As our knowledge increases, thanks to deep learning and AI, the science of conversions as well as other elements that increase the relationship of brands with customers, chatbots progressed well beyond mere customer care. They now enhance the sales funnel in ways never seen before, which I’d love to discuss here:
There can be no doubt that chatbots have done a lot to revolutionize customer care departments. However, they also have many other uses which can be of tremendous benefit to corporations and organizations. There have also been significant advances as far as AI technologies are concerned. This has opened the door to substantial benefits as far as chatbots are concerned. Another area which is perfect for chatbot implementation is sales departments. They will be perfect for several functions such as qualifying leads and the collection of consumer data. In fact, AI chatbots can be successfully used in every part of a well-planned sales funnel. Just look back at how operating systems have evolved since the early 80s. We have come from DOS-based systems through all of the Windows versions in order to get where we are now. Operating systems are software which is the intermediary between the user and the hardware in that computer. In a sense, you can say that the operating system is some form of a chatbot. That will be accurate because a chatbot is simply software which has been designed to perform a particular function. Many AI chatbots are making use of natural language processing and machine learning which is providing them with the ability to successfully interact with human beings. This is resulting in chatbots which are increasingly humanlike.
Almost indistinguishable from human beings
Many tests have been conducted with chatbots and in many cases, people never even realized that they were having a conversation with a chatbot. People from all across the planet are now making use of online chat functions when they engage with business websites. Within the next year or two, almost 90% of all consumer interactions will be accomplished by making use of AI chatbots. When speaking about a sales funnel, this is simply a description of the journey of the consumer from the time that they first showed that interest in a product or service until the deal is concluded. Whenever a consumer visits the website of a business this is potentially the start of that journey. There are four phases in such a journey of which the first is awareness, and the second is interest then comes decision time and finally, the action is taken. This is sounding a lot simpler than it actually is. However, the process to get a potential customer from that initial awareness until they take positive action is a lot more complicated than most people will expect. It is now entirely possible to make use of AI chatbots to significantly increase the success of any business sales funnel.
The importance of awareness
A consumer cannot purchase a product or make use of a service of which they are not aware. There simply cannot be any sales process without awareness. This is why there is so much marketing done to increase that awareness about the existence of a product or service. When the consumer becomes aware that such a service or product exist, this is potentially the start of the sales funnel process. Awareness is accomplished in many different ways such as advertising on television, and on radio, over the Internet on websites and on social media platforms. Many businesses are now also making use of chatbots which will work to attracting consumers to the landing page of a specific product or service. Awareness can eventually lead to interest. This is when the prospective customer begins to request additional information which is increasingly showing an interest in the services or products which is made available on that website. At this stage, chatbots can be used very effectively to answer a whole range of frequently asked questions. When the chatbot is unable to answer a question it will refer the consumer to a human agent. Chatbot interaction results in a situation where a lot of information is shared in a relatively short amount of time which is convenient for the consumer. Instant information can help to seal the deal while any form of delay can sink that deal.
Decision time
The consumer has now been provided a substantial amount of information and they might now be comfortable to make a decision by acting on that information. Once again chatbots can be used very effectively during this stage. They can provide additional information based on the interaction which has already taken place and also based on experience with previous customers. If the curiosity of the consumer has been properly satisfied they may now be ready to take the desired action. In most cases, this will be the time when a human agent will take over. However, there are already many chatbot solutions which are able to guide the consumer through the purchase process.
Conclusion:
The win-win solution that we want to see between the customer and service provider, will only improve as the industry matures and our already advanced processes pay off for different industries. The fact that we can roll this out at a global, multi-lingual scale represents the opportunity of a lifetime, which is precisely what we’re pursuing at SnatchBot.