Chatbots are a great way to improve and build new relationships with audiences. This technology offers a creative way to conduct business online, as the bot guides the buyer through a marketing channel, asking them specific questions in order to get to the root of their needs — just like in an actual conversation: human to human.

Chatbots also have the capacity to improve user experience and divert more sales and leads to your website.

The only question that remains is this: Why does your brand need to utilise chatbots?

Well, let’s get right into it! Here are four reasons why your brand should use chatbots when heading into 2021:

1. Chatbots are driven by the Fourth Industrial Revolution

If there’s anything that screams 4IR, it has to be chatbots, which are artificially intelligent software programmes. Any business would do well to adapt them into their brand strategy and program the software according to its specific requirements.

According to WPForms, chatbots use conditional logic. During a conversation with a consumer, the chatbot automatically makes decisions based on the condition and the actions that the user (or consumer) takes.

Besides being budget-friendly — compared to acquiring services of a call centre — chatbots are convenient as they don’t require anyone to actually reply to the user. This saves clients time as they no longer have to send emails and make phone calls. A bot can do all that in mere seconds!

Check out the example below of what a chatbot looks like below:

2. Chatbots let you learn more about your customers

Just like humans learn from one another by conversing, chatbots also learn from human users via the conversation they have. They do this by gathering information from the users by answering frequently asked questions.

However, these bots don’t only chat to the user, but they also go as far as to monitor individuals through the chat system and keep a record of the days and times that consumers prefer to engage. This information essentially helps marketers when they’re clients in need of help and maybe you can change working hours to those frequent times to assist customers in real time.

In this regard, you’re able to understand your clients’ needs and their common concerns about the service or brand, using the insight you collect from the bot’s conversation thread.

3. Chatbots are a great source of leads

Information is a commodity, depending on how you use it; in this case, you can benefit your brand by using it to convert insight into sales.

How, you ask? Well, let’s just say that, from the chatbot data you have acquired, you happened to pick up that most clients are not happy with your business’s operating hours. And, clients would be more content if you extended the operating hours by at least an hour.

Using this information, you decide to make some changes to your business. By either opening for business an hour earlier or closing an hour later, you’ll be encouraging more clients to visit your brand and respond to more inquiries than before.

4. Chatbots allow you to be time-savvy

Chatbots can be utilised at any time of the day and, while we humans can take some time to rest, they’re out there responding to clients 24 / 7. Talk about effectiveness!

These bots don't outlast humans. In fact, it’s a complementary relationship. While marketers work for certain periods of time, the chatbot conversation continues, meaning it’ll be less likely for your customer to throw a hissy fit when you don’t respond immediately.

The client, therefore, experiences immediate and effective service from the brand. And, you won’t struggle as much to get straight to your client’s request.

Because of chatbots, the days of clients being frustrated through the whole weekend, waiting for a response from a business are gone. As a marketer, immediacy is important to keep in mind because, if a competitor can respond faster to a client who was considering your services first, and they have to wait until Monday to hear from you, you’re bound to lose that lead. See why these bots are vital to have?

All in all, chatbots are a great thing for any brand to use. And, it can be a bonus in your current marketing strategy, improving the engagement between your brand and customers!

Chatbots offer clients a more personalised experience since it is a one-to-one conversation. How else do you think this technology can benefit your strategy? Let us know in the comments section below.

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How can marketers equip themselves to better influence consumers to buy their products? We have the answers in our article about Rewiring your mind for high-performance marketing.
*Image courtesy of Wits University