AI, or Artificial Intelligence, may seem like a dream for the far-off future, but the technology has been available for decades, and chatbots are now communicating all around us.
In 2016, messaging Apps knocked social media off the top spot with an engaged audience of 4 billion users. Facebook Messenger boasts over 1.3 billion users and is growing in use and functionality at an astonishing rate.
Chatbots are software that can read” for keywords and provide predetermined responses, but they cannot problem-solve or give an independent answer (thats AI for you). If you have ever been robocalled, youll know within a few seconds of chatting to a bot.
For those seeking to offer superior customer service, request a free demo now to experience Connect; a 24/7 live chat feature that can scale to your businesss demand.
The Purpose of Chatbots
Chatbots enable you to automate some of the monotonous, or high-frequency demands in your business to support a stellar customer service experience.
Each type of chatbot usually has a specific role, and a small business may use one or more to provide a variety of customer service, such as:
- Simple (Scripted) Chatbots: These offer a cut and paste back and forth with your customer and no room for adjustment.
- Intelligent AI Chatbots: These chatbots are taking AI to the next level; ordered a pizza lately or reserved a hotel room? You may be surprised to learn you were dealing with an AI and not a human.
Many businesses feel the pressure to offset the cost of customer service by installing bots; but what if you could have the best of both worlds?
There is a third option:
3. Human Chatbots: This chatbot platform with human interaction; this middle-ground has a lot to offer. Humans can problem solve and find answers that untrained AI cannot, with the timing and automation of computers.
FZA Digital is leading the online conversation with Connect, a proprietary online chat technology that enables small business owners to reap the many benefits of chatbots with the transparency that only real humans can provide.
Like any technology, bugs and glitches do happen, and in those cases, if you rely on AI, youre going to be without customer support. This might seem ok at first, but wait until the moment during a high-paid Ad campaign like the Superbowl, and youre SOL.
How to Provide the Best Customer Experience
You may be surprised to learn that 24/7 live chat (operated by real humans, in real time) is not as costly to install as you might think, and the expenses can often offset itself via the increase in sales and reduced friction-time in teaching and training one or more robots.
24/7 live chat raises the bar for how humans and AI can perform together and combines the timing and targeting that makes AI great, with the irreplaceable human touch. If you want more leads, more sales, and more raving reviews, 24/7 live chat is the way to go.
#1 – Leverage Waiting Times
Just as no one wants to be pounced on immediately upon arrival, a short delay can put your website visitors at ease and allow them to prepare for the conversation while browsing.
Its common for an on-page prompt to be time-delayed appropriately with the time that a customer may have questions or be considering leaving the website, to retain their attention and pull them into the conversation.
#2 – Split Test
The truth is theres no way for you to know for sure if a chatbot or a human is the right choice until you try it out. Split testing enables you to see how customers respond to specific changes like adding a live chat feature and enables you to measure any reactions.
Once installed, continue to test. You can try different automated flows, different responses and see what works for your customers. Pretty soon, youll see what works and be able to duplicate those efforts more widely across the board.
#3 – Finding Balance in Your Business
Depending 100% on AI is never a great idea. While it may seem trendy, you run the risk of being left out in the cold if there be a technical error, and your customers may feel they arent getting the attention they deserve if things go sour.
Thankfully, finding the sweet spot has never been easier thanks to Connect 24/7 live chat, which enables small business owners to find the right tone for their customer service; best of all, its quick and easy to use, can be installed on any website, and wont slow you down.
For more information on Connects 24/7 live chat features, or to schedule a free demo, please visit https://www.fzadigital.com/connect-live-chat/.
Sources
- (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
- (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.comm100.com/resources/report/chatbot-statistics/