If you are a service providing enterprise and have still not leveraged the benefits of Chatbots, you need to rethink.
With new inventions coming up every day needs to be aware as to which of them will benefit your business to satisfy your customers and bring in profits at the same time. Customers are always a priority and tending to their needs 24*7 should be the prime objective of any business. Customers are getting used to better interactions with the fast-growing technology around them and with these digital transformations taking place in every sphere of our day to day lives, companies cannot lag behind when it comes to providing good quality customer service. We are at a place where customers expect all their problems to be addressed within minutes.
Enter Chatbots, an advanced technology leveraging AI and machine learning that caters to all customer requirements within minutes making their lives simpler and also enhancing the company’s profits.
However, even the Chatbots have transformed in the last few years. Earlier when asked a question Chatbots, unable to understand the sentiment behind came up with wrong answers. This often led to a dissatisfied customer or a valuable lead lost. This was because even though the AI recognized the keywords what they failed to understand was the context behind the complain/query because they weren’t programmed to understand the human language and worked solely on the keywords stored in their systems.
In the present times, these AI chatbots have an improved massively and come a long way. They are now developed with the intention of not just answering back but also to understand the context and come up with the best possible solution.
Adam Devine is the CMO of WorkFusion says, “Adding natural language processes and machine learning changes everything, giving virtual customer assistants (VCAs) the ability to determine not just what rules-based action to take based on a word, but to understand the meaning of words in different combinations, ask questions to create context and intent, and actually do something for the customer.”
Brands like H&M, Nike, NorthFace have successfully launched their Chatbots and rewarded with great results. There are organizations which have gone a step beyond text-based chatbots.
“Technology start-up Soul Machines have developed a Chatbot for the Australian government that looks like a real person. ‘Nadia’, voiced by actress Cate Blanchett, has realistic facial expressions and voice intonation, and can be interacted with via a webcam and microphone.”
Let us see how Chatbots give retail companies a customer experience boost:
- Unlike customer service agents, chatbots can be available 24*7. Cost-efficient and a never sleeping agent will always provide efficient service to your customers. The chatbots are programmed to not just simply reply but also understand the customer’s emotions and reply accordingly. If the chatbot senses that things might need human assistance, the transfer can be done smoothly and the customer’s queries/complains can be handled in a hassle-free manner. “In the banking industry, Workfusion’s chatbots are trained by using historical conversations and can perform some of the same tasks as a live support centre rep such as correcting an invoice, answering basic questions about account balances and more.”
- The waiting time disappears with chatbots. Since it’s software, it can handle multiple customers simultaneously.
- Chatbots not only serve your customers but can collect data from the previous interactions to serve them better. “Devine says chatbots serve as virtual assistants that can feed customer data to the agent in real time, so the agent can give the customer good information and solutions based on current needs as well as past interactions with the company.”
- Proactively reaching out to the customers to make outbound is important for a business. But most small to medium companies do not have the kind of budget to hire more people and the existing employees are already flooded with work. This is where chatbots come in the picture. “Whether it’s a simple email or text on a customer’s birthday, or a quick check-in to ask if they are enjoying the brand’s product or service, chatbots are helping to foster brand loyalty.
- Apart from solving queries, Chatbots will be a useful tool in recommendations. Customers can simply upload a picture on the chat and get recommendations regarding similar products. “Rue21, a speciality retailer of teen apparel and accessories, is one of the latest to embrace such innovations and launch a chatbot. Rue21’s chatbot is a virtual stylist that works to learn a shopper’s interests and preferences, respond to their requests, and even make recommendations for complementary items. These features serve to simplify and personalize the shopping process for customers, improving their overall brand experience.”
Customers are the most valuable asset for any brand and to keep them happy should always be a priority. Chatbots ensure this and not only help in maintaining good relationships with existing customers but also convert a potential buyer to a loyal customer.
