Communication has always been an integral part of any industry. Entering the 21st century, it became essential for any serious contender in any industry to have a website along with existing offline customer support. But as we spiral through the barrel of tech innovation and are shot into the future, more and more digital tools have become important in a company’s arsenal. Having a mobile app and messenger service were the next step of this evolution and now, it’s having AI-based chatbots.
What is a chatbot?
They are essentially ‘natural language processing’ algorithms integrated with AI techniques that provides textual and oral assistance. Their purpose is to act as a support provider to customers, who need help at any point in the sales funnel. Simply, they are designed to provide information in the manner most appropriate for the audience.
By a forecast done by Gartner’s, more than 50% of mid and large sized enterprises will integrate chatbots in their hierarchy of operations. Their ability to provide immediate digital assistance, imitate human conversations, increase conversions, manage the chaotic pace with which information is demanded while saving both time and money, makes them an imperative requirement for any company. In a survey done by Statista, 33% of the participants found chatbots very effective, 54% found them somewhat effective, while only 13% found them to be of no help.
As chatbots are deployed more and more by companies, they will only get better in serving their purpose, and eventually will be universally accepted by the future consumers.
Now let’s dive into how chatbots spell success for your business
1. Continuous support 24×7
Algorithms and programmes are made to work, they don’t take up physical space and do not get tired. They can process customer queries all day and night, without delay. In a customer centric world, where customer does not demand, but rather expects information ‘pronto’, chatbots provides a huge edge. Add to that they never get irritated and do not have any motivations to negatively engage a customers, and yet attend to many customers simultaneously, providing relevant information at the blink of an eye, chatbots become an invaluable must have.
2. Better Customer Experience
Chatbots do not have a tendency to dissatisfy customers. They are programed to understand, analyse and provide relevant information to a customer, in the shortest time possible. They also do this without projecting negative emotions. Their key strengths in providing a better experience are:
- Immediate response
- Always polite
- Do not make human error
- Provides relevant information
- Can engage in different languages
- Human intervention can be integrated
3. Cost effective
According to Juniper research, chatbots are estimated to save upwards of $8 billion annually by 2022. With sectors such as retail, e-commerce, healthcare and banking being it’s biggest beneficiaries. This happens because the alternate solution, call centers, rely on ‘seat’. Meaning they are defined by the number of people that can attend to existing and potential customers. The expense of these seats also increase annually in proportion to the growth of the company.
In contrast, chatbots can attend to a dozen consumers simultaneously, providing precise information instantaneously and without human error. And without a proportionate increase in it’s cost. This saves both time and money for companies.
However, this information should be taken into consideration with a pinch of salt, as chatbots can only provide solutions to simple and direct form of queries. The complex queries and request would always require a human element.
4. Automation of Routine Tasks
Doing the same mechanical task, following the same routine, day in day out, increases the chance of human error and depletes a person’s potential. However, chatbots being programmes, do not suffer the same symptoms. They are perfect automations to do such tasks with high rate of accuracy, day in, day out! This allows human workers to focus more on tasks requiring intelligence, creativity and ingenuity.
Chatbots are important for you
Chatbots mark the next generation of customer service. Contrary to popular belief, they actually unlock the human workforce potential, by freeing them from tedious, monotonous and repetitive tasks, and keep them free for jobs that demands more involvement.
Businesses all around the globe benefit from its low cost, maintenance and error rate while providing faster, accurate and relevant support to consumers. It improves brand image, creates good brand advocacy and improves overall brand impression. So if you are a business that wants to grow and be at par with the times, chatbots are essential for you.
