If you had a click-through rate from email marketing as high as 60% how would that affect your business? It makes you wonder, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
This article looks at how chatbots are changing the digital landscape and a few use cases to increase your conversion rates while reducing your costs.<\/p>\n
What are chatbots?<\/strong><\/h4>\nA chatbot is a software program<\/a> \u2013 which may or may not be powered by artificial intelligence \u2013 that can conduct conversations with human beings.<\/p>\nThis definition leaves a lot to be desired because many applications can conduct conversations but don\u2019t qualify as chatbots. So where do you draw the line between app and chatbot?<\/p>\n
Qualities of a chatbot<\/strong><\/h4>\nYou can differentiate chatbots from other applications based on how interactions take place. A chatbot has a conversation sequentially. They talk and wait for your reply before continuing. Most applications don\u2019t work like that.<\/p>\n
Another way to differentiate a chatbot from another application is the fact that it has an identity. You can build a chatbot<\/a> and name it whatever you want and it\u2019ll maintain that identity. For example, if you have sales and customer service chatbots, you could give each of them a different name.<\/p>\nThe sales chatbot could be Zig and the customer service chatbot could be zag. Anytime a user needs help in either channel, the correct bot would take over the conversation.<\/p>\n
For example, 1-800Flowers.com named their chatbot GWYN. Each time someone has an interaction with the chatbot, they\u2019re talking to GWYN.<\/p>\n
Benefits of chatbots and conversational marketing<\/h4>\n
With each day that passes, people are discovering more benefits associated with chatbots. I\u2019ll focus on the ones that have a direct and immediate business impact.<\/p>\n
\n- Larger salesforce at a lower cost<\/strong>
\nA major challenge with sales is prospecting. You have to properly vet and qualify people. If you don\u2019t, they won\u2019t be a good candidate for your service and a lot of time will be spent without a return.<\/p>\nChatbots can step in and qualify visitors on your website by asking specific questions and appending tags to them depending on their answers.According to BI Intelligence<\/a>, chatbots can save up to $39 billion a year in salaries across sales and customer support.
\n![\"\"](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/chatbotimage1.png\")
<\/li>\n- Get feedback from users that otherwise wouldn\u2019t engage<\/strong>
\nMany people will visit your website, look around, and leave because they couldn\u2019t find what they were looking for. A chatbot goes a long way towards bridging the gap between visitor and conversation.<\/p>\nFor example, if someone is on your services page and can\u2019t find what they\u2019re looking for, a chatbot makes it easy for them to ask. If the same question keeps coming up you know it\u2019s something that needs to be answered on the page.Conversely, you could ask users if the page they’re on answered all of their questions. For example, someone is on the pricing page and your chatbot asks them whether pricing is clear. If they select the no option, the chatbot would continue by asking them to tell it what information they were looking for or whether the page was confusing. You can use that feedback to further optimize the pricing page.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How to use chatbots plus examples <\/strong>
\nNow, let\u2019s focus on three effective ways to use chatbots to increase conversions across the board.<\/p>\n\n- Customized shopping experience<\/strong>
\nIt can be daunting for customers to find what they need when you have a large collection of goods or complicated services. A chatbot is able to bridge this gap by asking questions about their wants and needs and segmenting them based on that information<\/a>.<\/p>\nOnce segmented, it\u2019s possible for the chatbot to show them specific products or packages from within the chat UI.This is what 1-800-FLOWERS.com did with their chatbot GWYN. As of June 2016, 70% of chatbot powered orders<\/a> were from new customers.
