STOP đ Don't build a chatbot in 2020 without reading this!
I just had a marketing epiphany!
The other day my friend, who knows Iâm in the chatbot industry, was telling me about an experience she had with a chatbot last week â and it wasnât a good one. She wanted some information about an MBA program and started talking to a service agent, or so she thought. A couple of questions in and the âagentâ got stumped and looped back to the beginning of the conversation. She realized she never was talking to a real person, but to a virtual assistant, got frustrated, said forget it, and closed the schoolâs website. What does this have to do with marketing? Keep reading.
Just like the school my friend was interested in, a good majority of marketers and companies are using conversational chat channels like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, and even Amazon Alexa. But instead of using these channels for their intended purpose â to have a conversation â theyâre being used in the same way as an email or a direct response, which are one-way communicators. I get it â weâre creatures of habit and this is kind of what traditional marketing teaches us to do along with all this long copy.
Let me show you something:
How often do you see something like this in a messenger or chat platform? Do you see whatâs wrong with this picture? If you guessed that it is a lot to read, then youâre right. Did you even read all that? I didnât. Now, look at a messenger conversation you had with your mom or a friend. Do those conversations look like the one above? No. Because thatâs not how we naturally have a conversation. And the truth is that people just donât have that kind of attention span in such an information-saturated environment.
How to use buttons
Another chatbot tool used by probably 95% of marketers is buttons â and way too many of them. Buttons are great⌠if used appropriately. If a user is pressing buttons left and right a couple of things are going to happen. One being, they are going to feel like theyâre being led down a certain path against their will â consumers are getting smarter and they donât like this kind of forced decision. Another thing that will happen is a disconnect between the customer and the ad, ultimately your product or service. In the âoldâ days, someone may see a Facebook ad, click on it, and be taken to a landing page where they can scroll up and down for more information at their own pace. But now, they click on the ad which takes them into Messenger, and are immediately bombarded with buttons they have to choose in order to proceed. This translates into a bad user experience that focuses more on the marketer or company, rather than the consumer.
So, are we utilizing these conversational platforms as they are intended? Or are we treating them as just another channel to sell stuff? Yes. Of course, at the end of the day as a company, you want to convert and make sales. But what about your customers? Theyâre important too and their experience with your chatbot could be a deal maker and deal-breaker.
⌠âSo, Frank, youâre telling me not to use long copy and buttons? What am I suppose to do then?!â Good question and the answer is two words: conversational design. I say design because there is a right way and a wrong way to make this work. If done effectively, you will convert. If your conversation isnât well designed, your customer is going to travel to this weird place called the Uncanny Valley. Do you know princess Fiona from the movie Shrek? The characters fell into the Uncanny Valley and made kids cry, which Iâm sure your chatbot wouldnât be THAT scary, but it can create a lot of frustration.
A quick word on the Uncanny Valley
Itâs a term coined by Masahiro Mori in the 1970s. Basically, as humans we like ourselves a lot so we like it when non-human things resemble us. Think Wall-E; heâs obviously a robot who is cute and has some human tendencies so people love him. On the other end is an example like Westworld where the robots look totally human and indistinguishable, so we also love it. In between those is what is called the Uncanny Valley.
Itâs when something looks human but not quite human enough, which ends up giving off an uncomfortable, eerie feeling. Have you seen the movie âCatsâ? â Super off-putting, almost to the point of repulsion!
Remember my friend from the beginning? She experienced this phenomenon; she felt misled and ended up so turned off that she may not even consider attending that school. See how this could also happen to your service or product?
Youâre probably wondering now how to avoid that from happening. The first thing you should do is disclose in the beginning to the customer that itâs a chatbot or virtual assistant, not a real human. Here are 3 additional conversational design techniques that can not only create a positive user experience but convert sales for you. Itâs really a win-win kinda thing.
Social Proof:
In simple terms, it means people will adopt the actions of others because they donât want to be left out or they donât want to be the only one that is different. Or as the Millennials like to call it: FOMO. It works the same way it did back in middle school when you just HAD to have a Furby like everyone else. But the reason itâs so successful is that it is primal human nature, we just canât ignore it. Hereâs a couple of examples of what a social proof prompt is:
đ¤: Most working professionals use our Platinum service. Do you also want to?
đ¤: 90% of Americans file their taxes online. Do you need help getting started?
Anchoring:
This is another thing we do as human nature, and that is relying on a single piece of information to base a decision off of. Itâs normally the first piece of information we see, but it could be something that just really stands out. You see this happens in many areas â when someone is deciding a career path, or who to vote for in an election, or where to live. This also happens to the consumer when deciding on a service or product. Check out how to form an anchoring prompts:
đ¤: Teeth Whitening Summer Special: normally $300 but now only $200!
đ¤: Motherâs Day just got so much brighter with these sparkling diamond earrings. Get them for payments as low as $39 a month!
Soft Call-To-Action (CTA):
As marketers and companies that sell services or products, we know the words âcall to actionâ â that thing that makes people take the next step. But sometimes those can come off as pushy and salesy, which is why a soft call to action works better. It makes people want to engage more and actually leads to better conversion rates as consumers feel like they made the decision themselves rather than being shoved into it. Take a look at some soft call to actions:
đ¤: We have the solution to your vision issues with a great selection of stylish eyewear. Would you like to book an appointment with one of our optometrists?
đ¤: Our modern wedding cakes have won âChicagoâs Best Tasteâ for 5 years in a row. How about booking a tasting with us?
So you can see how these techniques are incorporated, here are a few examples from companies like KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Dominoâs Pizza.
Look at these, and now compare them to the long-copy chatbot from before. From a consumerâs perspective, which one would you want to interact with? Which one would you most likely want to buy from? Now, which one does your bot look like?
To learn more about these conversational design techniques, check out Conversational Academy.
Have a chatbot you think could use some renovation? Hop on a discovery call with me, weâll take a look at your bot to see whatâs under the hood and talk about how to improve and land your more conversions.
