6 Tips to Improve Customer Satisfaction Through Your Travel Bot
A chatbot is a way to have a direct conversation with the brand during the process of buying. Although they can’t think like a human yet, they still enable you to directly interact with the brand you’re interested in, which was previously close to impossible. Chatbots are leading the digitalization of the human interaction, and there is no doubt we’ll be seeing them more and more in the future. It is expected that by 2019, 70% of digital bookings will be made through mobile. So, for companies whose work is connected to traveling, chatbots are the perfect way to reach customers on mobile devices without spending money on creating their own mobile interface. It’s the closest you’ve ever been to your customers — and here are some tips about how to improve their experience.
1. Decide exactly what you want your bot to do
What is it that you want to achieve through your chatbot? Do you want to collect more data so you can make customized offers? Do you want to use it just to inform your customers about the new offerings you have? Do you want to make more sales? Or you want to offer 24/7 customer service? Once you decide precisely what the goal of your chatbot will be, you’ll easily come up with all the other things you need.
2. Start with the travel dates
If you have a chatbot on your website, the first thing you should ask is which dates does your customer want to go on a trip. This way you would know to offer them accommodation available during that period. Don’t start with offering them accommodation first, and then telling them it’s not available for their planned dates. It could get them to leave your site sooner, thinking that you don’t have anything available for their planned period. This is how the winners of the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, Iris Holidays, start the conversation through their chatbot.
3. Collect interests and preferences through your bot
If someone is using your services often, it might be useful for them to make some kind of a profile and enter their interests, what kind of hotels they prefer, do they like mountain trips or they would rather go to the beach and other similar things. Then you will be able to give them customized offers through the chatbot using their interests and preferences. The travel agency I mentioned before, Iris Holidays, does this. They ask you what kind of hotels you like, and based on what you answer, they send you an offer by e-mail.
H&M does something like this in their Kik Messenger chatbot by making you choose one of the three styles they offer you at the beginning, and then they suggest a styling based on what you liked.
4. Use Facebook Messenger to launch the bot
Facebook Messenger offers some features that can make your bot even easier to use. For example the Quick Replies offer a more guided experience by giving options a user can choose if one matches their needs. They can appear in the welcome message, where the bot will offer the user up to ten alternatives asking them to choose the appropriate Quick Reply. After choosing, the bot will automatically give the user a solution and a long time will be saved.
Persistent menu is also one of Facebook Messenger’s options. Most bots have a common “menu” or “settings” option, while the persistent menu on Facebook Messenger brings users straight into the top-level features. It eliminates the need for people to remember text commands.
5. Offer options for uncertain users
If your chatbot can only offer hotels to the customers, and no other kind of accommodation, be sure to expect that some people will want private accommodation or camping. Maybe they’ll want to ask you which one is better. For example, Iris Holidays, instead of just giving a simple star rating to show the highness of the luxury the customer might like, ask “What kind of resort do you prefer?” and offer a few options that aren’t only hotels. This is where the users who still aren’t certain if they want to stay in a hotel get more alternatives and remain interested instead of simply ending the conversation due to lack of options. Eventually, you can also offer them to contact someone from the agency if they have additional questions.
6. How about a personal travel assistant?
If you want to give your customers the ultimate customer journey with huge satisfaction at the end of it, make your travel bot a personal travel assistant. This kind of virtual assistant can literally plan everything in order for your customer to have a pleasant trip. It can book flights and hotels, suggest restaurants based on their preferences and do the payment for them. The bot stores information from every interaction with its user and learns their preferences, in order to use them in future conversations and offer the solutions that are the closest to their wishes and requirements.
Chatbots can’t completely replace human interaction, but they can bring a huge added value if, for example, you have a customer service chatbot that is available all the time and the customer doesn’t have to wait for the working hours to start. Furthermore, giving a customized offer means a lot and makes your user feel special. And when the customer is satisfied, so is the brand. So, give your customers a special experience and make them feel like they’re talking to your brand.
Have an idea about an awesome chatbot? Valoso Hub can help you create it.
