According to statistics published by Invespcro, ‘63% of marketers will be increasing their marketing automation budgets soon’.
Automating steps of your sales or marketing process helps you to scale your business faster without having to hire additional staff. Investing in automated marketing can also give you data and insights that can help you improve process deficiencies.
There are lots of different types of marketing automation tools your business can benefit from, but the one taking the marketing world by storm is the chatbot.
The first chatbot was invented in 1966. But it’s only been in the last few years that businesses and marketers have adopted bots to scale business communication, automate customer service tasks and convert more website visitors into customers.
So does your website need a chatbot? Read on to learn everything you need to know about marketing chatbots to help you determine whether you need one.
What is a chatbot?
In basic terms, a chatbot is a computer program that simulates human conversation.
What are the key benefits of having a chatbot on my website?
Scale business communication
First and foremost, chatbots help you scale business communication. In previous years, businesses would require multiple employees to answer customer questions and manage incoming tasks. Today, chatbots can be used to support your staff by answering customer questions for you. They can also take care of certain tasks without human input.
A chatbot can be customised with your own FAQs and populated with pre-recorded answers. When a customer reaches your website, they are prompted to connect with an online agent to ask any questions they might have.
There’s nothing worse than arriving at a website and feeling like you don’t have enough information. Your chatbot is there to welcome your website visitors and answer any questions they might have. And if your customers aren’t getting the answer they need, your chatbot will connect them with a human.
24/7 customer support
Your chatbot is always on and can answer customer support queries 24/7. This means better customer support and satisfaction for your customers. You may even save on recruiting costs. Resolving customer queries in a timely manner also builds brand loyalty and trust.
Chatbots can convert website visitors into customers
For eCommerce stores or B2B businesses, chatbots can act like salespeople, making automated product and service suggestions based on your customers’ behaviour.
Your chatbot can also make recommendations for additional products based on searches and behaviours or based on what items are in their cart. It can even answer common questions about your services.
It engages website visitors and helps them achieve their goals with ease
Another benefit of a chatbot is that it helps your visitor achieve their goals with ease. Chatbots also engage users by gently pushing them through the sales process. Have a look at some of these examples of chatbots that engage and convert visitors.
Additional stats and insights to improve your marketing
Chatbots give additional stats and insights that you can use to optimise your website. For example, you can measure whether a chatbot has improved your bounce* and retention rates, or if it has assisted in the increase in sales. You can track FAQs and determine days and times where you receive an influx in customer queries.
After all, you can’t manage what you can’t measure – and your chatbot will be able to give you some excellent insight into your website’s operational and marketing performance.
Industries that benefit from chatbots the most
Chatbots have become the golden standard for the following industries:
- Finance
- Medical
- Hospitality
- Travel
- Ecommerce
Questions to ask yourself to determine whether your business needs a chatbot
- Are your customer retention rates low?
- Do you struggle to keep up with customer queries and quotes?
- Do you receive complaints about staff not getting back to your customers in a timely manner?
- Are your operational costs getting out of control? Or are you spending more than usual on staffing costs?
- Do you receive the same questions over and over again that you spend a lot of time answering over and over again?
- Do you want to increase website sales?
If you answered yes to at least two of these it is worth considering a chatbot.
About Focus SME
Based in Sydney, Australia, Focus SME works with businesses to amplify their social media presence and increase leads through social media advertising. We specialise in B2B and service-based companies, assisting them to get the most out of their social media through clever B2B strategies and creative campaign executions.