The craze of chatbots has gripped industries world over. These are computer programs capable of handling conversations like humans and responding with appropriate responses almost immediately. According to Gartner, 85% of customer interactions will be managed without human involvement.
Modern-day chatbot software have Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) features that can identify patterns, understand users’ intent, and perform tasks without human assistance. And this just goes to show how far we have come in terms of technological progress, from simple automation tools to advanced virtual assistants.
You can implement chatbots for a wide array of purposes:
- Website: To send trigger messages, engage visitors, and generate leads
- Marketing: To push specific offers and deals and direct users to product pages
- Sales: To close sales faster by prompting users about items in their cart, guiding them through the checkout process, etc.
- Customer service: To handle standard customer issues, manage incoming ticket volumes, and provide faster, contextual support
Reduce common errors like a pro using chatbots
Research shows that 84% of customers accord equal value to the experience and the products and services they buy. While humans are central to this business-consumer interaction, they are also more error-prone than a computer program. From memory lapses to mistakes due to fatigue and poor training, there are a lot of ways that your customer experience (CX) can suffer if it relies completely on human employees.
That said, technology isn’t fool-proof on its own. Chatbots that don’t understand intent and context can go wrong, too. Today’s customers don’t have the tolerance for mediocre solutions that frustrate them instead of helping them. Consider the example below.
A recent survey found that 73% of consumers would not use a chatbot after going through a poor experience. So, it is important to find tools that not only eliminate human errors but also enhance customer value. The fix? Advanced AI-based chatbot software. These bots also have NLP capabilities to grasp and analyze natural human language and ML features to make customer conversations better with every interaction.
Let’s see how these technologies come alive in a business scenario, helping you put your best foot forward in different customer-facing tasks.
5 human errors that chatbots can solve
- Make up for your agents’ absence
When you integrate a chatbot into your website, you can interact with visitors in real-time even after business hours. The widget can trigger custom messages in line with your brand’s style guide to engage them. This practice lets you gather valuable information about your target audience, raise awareness about your business, and generate quality leads. You can later get in touch with these leads via email or follow up on other communication like phone, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, etc.
Not all individuals visit a business site to purchase right away. They may want to know more about your products and have some doubts. So, having a chatbot is like hiring a 24X7 assistant to be at your customers’ beck and all. It is a good replacement for actual human agents, especially when they are away or when the queries are too simplistic. This not only liberates your employees from doing repetitive things but also gives them room to perform high-order tasks. This way, they can be more productive and less frustrated in their daily work. Additionally, modern chatbot systems can detect when it is time to direct users to human agents, such as when the requests are too complicated, or there’s customer friction.
- Avert lack of attention in marketing
Marketing is one of the most crucial functions of any business today. It is directly linked to your brand image and revenue. So, you should always opt for mechanisms that are customer-centric and cost-friendly. And chatbot software can give you the tools to do that.
It can help you engage users via multiple channels with minimal platform switching (bots can be integrated on your site, apps, and even within messaging channels). And once you start interacting with customers, the conversation flows as naturally as it would with a human agent. AI-powered bots keep interactions to-the-point yet contextual, throughout the marketing funnel.
Conversational commerce and stepping up marketing efforts become easy with chatbots. But there are also instances when users are uncomfortable chatting with robots. For such cases, giving them an option of requesting for live agents can be helpful. You can also humanize your chatbot by giving it an identity that imbibes your brand values so that the transitions feel consistent.
You can also create triggers for specific offers and push products based on the location, customer demographics, site navigation history, etc. There’s a chance that a human agent may overlook or miss these things during a conversation, but you can be certain with an automated system.
- Avoid mistakes during sales
Chatbot software can be used to streamline sales activities, from order booking to payment and shipping. Many e-commerce sites integrate bots to take users through products just like a salesperson in a physical store. They can show particular items based on customers’ messages and also provide recommendations.
If the process goes smoothly and the customer makes the purchase decision, the steps for checkout are shared there and then to close sales faster. So, essentially, the customer can buy via interactive chats without even having to call you or going through elaborate procedures. Look at the entire process in the image below.
Once the chatbot knows the intention of the conversation, it prompts users to take the desired action. It can ask them questions, respond with the right details, and speed up the order placement. The call-to-action is reflected in the chat window itself without any agent stepping in. Although human agents can do all these things, they would take much longer to find the right products and enter details manually as compared to automation technologies. Moreover, the probability of mixing things up is higher in a hand-operated method.
- Reduce chances of frustration on both ends
When you have numerous incoming requests and heavy ticket volumes, it is normal for your teams to get worked up. Their anxiety and fatigue can reflect poorly in customer interactions, hurting your brand image. It is your responsibility to your business and agents to enable a good working environment. You should empower your teams with the right tools for streamlining and managing workflows – chatbot software is an excellent example.
It can assist and guide your agents through troubleshooting steps, product information, etc. And it can bring conversations from disparate communication channels into a single platform where everyone can view the details.
These capabilities add a layer of extra care on the customers’ end as well. For instance, when someone is trying to book flight tickets, they don’t have to wait for hours to get a response from you. A bot can respond quickly with relevant information even when your agents are occupied. Even feedback collection is more convenient with chatbot systems as they send auto-generated emails or texts after support calls.
In conclusion, automation technologies enable friction-free customer support. And this often translates into repeat sales. As studies have shown, 52% of customers make additional purchases after a positive service experience.
- Eliminate errors in data collection and decision-making
One of the most prominent advantages of implementing chatbot software is that it can throw up visual analytics and reports on several performance indicators. These functionalities bring all activities to a full circle by showing you what works and what needs more effort. As a result, you stay focused on the end goal and improve continuously.
From metrics on first response time to the number of resolutions, everything is viewable and shareable from a unified system. This allows both teams and managers to identify and minimize errors and shortcomings.
With this, we have given you a comprehensive overview of how chatbot software helps prevent human errors while boosting the overall efficiency of different customer-facing tasks. We hope you use this information to empower your teams and customers.
