A Quick Guide To Chatbots
What is a chatbot?
Have you ever used the chat feature to contact customer service on a website? Then chances are you’ve encountered a chatbot. A chatbot is simply an automated chat feature using artificial intelligence to respond to a user’s questions. In other words, a chat robot. Don’t let the word “robot” scare you though, we are still a few decades from machines taking over the world.
How does it work?
It’s actually a lot simpler than it sounds. Imagine a giant flowchart of possible questions and answers. A chatbot matches your questions against this giant flowchart and responds with the predesignated answer. The technical term for this giant flowchart is a transcript. For instance you might ask “What’s the number for customer service?” and the chatbot would reply “253-680-3980”.
To create a transcript for your chatbot you’d begin by using your list of frequently asked questions (FAQ). Then come up with different ways to ask those common questions. If you don’t have an FAQ it’s time to make one. Start by asking your customer service representatives what the top questions they get asked are.
Is a chatbot right for you?
You might be wondering why someone would go through all this trouble instead of just using normal chat. Even if the number of calls your team gets is minimal, they aren’t working 24/7. A chatbot can though. Even having a chatbot for answering basic questions, allows your team to tackle bigger problems and ensure your customers have the best experience possible.
In addition to answering your customers most common questions they can increase response times. Research shows that if a customer is responded to within 5 minutes of contacting you, they are 21 times more likely to enter your sales cycle. Which means even if all your chatbot does is collect information and send it to a representative to contact them, it has the potential to increase your sales.
If you’d like to talk about chatbot options or other ways to convert leads on your website call us at (253) 680-3980 or you can visit our website and try out our chatbot.
