Say bye-bye to Muzak, while holding for the operator over the phones, and hello to Chatbots.
One of the major factors in the private sector that sets companies apart, is their customer service-a concept which gained huge importance with the decline of monopolistic and the birth of competitive markets. 24/7 help lines, gathering feedback through surveys and other measuring tools, instant feedback through mobile and web platforms-the works! Now with artificial intelligence (AI), information technology has made a breakthrough into prompt and effective customer service. Chatbots have hijacked manual customer service desks and taken user experience to another level!
High-level artificial intelligence has increased the scope of customer interaction and marketing initiatives. Chatbot pop-ups on websites, like ‘Welcome, May I help you?’ make the user/prospective buyer feel at home and make the company very approachable. If the company reaches out before the customer does, a strong closeness to the brand is created.
These human-like conversations are used for much more for than just problem-solving. Customer analysis is another utility of chatbots. They are programmed to track customer purchasing patterns and monitor data of consumers; based on which companies design marketing strategies. One of the most cost-effective ways of consumer analysis, chatbots are slowly replacing job profiles like customer analyst; thereby reducing possibilities of human error.
Chatbots help in gathering preliminary while asking them to hold for assistance. That information will help in creating personalised ads that can be directed to the customer. Chatbots have the onus of appearing real. Low-quality chatbots will tell the customer that it is not real, which can be damaging to the brand. Though this tactic is blamed to have commercialised personal relationships, it has been quite useful in sales conversions.
Unique personalities are being given to chatbots, resulting in cutting edge user experience. This will make conversations funnier and keep the user interested, unlike predictable prototypes.
Messenger and chat apps like Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, Google Hangout which are devoid of advertisements, made bots popular. With Facebook and Twitter opening platforms for organisations to promote their chatbots, one can safely say chatbots are here to stay. Business without chatbots today is almost unthinkable, so if your company does not have one yet, do not waste more time!
Facebook recently scared everyone when it caught two bots talking to each other instead of with the user. Worst fears of many people like Elon Musk, who have often raised concern over the dangerous possibility of machines controlling the human race, came true. But one has to admit technology’s constant development and unimaginable contribution is inevitable.
