Why use a chatbot?

Thinking of adding chatbot software to your website? Read about the many benefits it can bring.

Anything that benefits both a business and its customers is worth looking at. And that’s just what a chatbot does. Helping to facilitate communication with customers, chatbots are becoming an essential digital tool for companies of all sizes because they bring so many benefits and virtually no drawbacks! They mimic customer service agents and can help answer customer queries, but there’s no human mind behind the answers. It’s all done through automation.

In all likelihood, you’ve seen -- and used -- chatbots during your own web browsing. In this blog, we’re going to look at some of the many benefits that adding this type of web chat software to your website can bring.

Round the Clock Service

You and your staff can’t be expected to be on call all day and all night. You need to rest! Alas, if you’re not there to answer customer questions, then it’s possible, perhaps even probable, that they’ll look elsewhere. Chatbot software integration removes this problem. You won’t need to tell your potential customers to call back later when there’s someone available. Instead, the chatbot can answer their queries. When you’re relaxing at home, you’ll have peace of mind that your chatbot is working hard to keep your customers happy.

Faster Service

Nobody wants to be held on the phone for thirty minutes, just waiting to speak to someone. People’s time is precious, and if they feel like a company is not respecting their time, then they’ll be more likely to give their money to a company that does respect their time. When you have chatbot software at your business, there’ll be no waiting. Your customer can begin their journey towards getting the answers they need immediately. There was a time when there was no other option than to put your customers in a waiting line while the team of staff worked through the phone calls. With chatbot software, that’s no longer necessary.

Increase Sales

It can take a lot of time and effort to get a customer on the hook. Once they’re there, you won’t want to lose them! And you especially won’t want to lose them at the minute. Yet, it happens all the time. Shopping cart abandonment is a big issue for eCommerce stores. Indeed, according to one estimate, around 80% of web users don’t complete the checkout process once they have something in their shopping cart. Chatbots can help reduce this percentage. They can perform all kinds of tasks, including answering questions about shipping, offering discounts, or simply offer help to streamline the checkout process.

Building Trust

Trust is everything in all industries, but especially in the digital world. People are rightly cautious when they’re giving information to websites. They need to trust that it’s the real deal first. If they see that a company has invested in their site, including making sure that their questions can be answered quickly and efficiently, then they’ll be less likely to have doubts regarding the legitimacy of the website -- and the company.

Support for Live Agents

Your employees’ time is valuable. If they’re spread too thin, then they won’t be able to deliver the level of service that they’re capable of -- or that your business needs. All too often, customer agents end up wasting too much of their time on low-value queries, questions that are simple to answer. By having chatbot software, you’ll ensure that these basic queries are handled automatically, thus preserving your team’s time and energy for the more complex matters. Instead of answering simple questions on the telephone and via email, your employees will be free to do whatever it is they need to do.

If a question is too difficult for the bot to answer, as will sometimes happen, then the customer will be redirected to a live member of staff.

Cash Savings

Employees are expensive. And sometimes, that’s fine, because they’re worth it. But if your live agents are just dealing with low-value, basic questions, then it’s unlikely that that’ll be the case. Rather than hiring a whole team to manage every query you receive, you can focus on hiring employees that’ll deal with the big and complex customer matters, and leave the rest to your chatbot software. This can lead to considerable savings, which you may feel almost instantly -- and will certainly feel when you calculate the savings you’ll make over, say, a three year period.

Consistent Service

A consistent level of service can help build trust with your customers. They’ll know what to expect when they deal with the company. When you have a team of employees, it’s just a fact that quality can vary. And not just quality, but what they’re saying. If you’re going to have a cohesive company, then you need to send cohesive messages. When you have web chat software with a  chatbot, you’ll be able to offer a consistent level of service to your customers. It’s essentially like having one employee that sends consistent messages out; only this employee is able to handle as many conversations as required simultaneously.

Improving the Customer Experience

We’ve pinpointed some of the specific ways that a chatbot can help your business. But let’s talk more broadly for a moment. The fact is that chatbot software ultimately improves the customer experience. It’s a valuable tool that your customers will use again and again, and which contributes to making their lives easier. And in an age when competition for customers is more fierce than ever before, that’s something that can make a big difference.

Conclusion

As we’ve seen, there’s much to love about chatbot software. Quality service, more free time for your staff, and an increase in sales -- what’s not to love about that? If you’re ready to enjoy all the benefits that this type of web chat software can bring to your business, then be sure to check out the free trial that we offer here at Click4Assistance. You can also request a demo if you have any doubts, or just simply get in touch, and we’ll be happy to talk you through everything you need to know.