a challenge but the customer can then ask to speak to a real agent and be put through.

Improved Wait Times

A large amount of requests coming through can slow many businesses down when it comes to responding to individual customers’ queries. In turn, this can lead to customers becoming more and more frustrated because they have to wait longer for a solution or an answer.

This aspect is also improved by chatbots. Chatbots are immediately there, simple as that. It doesn’t matter if the customer asks a generic question or need to be transferred to a live agent, they get an immediate response and that can significantly reduce customer frustration as they’ve been answered immediately.

Out of Business Hours Responses

There’s always those few customers that aren’t online at the same time as other individuals. And those doing a bit of late night browsing on your website may want to ask questions.

Chatbots, though, can provide an instant response to any questions that consumers may have. Not to mention that it can also really help to give customers peace of mind – they don’t have to wait until business hours are open for support.

Ask for Customer Insight

Though it’s the customer often asking for help, customer service is still a two-way street. While your chatbots are working to give customers they information they’ve asked for, you can use this to get insight into preferences, buying behaviours, and the FAQs of your customers.

How To Use Chatbots to Improve the User Experience

Chatbots can help you to save time, answer customers’ questions immediately, and keeping sales cycles easy.

Autoresponders

If a customer wants to get in touch with you and you have an autoresponder set up, it will give said customer an automatic reply. It can help to keep the conversation going, allowing customers the opportunity to share information.

Tackle Objections

If a customer has reached out to you, chances are they’re quite interested in what you have to offer, be it services or products. By providing answers or solutions to any objections or dilemmas they might bring forth, you can keep the momentum with them which could even lead to them buying the service or product they want.

Leads to Your Website

Users scrolled the internet and lucky you – they stopped to interact with your brand. You have your chatbot setup and they’re engaging with it… What comes next? A lead to your website! Customers that have put this much effort in will likely find their own way there eventually, anyway, but why not speed the process along a little?

Share links to your product pages or services, your blog page, or even your FAQs page to help answer any questions they may have from the get-go. Even better if you can send recommendations based on the information the customer has given to your chatbot.

Personalisation

Personalisation is everything these days considering how distant and unattached things can feel online. Chatbots aren’t real but you can play around with them, make sure they’re configured responses are how real agents from your brand would respond.

Chatbots Can Help You

Increasing demands from customers makes it harder for businesses to get to every individual’s needs. More so now that there is so many who can access and navigate the digital world. Which is why customer service is so important.

A chatbot can be quite the significant addition to your brand and your customer strategy.

Contact GrowTraffic Today!

Hopefully, you’ve learned what a chatbot is and how it can really help you to improve the user experience.

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