Are you struggling to provide your customers with support 24/7? If so, maybe you should think about a smarter way to do it. Hiring enough people to take care of all your customers’ questions and needs may be impractical, but providing customers with support is a MUST. That’s why a chatbot can be so valuable for your eCommerce business.
What’s a chatbot?
A chatbot is not just a little thing that pops up at the bottom right corner of the page while you’re navigating. It’s a piece of software that can take over the functions of an assistant, giving you the ability to engage with your customers in real time all the time.
Essentially, chatbots are computer programs that simulate conversations with customers or potential customers in order to solve issues, provide information or improve your company’s service.
Why can they help your sales?
Thanks to the use of artificial intelligence, chatbots can:
- Provide customer service and information
- Resolve issues and communicate with customers on multiple platforms
- Gather feedback on customer experience and products
- Recommend related products
- Attract more users
- Interact with past customers to increase engagement
Because users can use the search bar, online stores are easier to navigate than physical ones. But it doesn’t mean that customers don’t need any help or that it’s not nice to be asked: “Can I help you?” Knowing that there is someone (or something) helpful on the other end can be a decisive factor.
Imagine that one of your competitors has the same product as you and is able to deliver a great user experience, too. Everything is basically the same or very similar. A chatbot could make the difference. Users struggling to decide whether to buy from you or from your competitor will probably be happier to choose the option that allows them to interact with the shop because it builds trust and makes the purchase process much easier.
Benefits of having a chatbot
In short, a chatbot helps you in these ways:
- Identifying and nurturing quality leads becomes and automated process
- Building trust by communicating with your customers 24/7 becomes possible
- Providing your customers with extensive information so they can avoid searching for it
- Taking the customer experience to a whole other level
How to enhance the customer experience with a chatbot
Chatbots are not just a conversational tool. They are very flexible because they can be integrated with other technologies such as augmented reality (with beauty brands, for instance) or payment engines. This allows improvement in the practical aspects of the customer experience and also the creative ones.
One of the first examples of chatbot-aided creativity was Tommy Hilfiger’s 2017 campaign. The brand created a nice, stylish promotional video and gave users the possibility to talk to them by clicking on a CTA button displayed on the video, starting a conversation.
“Conversational commerce” by the numbers
According to Business Insider, people use messaging apps more than social apps. This trend started in 2015 and is now an established fact. However, if you are still hesitating, here is some data that might help you choose chatbots.
- 47% of users are willing to purchase items through a bot.
- 71% of users are open to receiving customer service through a messaging app.
- Users are willing to spend more than $55 on chatbot purchases, on average.
- The global chatbot market is expected to reach $1.23 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 24.3%.
- More than 80% of businesses already use chatbots.
- Over 48% of businesses are already using automation technology.
What is a chatbot?
A chatbot is software that has the same function as an assistant as it can help you communicate with your audience in real time.
How can chatbots help marketers?
They can have multiple benefits such as identifying leads, increasing your sales and improving the communication, engagement and the user experience of your audience.
