Chatbots: A Perfect Tool To Automate Any Repetitive Task

The future of work is here: It’s faster, smarter, leaner and, we daresay, it is chattier. Is your business ready?

If you’re not harnessing the power of chatbots and automation to grow your business, keep customers happy, and reduce costs, you’re missing out. But you’re not alone: According to a 2017 study by Chatbots Journal, 9 in 10 developers believe that there is a lack of awareness in businesses about chatbots.

But although they’re underutilized, chatbots have the power to benefit any company. They keep customers happy by providing a quick and easy way to get answers and interact with your brand, and they also allow employees to focus on higher-order tasks, not answering routine questions.

Meet Your Customers Where They Are

The most important feature of a chatbot is where you put it. According to research from Sprout Social, 53% of people are more likely to shop with businesses they can message — but that can only happen if you actually connect with them properly. If your clients primarily engage with your brand on Facebook, then embedding a chatbot into your Twitter account isn’t going to help you all that much.

There are many client-facing tasks that chatbots can help with, and all of them require a genuine connection and ability to meet your customers where they are.

Enhanced Customer Service

Nothing is more frustrating to clients than waiting hours upon hours to get answers to a question or issues that could have easily been resolved. While most companies keep their clients waiting for 10 hours or more, integrating frequently asked questions into a chatbot can help dramatically reduce this waiting time — maybe that’s why 56% of people would rather message than call customer service.

In addition to providing answers to frequently asked questions, the best chatbots can also perform simple repetitive tasks like tracking orders, starting a return or order process, and providing information on how to contact a human customer service representative.

Better Data With Bots

One of the most helpful tools chatbots provide is an easy way to keep track of metrics you otherwise wouldn’t, like the number of times repeat questions arise. While bots focus on providing answers to clients, your human employees can crunch the numbers and figure out better solutions for you and your clients. Bots and human analysts are anything but adversarial: In the best systems, they help one another work more productively.

Personalized Client Assistance

It’s surprisingly easy to provide personalized attention to your clients while working with a standardized list of questions and answers. Whether you’re a clothing retailer or a patisserie, you can engage your clients through your chatbot and provide real-time suggestions about items that suit their needs and tastes. It’s like having a personal shopping assistant at your fingertips.

Reserve With Ease

What do restaurants and sales departments have in common? Calendars that fill up fast and clients that cancel often. Whether you sell fancy soup or hustle sales leads, you can reduce the headache of scheduling by using a chatbot. Your clients or sales prospects can reserve time on your calendar — and cancel or change the time without hurting your feelings.

Generate Leads

Nothing gets a client through the sales funnel faster than not having to interact with you. Clients can quickly and easily move from “just browsing” to satisfied customer when a chatbot is always at the ready to help.

Handle Payments

Never send another nagging invoice reminder again. Chatbots can take all of the awkwardness out of the payments process and easily create new sales, too.