\n![\"\"](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/chatbotimage2.png\")
![\"\"](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image2.png\")
<\/li>\n- Funnel users to specific pages <\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s not always possible to close a sale from within the chatbot interface. Sometimes, your visitors need a bit more information or a nudge in the right direction.<\/p>\nWith chatbots, you\u2019re able to set welcome messages to find out what a visitor needs and proactively give it to them.Leadpages was able to use chatbots and human interactions to boost their conversion rates by 36%<\/a>. They started off slowly with only live chat then moved on to automating a lot of the process to cut down on the strain their team was feeling.![\"\"](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/chatbotimage3.png\")
![\"\"](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image3.png\")
<\/p>\nIt\u2019s important to note that they supplemented their chatbot usage with a human touch. While I was reading the Leadpages case study, the drift chatbot popped up and did the exact same thing I\u2019m describing here.<\/p>\n
After a bit of back and forth, it introduced me to the proper page.![\"\"](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/chatbotimage4.png\")
![\"\"](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image4.png\")
<\/li>\n
- Customer support <\/strong>
\nOne of the most prevalent challenges for rapidly growing companies is maintaining a high level of customer service. It\u2019s not easy to find, hire, and train reps.<\/p>\nAt the same time, the good ones are expensive. Chatbots are able to step in and serve customers for all but the most complicated issues. They can answer the questions directly or send people to the right resources.This creates a positive experience and keeps your current customers happy (and can encourage people to convert to customers).<\/p>\n
Amtrak<\/a> used a chatbot named Julie to answer 5 million questions a year, save $1,000,000, and increase bookings by 30%. The bookings through the chatbot produced 30% more revenue.<\/p>\nThis is an outlier but it shows how effective chatbots can be for customer service.![\"\"](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/chatbotimage5.png\")
![\"\"](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/image5.png\")
<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Conclusion<\/strong>
\nChatbots, like it or not, are here to stay. Every day, they\u2019re getting cheaper and smarter. Soon, the question won\u2019t be whether or not you should get one but what\u2019s the best way to use it.<\/p>\nWe\u2019ve only scratched the surface of how you can use chatbots to increase conversion rates.<\/p>\n
You can either use them directly like 1-800Flowers and Amtrak did or you can utilize them as part of a larger initiative that combines chatbots with a human touch just like Leadpages did.<\/p>\n
Choose one and test it out for your business. When you start seeing results, add other methods and watch as your conversions continue to rise.<\/p>\n
Reseller Club Hosting Services<\/h2>\n
Reseller Hosting<\/a> | Windows Reseller Hosting<\/a> | Cloud Hosting<\/a> | VPS Hosting<\/a> | Managed VPS Hosting<\/a> | Dedicated Server Hosting<\/a> | Windows Dedicated Server<\/a> | Managed Dedicated Server<\/a> | Linux Shared Hosting<\/a> | Windows Shared Hosting<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t
This definition leaves a lot to be desired because many applications can conduct conversations but don\u2019t qualify as chatbots. So where do you draw the line between app and chatbot?<\/p>\n
Qualities of a chatbot<\/strong><\/h4>\nYou can differentiate chatbots from other applications based on how interactions take place. A chatbot has a conversation sequentially. They talk and wait for your reply before continuing. Most applications don\u2019t work like that.<\/p>\n
Another way to differentiate a chatbot from another application is the fact that it has an identity. You can build a chatbot<\/a> and name it whatever you want and it\u2019ll maintain that identity. For example, if you have sales and customer service chatbots, you could give each of them a different name.<\/p>\nThe sales chatbot could be Zig and the customer service chatbot could be zag. Anytime a user needs help in either channel, the correct bot would take over the conversation.<\/p>\n
For example, 1-800Flowers.com named their chatbot GWYN. Each time someone has an interaction with the chatbot, they\u2019re talking to GWYN.<\/p>\n
Benefits of chatbots and conversational marketing<\/h4>\n
With each day that passes, people are discovering more benefits associated with chatbots. I\u2019ll focus on the ones that have a direct and immediate business impact.<\/p>\n
\n- Larger salesforce at a lower cost<\/strong>
\nA major challenge with sales is prospecting. You have to properly vet and qualify people. If you don\u2019t, they won\u2019t be a good candidate for your service and a lot of time will be spent without a return.<\/p>\nChatbots can step in and qualify visitors on your website by asking specific questions and appending tags to them depending on their answers.According to BI Intelligence<\/a>, chatbots can save up to $39 billion a year in salaries across sales and customer support.
