The use of chatbots has recently taken off in a big way. In the past, it was considered to be a future technology that few business owners wanted to use. But now it is trending on many eCommerce forums and other sites that deal with tools for business owners. At the same time, businesses and brands who have already found success with online and email marketing, are now seeing the clear benefits of such technology and automation as well.
Chatbots are not meant to take the place of real human interaction. But they are automated systems that you can use that will allow business owners to know that their customers are taken care of when they are not able to handle the requests individually.
What are Chatbots and How Can They Help?
Chatbots are a type of “Live chat” because they allow actual interchange of dialogue between a potential customer or visitor on your site and the AI chatbots. Most people know that they are not real people and they are okay with interacting with these entities. Some people may not be aware that they are talking to a chatbot until they have spoken to it for a few minutes. Regardless, as long as the technology used is smart enough to be able to offer assistance to the customer, they can work as an excellent substitute for a real person until they can talk to a real person.
How to Use Chatbots
One of the keys to success in using chatbots on your website is not to overuse them. The best way to utilize chatbots is to use them as the first point of contact with your potential customers as they enter your site and then to transfer them to a live agent as soon as possible.
Advantages to Using Chatbots
There are many advantages of using chatbots on your website. Below are some of the best reasons why chatbots may serve to help your eCommerce business.
- Higher customer retention rate – When you put a chatbot service on your page, you will see a higher customer retention rate for your online visitors than you did without the chatbot service. This is because people will be able to get the help they need and not feel frustrated that they have to wait for a response.
- Shorter wait time for customers – When you use chatbots for your website, your visitors will not have to wait to get the help they need. This should serve to increase your conversion rate as well as your customer service reputation.
- Increased visitor conversion – When your visitors get the help they need right away, they will be more likely to convert to a sale. Frustration and the feeling of wasted time is one of the reasons people leave a site. By using chatbots as a way to keep the customer engaged, you will be able to tap into some of the business that you might otherwise lose.
- Improved customer service rating – When you serve more customers, your customer service rating will improve. This will also increase your retention rate of your current customers and bring more people to your site. When word gets around that you offer quick and immediate help on your site, your overall business rating will improve, also.
Chatbots and Email Marketing
Some people fear that the use of chatbots signals the end of the email era. But this is not correct, according to many current experts. Chatbots should work seamlessly with your email campaigns by providing help when your followers come to your site. Include links to your sales page in your email marketing campaigns and then make sure you have a chatbot enabled so that people will have the help they need when they come to your site.
Social Media and Email Marketing
Most business owners know that creating hype for their business is important. They also know that it is important to create an integrated marketing campaign so that you will receive traffic from a variety of channels and platforms. Utilizing social media is important to this effort, and the use of PPC ad campaigns and other techniques is paramount to creating the kind of engagement you need to be successful.
To use social media with your email marketing campaigns, it may be something as simple as including your social media links within your emails that you send out to your followers. Also, you can get more followers through your social media accounts. Encourage people to “like” your page on your Facebook page to get more people you can market to through your email campaigns. Likewise, you should tell your email subscribers to “like” your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media pages with links to your social media pages in the emails you send.
Facebook allows you to create interactive buttons that do various things such as “shop now,” “join mailing list,” and other options. Use this to your advantage by cross-referencing your social media and email marketing and improve your results.
What is a bounce rate?
The bounce rate is the percentage of people who leave your page after only being on your site for a few seconds. The people who “bounce” from your page are usually people who landed on your page accidentally or perhaps clicked on the wrong link. It can also have to do with your marketing techniques. Perhaps part of the problem is that visitors to your site have to wait too long to get the help they need. If this is one of your problems, it can be helped with a chatbot service.
Total Integration
If you are an online eCommerce owner, you know that one of the most important things you should do is to decrease your bounce rate, decrease the number of abandoned shopping carts, and increase the level of customer interaction and engagement. The best way to do this is to create a system that is based on customer needs, interests, and questions. The smart “AI” chatbots that are available today can serve this purpose while they are waiting to be helped by a real person. In fact, in some cases, the chatbot system may do an even better job of keeping the customer on your page. And customers who stay longer tend to buy more!
Look into chatbots and think about how you can implement this fascinating new technology to lower your bounce rate and improve the level of interest your visitors have with your brand. It could be just what you need to help improve your customer retention rate.
Remember the sales process happens later. First, you must keep customer interest and improve the customer experience. This will take you much further than any money you might spend on product advertisements. At the end of the day, it’s all about using the latest technology to improve user experience. This is exactly what chatbots are doing, while also making the business and management process a whole lot easier.
Start with the basics. Get a chatbot put on your page and then make sure you are using your social media to promote this. Say something like, “No waiting on our site. Immediate help available,” or something that tells people you will help them immediately. This is important to customers. So implementing a chatbot service just might be the missing link to increasing your sales and customer experience!
Email Marketing and Chatbots are a Winning Combination
Now that you’ve had the opportunity to learn a little bit more about how chatbots are changing the way conversations, engagement, and lead generation is taking place on the internet, it’s time to start considering your options for using them as well. While most chatbots are being used on websites and social media, email marketing plays a huge role in this process as well.
If you would like to learn more about how to effectively grow your mailing list through the use of our opt-in lead generation platform, contact us today. We will walk you through the simple process of how to get hundreds of new email leads daily from our hand-selected list of partner sites. Hundreds of clients will be receiving thousands of new subscribers today through our platform, so why are you?