What is Chatbot Marketing? Benefits and Importance

Chatbot marketing is leveraging the effectiveness of chatbots to automate customer interactions with the aim to generate sales and improving customer retention. Chatbots are automated interactions that you usually see on websites and apps. Since chatbots are always online, they also help give the consumer a sense that the company cares, and they tend to remain loyal to the brand. 

Chatbots are an important part of all marketing strategies, whether it is an app or a website, for the purpose of generating sales. Chatbots can be used to

• Segment products
• Advertise to the right audience
• Qualify leads
• Start conversations with website visitors
• Upsell customers

Chatbot marketing has become an integral and powerful tool for every sales and marketing professionals, regardless of the business they have. With the right setup, a simple chatbot can transform your business. Studies show that websites where visitors have chatted with businesses first are 82% more likely to convert to customers. 

This blog delves into the concept, benefits, and importance of chatbot marketing in the modern MarTech environment.

Understanding Chatbot Marketing

Chatbots are essentially automated software programs built to simulate human conversations. Chatbots can be integrated into websites, apps, IMs, and social media platforms (WhatsApp and Telegram). They can be in the form of pop-ups or a static box. 

Chatbot marketing uses a set of pre-set conditions or can be done through implementing AI (natural language processing or machine learning).  Different organizations, depending on their needs, can employ chatbot marketing for 

• Taking orders or booking. This is pretty useful for ecommerce businesses. When the customer seems interested, the chatbot can send a notification or message to the customer to push the sale.
• Schedule appointments. With chatbots, the customer can make an appointment for the service anytime. This is especially helpful for service-based companies such as clinics, beauty salons, etc. 
• Promoting products by making chatbots a part of the marketing companies. With AI and automation in MarTech, chatbots can recommend the right products to the right customers or bring the consumers to the service they desire.
• Sharing news and updates on customer-based information.

Benefits of Chatbot Marketing

24*7, Seven Days a Week Availability

Since chatbots don’t need a break or holidays, their most significant advantage is their availability at all times. All the chatbots need are regular updates and security. This means that customers always have access to the information they need, even if it is 2 a.m. The fast 24/7 customer service even during the peak hours to national and international customers will improve brand loyalty and encourage return customers. 

Enhanced Personalized Experiences

Since chatbot marketing can engage with customers in real-time, they can offer easy personalized recommendations based on personal data analysis. With AI-powered chatbots, there are many ways they can be used, such as initiating conversations, recommending products based on behaviors, adapting messages to correspond to the stage of the customer journey and provide status of the order without asking for order information. This way, the customer feels valued and understood.

Boosting Sales and Engagement

Conversational chatbot marketing can increase customer engagement and boost the sales, which is highly useful for any business. 

Chatbot Marketing is Efficient and Cost-Saving

As routine tasks become automated, such as inquiries, orders, etc. This frees up the human resources for more high-value activities which in turn saves money for the organization, and increases overall efficiency.

Lead Generation by Segmenting Traffic

Chatbots can segment traffic by engaging with the customers on their website and other platforms. They can then collect the right information, such as preferences, needs, and data, and segment the traffic to advertise the products to the right audience.

Targeted and segmented communication accounts for more than 70% of a company’s ROI. The Chatbot can also further send the lead to the sales and marketing teams to ensure an active sales pipeline. 

Data Analysis for Improved Customer Insights

Chatbots can analyse vast amounts of data, including visitors’ names, contact details, interests, etc., based on the performance and efficiency of the bot. This way, the business will gain insight of customer behaviour, preferences, and pain points. The bot can be made highly effective to improve overall customer experience. The marketing team can tailor the offers more effectively.

Scalability

Chatbots are software and hence, highly scalable. The business can handle large volumes, inquiries, and interactions with the same quality at all times. Whether it is a peak time or multiple consumer channels, the chatbots can take it up with ease. Thus, the business is not limited by human service capacity.

Consistent Support

Chatbots are not moody, they ensure that all customers get the same level of support and information. The responses and performances are standardized and accurate each and every time. This helps build trust, and reliability, and a positive brand image. 

Importance of Chatbot Marketing

Meets Modern Customer Expectations

The digital world is fast paced and evolving, today’s customers expect quick, correct, and convenient solutions to their doubts, queries, and questions. They don’t want to wait for the email response or a telephone call sometime. Chatbot marketing aces all these expectations.

Deliver Multilingual Support

Chatbot marketing can be customized to deliver multilingual support so that it can service customers anywhere around the globe.  AI can be used to initiate conversation in the customer’s preferred language. Chatbots can be programmed to converse over a call, text, or simple chat.

Deliver Omnichannel Support and Strategies

When the customer is looking for a service or product, they turn to an array of channels. They can be checking on websites, social media, phones, emails, and other messaging apps, and expect great service on each channel. The conversations should be seamless, and that is what chatbot marketing can do.

Proactive and Convenient Self-Service Options

Chatbot marketing can be proactive. This is done by monitoring user activity on the different channels. The chatbot can offer proactive suggestions to solve the problem or answer the query. If the complaint cannot be resolved, then the chatbot can ask the customer if they wanted to talk to the support agent.

Driving Customer Engagement

AI and chatbots give faster replies, and they can intuitively engage with customers at the right points of their buying journey. Chatbot marketing of today can use carousels, emojis, gifs, images, forms, etc., to drive consumer sales. It can

• Send proactive messages about order statuses, payments, etc.
• Offer discounts 
• Assist with checkout processes
• Collect customer feedback after issue resolution and interactions
• Send reminders for appointment confirmations
• Meet the customer on the channel they are on
• Customize messaging to match the brand tone 
• Assist in returns or refunds

Chatbot marketing is an advancement in the way the businesses interact with their customers. As customers evolve, the importance of chatbot marketing will only grow and become more important. Improving chatbot marketing can give any business the competitive edge they need in the marketplace. 

Also Read- Know More About Personalization