Why Chatbots Are Still Relevant in 2021

Even in 2021, businesses are somewhat intimidated by chatbots. After years of offering a personal service for all customers, the nerves start tingling when talking about leaving this up to technology. Will customers dislike the experience? Will they leave the business after years of loyalty and move across to a competitor?

In short, no. Introducing chatbots is a process to improve the customer experience and make the customer service team more efficient rather than neglecting your customers. The world may have changed (and then some) since the beginning of 2020, but the importance of chatbots remains the same. In fact, some will argue that technology is even more important now.

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What’s a Chatbot?

If you haven’t used a chatbot before, everything you need to know is included in the name — it’s a bot…that chats. At the moment, you probably have employees responding to every client message and dealing with their requests in real-time. If you run a small business, you may even do this yourself. Among other things, this takes staff members away from important tasks just to deal with simple requests.

With a chatbot, you have a pre-programmed piece of technology designed to respond to the questions and concerns of customers. While some use keywords to provide the right answers, others use machine learning to constantly improve and continually learn the best answers for customers.

Depending on where the business is active online, you’re likely to find a chatbot solution whether this is through social media, SMS, or even a website. As a customer, you may have even spoken to a chatbot before.

It is important to note that chatbots have improved dramatically from when they first entered the market. Now, they learn through machine learning, can carry the tone and character of the brand, and can pass customers onto a member of the sales team if they can’t deal with the question directly.

Why Chatbots Are Still Relevant in 2021

Many businesses are in a very different position now to 12 months ago, since the pandemic has forced them to change in ways they weren’t expecting. Some businesses used chatbots before the pandemic and are now wondering whether they are still the right option for customers. On the other hand, other businesses have steered clear of the technology up until now and need to know whether it will help the customer service team (and the customer!).

We believe that chatbots are more relevant than ever in 2021, and here’s why.

Improve the Customer Experience

If we’ve learned anything from the pandemic, it’s that the communication between businesses and customers is critical. Although we seem to be coming out the other side of the pandemic, customers are still nervous to leave home. They want to know your COVID protocols, no-contact delivery protocols, and the measures you’re taking to keep all staff and customers safe.

Do you really want to be answering these same questions every few minutes? With a chatbot, the customer gets the answers they need, and your employees have time to focus on more important tasks. Yes, you can upload all the pertinent information to your website and social media profiles, but this won’t stop some customers from asking the same questions time and time again.

With a chatbot, customers can ask their questions and get an answer within seconds. You don’t lose business, the customer is happy, and everybody wins.

Read More: Everything You Need to Know About Website UX

Boost Automation

In the business world, there’s a classic saying that suggests we should work smarter rather than harder. Chatbots are the very definition of working smarter because it streamlines the customer experience. You can use chatbots for the following:

• Answering simple questions
• Taking contact details
• Offering advice on product issues
• Guiding customers to the right employees

When some business owners read about automation, they think it’s another case of technology taking over the world. Instead, it simply makes your life easier. Imagine not having to answer simple questions and requests. The technology handles the simple requests while you focus on the bigger tasks.

Let’s dispel a myth here — chatbots don’t replace customer service. If the chatbot can’t help with a particular problem, it will suggest contacting a real employee. Essentially, it acts as a filter and helps people wherever possible before passing them on to real employees if needed.

Enjoy Scaling Opportunities

One of the biggest challenges for businesses in the past was scaling. Getting more and more customers was exciting, but the business couldn’t keep up without hiring more employees, moving to a bigger office, and dramatically increasing overheads. Now, by using a chatbot, it’s almost like hiring a couple of customer service workers in itself. However, you’re doing so without all the benefits, salaries, office space, and other expenses.

Your team handles a much larger quantity of conversations while still working with the same individuals. Ultimately, this should mean more sales, more profit, and satisfied customers.

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Deploy 24/7 Customer Support

Of course, another benefit that we haven’t yet mentioned is that chatbots are available through the night. They don’t need to sleep, they don’t need to stop for dinner, and they don’t even need a toilet break. Instead, they work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even while your team is tucked up in bed, the chatbot is communicating with customers.

You could have nobody actively working and still generate sales with the use of a chatbot. This is especially helpful for small businesses, because you’re not generating every single sale manually.

Match Competitors

Wouldn’t it be great if we could go about our business without worrying about competitors and other businesses? Unfortunately, for most businesses, dozens of other companies are ready to pounce after losing a customer.

If you’re debating whether a chatbot will help your business, the first thing you should know is that your competitors probably already have this system. While competitors answer questions within seconds (even at 2am) using a bot, you only answer questions during work hours. Suddenly, the vast majority of those shopping after work hours are choosing your competitors rather than your service.

With a chatbot, the late-night/early-morning shoppers get everything they need from YOUR service — they don’t need to go elsewhere. Now, you’re challenging other businesses in the market and putting up a fight for all customers around the clock.

Meet Customer Needs

Through much of this guide, we’ve focused on the business. However, one reason why you should use chatbots is that the customers actually WANT them. Who wants to send an email and wait three business days for a response? If customers have a problem or question, they want chatbots because this is the quickest and most effective route to a solution and answer.

Uses of Chatbots

We touched on how you can use a chatbot, but let’s take a look in more detail.

Answer Questions — Your customers have questions, and you have the answers. Especially in this post-COVID environment, people want to know your opening hours, mask requirements, sanitizing systems, delivery and collection protocols, and more.

Gather Information — You can also gather information about leads including their current status, contact details, and why they need help. Rather than using a contact form, customers get a more personalized experience.

Schedule a Call — Your customers shouldn’t have to call just to schedule a future call — this doesn’t make sense. Instead, use chatbots and customers can book their trials, calls, and demos using technology.

Greet Customers — Some businesses simply like to greet customers as they enter the website. Although it sounds basic, it’s the same as having a member of staff on the door of a physical business for the same purpose.

Best Practices for Chatbots

Since there’s a difference between getting chatbots right and (very!) wrong, we’re going to finish on some quick-fire chatbot tips.

• Take advantage of third-party tools if you don’t have coding experience and aren’t sure how to get started with chatbots.
• Try to keep your chatbots conversational because this makes the experience more engaging for customers. Create a character and a personality for your chatbot so customers don’t feel as though they’re talking to a robot (even if they are!).
• Keep the programming simple and don’t try to do too much with the technology. Your customer service team is ready to deal with complex requests, so keep chatbots for the simple ones.
• Include your customer service team in the creation of this system so that everybody is on the same page. Not only this, but they should monitor the chatbot to ensure that customers are getting a positive experience.
• Just because you failed at the first attempt, this doesn’t mean you should give up with chatbots. With all the potential benefits of chatbots, it’s important to persist and overcome the small issues that may arise.
• Speak to customers and try to think objectively when creating the chatbot — think of the common questions/problems that customers have and you won’t go far wrong.

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