Blog > Chatbots: Does your Business really need One?
Chatbots are all the rage for businesses now even though it has been in existence for many decades. Do you want your customers to reach you day and night? Try chatbot. Do you want to generate more leads and increase sales? A chatbot is your plug. The crux of the matter is that chatbots are trendy and very functional. You might be seduced by all the massive benefits your business can derive from chatbots. However, before diving headfirst to join millions of business owners using chatbots, you need to consider these fundamental questions?
Who are Your Target Markets?
You can add a chatbot to your website as a guide for your customer but what if they prefer to browse through your shop in person or speak directly with a representative on the phone? Before deciding to build one for your business, you must first study your customer’s behavioral pattern. If your target groups are older people, it is more likely that they will want to speak with a human instead of a bot. On the contrary, if your business caters to tech-savvy millennials, it is high time you started thinking of the platform to use.
Does your Business have a Global Reach?
Businesses with international coverage need a local touch to interact with customers in different countries. What is with barriers in language, cultural practice, and the difference in time zones? You need dispersed employees that will cost your business more. If your business is yet to expand to that scale, you might need to gradually transform digitally instead of jumping directly to adopting chatbots.
How often do you need to respond to customers’ queries?
One of the core advantages of using chatbots is to give your business a constant online presence. If your employees are already overwhelmed by multiple interactions with customers daily; consider training a bot. There is a scripted chatbot with limited functionality and can only answer questions based on the input stored on it and there are AI and virtual chatbots with the ability to interpret what the customer is trying to say through machine learning. A company with millions of customer engagements at once will find it more beneficial to use AI chatbot. However, if you are a small business owner with little customer interaction, then a chatbot is probably more headache than it’s worth.
What is your business policy regarding user privacy protection?
To be able to add value to your business, Artificial intelligence chatbots need to have your customers’ data. Information like their purchase patterns, past queries, and other invasive private data can be easily accessed by AI chatbots. This information about your customer must be securely protected by your company. Therefore, it is important to learn the privacy policy of the region your business is located in. You do not want to violate government policy while trying to serve your customer better.
Have you Weighed the Cost and Benefits of Chatbots, yet?
Financially, the cost of developing a chatbot can be on the high side especially if you have a small audience. For companies with a large number of customers though, it is worth every cent. Chatbots can learn and interact just like humans when taught properly. Apart from customer service and sales, you can use chatbots in human resources to interview prospective employees to sort the wheat from the shaft.
Many businesses have a bad experience when it comes to transforming to chatbots but you do not have to join the number. The choice is yours whether you need one for your business or not. If you need chatbots for your business, watch rushing into it. Choose a platform carefully, test, and monitor its function properly then carry out any necessary adjustment before launching.
Author: SVCIT Editorial
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