\n<\/li>\n- Get feedback from users that otherwise wouldn\u2019t engage<\/strong>
\nMany people will visit your website, look around, and leave because they couldn\u2019t find what they were looking for. A chatbot goes a long way towards bridging the gap between visitor and conversation.<\/p>\nFor example, if someone is on your services page and can\u2019t find what they\u2019re looking for, a chatbot makes it easy for them to ask. If the same question keeps coming up you know it\u2019s something that needs to be answered on the page.Conversely, you could ask users if the page they’re on answered all of their questions. For example, someone is on the pricing page and your chatbot asks them whether pricing is clear. If they select the no option, the chatbot would continue by asking them to tell it what information they were looking for or whether the page was confusing. You can use that feedback to further optimize the pricing page.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How to use chatbots plus examples <\/strong>
\nNow, let\u2019s focus on three effective ways to use chatbots to increase conversions across the board.<\/p>\n\n- Customized shopping experience<\/strong>
\nIt can be daunting for customers to find what they need when you have a large collection of goods or complicated services. A chatbot is able to bridge this gap by asking questions about their wants and needs and segmenting them based on that information<\/a>.<\/p>\nOnce segmented, it\u2019s possible for the chatbot to show them specific products or packages from within the chat UI.This is what 1-800-FLOWERS.com did with their chatbot GWYN. As of June 2016, 70% of chatbot powered orders<\/a> were from new customers.
\n<\/li>\n- Funnel users to specific pages <\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s not always possible to close a sale from within the chatbot interface. Sometimes, your visitors need a bit more information or a nudge in the right direction.<\/p>\nWith chatbots, you\u2019re able to set welcome messages to find out what a visitor needs and proactively give it to them.Leadpages was able to use chatbots and human interactions to boost their conversion rates by 36%<\/a>. They started off slowly with only live chat then moved on to automating a lot of the process to cut down on the strain their team was feeling.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s important to note that they supplemented their chatbot usage with a human touch. While I was reading the Leadpages case study, the drift chatbot popped up and did the exact same thing I\u2019m describing here.<\/p>\n
After a bit of back and forth, it introduced me to the proper page.<\/li>\n
- Customer support <\/strong>
\nOne of the most prevalent challenges for rapidly growing companies is maintaining a high level of customer service. It\u2019s not easy to find, hire, and train reps.<\/p>\nAt the same time, the good ones are expensive. Chatbots are able to step in and serve customers for all but the most complicated issues. They can answer the questions directly or send people to the right resources.This creates a positive experience and keeps your current customers happy (and can encourage people to convert to customers).<\/p>\n
Amtrak<\/a> used a chatbot named Julie to answer 5 million questions a year, save $1,000,000, and increase bookings by 30%. The bookings through the chatbot produced 30% more revenue.<\/p>\nThis is an outlier but it shows how effective chatbots can be for customer service. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Conclusion<\/strong>
\nChatbots, like it or not, are here to stay. Every day, they\u2019re getting cheaper and smarter. Soon, the question won\u2019t be whether or not you should get one but what\u2019s the best way to use it.<\/p>\nWe\u2019ve only scratched the surface of how you can use chatbots to increase conversion rates.<\/p>\n
You can either use them directly like 1-800Flowers and Amtrak did or you can utilize them as part of a larger initiative that combines chatbots with a human touch just like Leadpages did.<\/p>\n
Choose one and test it out for your business. When you start seeing results, add other methods and watch as your conversions continue to rise.<\/p>\n
Reseller Club Hosting Services<\/h2>\n
Reseller Hosting<\/a> | Windows Reseller Hosting<\/a> | Cloud Hosting<\/a> | VPS Hosting<\/a> | Managed VPS Hosting<\/a> | Dedicated Server Hosting<\/a> | Windows Dedicated Server<\/a> | Managed Dedicated Server<\/a> | Linux Shared Hosting<\/a> | Windows Shared Hosting<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t
The sales chatbot could be Zig and the customer service chatbot could be zag. Anytime a user needs help in either channel, the correct bot would take over the conversation.<\/p>\n
For example, 1-800Flowers.com named their chatbot GWYN. Each time someone has an interaction with the chatbot, they\u2019re talking to GWYN.<\/p>\n
Benefits of chatbots and conversational marketing<\/h4>\n
With each day that passes, people are discovering more benefits associated with chatbots. I\u2019ll focus on the ones that have a direct and immediate business impact.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Larger salesforce at a lower cost<\/strong>
\nA major challenge with sales is prospecting. You have to properly vet and qualify people. If you don\u2019t, they won\u2019t be a good candidate for your service and a lot of time will be spent without a return.<\/p>\nChatbots can step in and qualify visitors on your website by asking specific questions and appending tags to them depending on their answers.According to BI Intelligence<\/a>, chatbots can save up to $39 billion a year in salaries across sales and customer support.
