Are chatbots helpful in B2B? Part 1: A look at the different types of chatbots

Can chatbots improve sales and services in B2B, or are they still better suited for B2C?

Caravan Coop
Jul 21, 2017 · 4 min read
c/o Alex Knight, Unsplash

If your business is willing to try anything to find the next customer, then chances are you have already done some research on chatbots. Can chatbots get me leads? Can chatbots provide better customer service? Can chatbots improve my online marketing?

If you’re in the business-to-business (B2B) space, you might be looking over at business-to-consumer (B2C) to see how communicational commerce — as the lexicon would define the use of chat-based, automated promotions and transactions — fares in the low-risk- and low-barrier-for-entry world of online retail.

The nature of B2B is a whole different matter though. Sales are founded on strong human-to-human relations and excellent customer service. Can a bot hope to make headwinds in this reality?

What a chatbot can do, and whether it applies to B2B

The following is a list of the different functions chatbots can perform — and are performing — in 2017. Included is an assessment of the usefulness of each type of bot in the B2B space.

1. Chat with clients and potential customers

A chatbot can hold a limited, machine learning or strictly hard-coded conversation with a human along certain, very limited parameters. Despite almost 40 years of chatbot history, the technology has failed to make any meaningful progress until only recently.

In B2B, letting a chatbot talk to a customer or client when a human could instead is ill-advised and could do more to erode the quality of your customer service than anything else. Furthermore, this level of complicated interface is one of the most difficult things to program satisfyingly. Need proof? Just have a chat with some of the entertainment-focused chatbots using machine learnin gout there.

2. Use chat to complete specific triggered tasks

A triggered task chatbot is a dynamic form that acts as a keyword response system. It will give you 2 or more answer options, and guide users through to the information they are looking for. These ‘triggered actions’ can include call-to-action buttons (like ‘buy,’ ‘download,’ or ‘speak to’), or sections that lead users to the information they’re looking for.

In B2B, such a menu could be useful as a customer portal, especially on an IM service. If customers could turn to a bot to quickly check the status of orders, accounts and other information relevant to their history with the company, this could become the most convenient customer service portal for 24 hour assistance.

3. Interactive information access chatbots

Interactive information access chatbots serve as a tool to share your brand’s content through a conversational interface.

In B2B, this could be interesting for potential and existing customers looking for more information on your website, IM interface or social media page. If a company has great marketing collateral it would like to get in the hands of latent leads, then this could be a way to deliver it in a short conversation. Is this more effective than a simple lead capture form with the promise of a download? (i.e. Something that gets visitors to commit an email and name almost immediately.) That’s up for inspection.

4. Complex task interaction chatbots

Almost everyone is familiar with this type of chatbot. They’re called Siri, Cortana, Echo, Alexa, etc. While the ones we are familiar with use an auditory chat interface, they’re chatbot counterparts use written text.

In B2B, such chatbots are probably overkill, unsatisfying, and come up short of true human interaction in almost all functions.

In conclusion: 2/4 chatbot types are eligible for B2B use at this time

As it stands given the state of B2B communications and chatbot technology, only triggered task chatbots or interactive information chatbots seem to hold value for increasing sales and services. Furthermore, the administration of this technology must be used to complement real human-to-human interaction whenever possible — and never replace it.

Some examples of good use:

  • To engage visitors with marketing collateral.
  • To act as a portal for clients services, support and accounts (but only in the absence of human help).
  • To add a layer to the lead capture form experience for latent customers.

Some examples of bad use:

  • As a replacement or automated solution for human-centric and responsive customer service.
  • To act as the principle navigational portal for inbound or outbound marketing.

In Part 2, we look at the 5 advantages of chatbots (swift action, two-way communication, data collection, automation, 24/7 content sharing) and what they can bring to B2B businesses.

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Interested in chatbots for your business? Caravan is available for a consultation and assessment of your needs.

Caravan Coop

Caravan, c’est une coopérative de travailleurs et travailleuses engagés, un incubateur d’idées où l’intelligence collective et un brin de magie se mettent au service de l’innovation numérique.

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Caravan Coop

Written by

Montreal-based Web and Mobile Application Development Cooperative

Caravan Coop

Caravan, c’est une coopérative de travailleurs et travailleuses engagés, un incubateur d’idées où l’intelligence collective et un brin de magie se mettent au service de l’innovation numérique.

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