Chatbots are an undeniably useful tool for your business’s customer service center. This technology powered by artificial intelligence takes some of the 24/7 consumer care tasks out of employee’s to-do list while keeping service running smoothly. As customers increasingly demand answers instantaneously, your business will benefit from using this technology.

Although you may or may not have adopted chatbots yet, this piece will give you an introduction to them, explain how your business can utilize this technology, and provide some tips on how to avoid common mistakes. Let’s go!

Why Businesses Use Chatbots

If your customer service department has been inundated with messages from all channels of communication, it’s time to embrace chatbots. Before you get concerned over letting go of actual human employees, relax, chatbots in support are meant to complement current team activities. They are made to handle a variety of jobs from answering questions in an email inbox to augmenting consumer feedback processes. In fact, some common use cases for chatbots in business are:

• Resolving simple customer questions
• Assisting with booking tickets or completing purchase orders
• Responding to queries about order status or inventory
• Guiding individuals through feedback forums or setting up accounts

In essence, chatbots relieve their human counterparts from handling the less glamorous side of customer service. To be even more blunt, chatbots alleviate employees from answering simple questions from customers and responding to more complex issues. This isn’t to say that employees won’t have to handle these types of questions ever again, but a chatbot can be programmed to answer the easier questions while employees handle the more detailed requests.

The bottom line is that chatbots are programmed to work 24/7. This means when a customer sends in a question at one in the morning, they don’t have to wait until normal business hours resume for the next customer service representative to answer them.

How to Use Chatbots for the Best Results

Aside from the jobs mentioned above, companies have been using chatbots for other aspects of customer service and are seeing great outcomes. Yes, there is the common use of answering questions sent into a portal either via email or live chat in social media channels. But that really does help your customer service team out. Plus, some companies have been able to place filters within these chatbots to allow customers the choice to speak with an actual person over an automated bot. This option gives customers the opportunity to make their own choice, which multiple companies have reported success from doing so.

In addition to handling everyday questions, chatbots in support have also been able to assist with other jobs like generating leads from a website or converting website traffic. By placing a chatbot portal on a website’s home page, companies can gather information from visitors and use it in other areas to generate more business.

Also, by placing pop-up chatbots around their website, businesses can show their interest in guests and provide answers to questions about the page’s contents. Some companies have chatbots designed to send messages to consumers when they abandon their shopping cart or to request feedback from a recent buy.

Nicereply is using chatbot by Chatra.

However, just setting up a chatbot and leaving it to its own devices is not a good plan for success. Teams will need to monitor the questions and answers coming into it, and adjust when necessary. For example, a change to a product line may mean altering what chatbots say in response to common questions about the make-up of a product or how much time it will take to produce. Staying on top of chatbot answers will ensure that customers are not frustrated by unhelpful feedback or outdated information.

Tips for Avoiding Common Chatbot Pitfalls

Before adding a chatbot to a customer service portal, you need to do a bit of homework. The answers generated by it will need to be written by your team, and that requires some thought. You need to think about your target buyer and what questions they might have for your business. For example, a food delivery company will have a different answer to how long will it take a product to be delivered compared to a clothing boutique. You need to meet with your team to have responses ready and update them when needed.

You’ll also have to be proactive when it comes to customer problems. When launching a new product or service, consider the common issues and how the chatbot will be answering them. Think about all aspects of the customer journey, from making the decision to purchase your product to stay connected with your customers after items have been delivered. Having chatbots ready to aid your service portal throughout this process will help with, not only customer success but also the growth of your business.

Another time to consider your audience is when writing answers to common questions. You don’t want individuals to feel alienated with writing technical jargon that they do not understand. It can be helpful to include images in responses, so think about which situations your team might utilize that support material and how the chatbot will know to send it to a customer.

Closing Thoughts

Chatbots are a great tool for customer support portals. They can run all day and night responding to customers, which is a big plus for your business. Aside from that task, they can also handle other jobs like generating more leads from your website or assisting with resolving issues.

No matter how you choose to use this technology, be sure to have a proper system in place.

Work with your current customer service team to determine how questions should be answered and when to update chatbot responses. In a world of instant answers, chatbots are here to help your business succeed.

How did you like this blog?

---