\n<\/li>\n- Get feedback from users that otherwise wouldn\u2019t engage<\/strong>
\nMany people will visit your website, look around, and leave because they couldn\u2019t find what they were looking for. A chatbot goes a long way towards bridging the gap between visitor and conversation.<\/p>\nFor example, if someone is on your services page and can\u2019t find what they\u2019re looking for, a chatbot makes it easy for them to ask. If the same question keeps coming up you know it\u2019s something that needs to be answered on the page.Conversely, you could ask users if the page they’re on answered all of their questions. For example, someone is on the pricing page and your chatbot asks them whether pricing is clear. If they select the no option, the chatbot would continue by asking them to tell it what information they were looking for or whether the page was confusing. You can use that feedback to further optimize the pricing page.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How to use chatbots plus examples <\/strong>
\nNow, let\u2019s focus on three effective ways to use chatbots to increase conversions across the board.<\/p>\n- \n
- Customized shopping experience<\/strong>
\nIt can be daunting for customers to find what they need when you have a large collection of goods or complicated services. A chatbot is able to bridge this gap by asking questions about their wants and needs and segmenting them based on that information<\/a>.<\/p>\nOnce segmented, it\u2019s possible for the chatbot to show them specific products or packages from within the chat UI.This is what 1-800-FLOWERS.com did with their chatbot GWYN. As of June 2016, 70% of chatbot powered orders<\/a> were from new customers.
\n<\/li>\n- Funnel users to specific pages <\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s not always possible to close a sale from within the chatbot interface. Sometimes, your visitors need a bit more information or a nudge in the right direction.<\/p>\nWith chatbots, you\u2019re able to set welcome messages to find out what a visitor needs and proactively give it to them.Leadpages was able to use chatbots and human interactions to boost their conversion rates by 36%<\/a>. They started off slowly with only live chat then moved on to automating a lot of the process to cut down on the strain their team was feeling.
<\/p>\nIt\u2019s important to note that they supplemented their chatbot usage with a human touch. While I was reading the Leadpages case study, the drift chatbot popped up and did the exact same thing I\u2019m describing here.<\/p>\n
After a bit of back and forth, it introduced me to the proper page.
<\/li>\n- Customer support <\/strong>
\nOne of the most prevalent challenges for rapidly growing companies is maintaining a high level of customer service. It\u2019s not easy to find, hire, and train reps.<\/p>\nAt the same time, the good ones are expensive. Chatbots are able to step in and serve customers for all but the most complicated issues. They can answer the questions directly or send people to the right resources.This creates a positive experience and keeps your current customers happy (and can encourage people to convert to customers).<\/p>\n
Amtrak<\/a> used a chatbot named Julie to answer 5 million questions a year, save $1,000,000, and increase bookings by 30%. The bookings through the chatbot produced 30% more revenue.<\/p>\n
This is an outlier but it shows how effective chatbots can be for customer service.
<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nConclusion<\/strong>
\nChatbots, like it or not, are here to stay. Every day, they\u2019re getting cheaper and smarter. Soon, the question won\u2019t be whether or not you should get one but what\u2019s the best way to use it.<\/p>\nWe\u2019ve only scratched the surface of how you can use chatbots to increase conversion rates.<\/p>\n
You can either use them directly like 1-800Flowers and Amtrak did or you can utilize them as part of a larger initiative that combines chatbots with a human touch just like Leadpages did.<\/p>\n
Choose one and test it out for your business. When you start seeing results, add other methods and watch as your conversions continue to rise.<\/p>\n
Reseller Club Hosting Services<\/h2>\n
Reseller Hosting<\/a> | Windows Reseller Hosting<\/a> | Cloud Hosting<\/a> | VPS Hosting<\/a> | Managed VPS Hosting<\/a> | Dedicated Server Hosting<\/a> | Windows Dedicated Server<\/a> | Managed Dedicated Server<\/a> | Linux Shared Hosting<\/a> | Windows Shared Hosting<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t - Funnel users to specific pages <\/strong>
- Get feedback from users that otherwise wouldn\u2019t engage<\/strong>