When it comes to customer service, nothing beats human interaction. However, with the increase in online shopping and the ever-growing number of customer service interactions that businesses face, human interaction is sometimes not possible or affordable. That’s where chatbots come in, allowing companies to take care of customer service without the cost and hassle of human interaction.
There are several reasons why chatbots can be so beneficial for customer service. For one, they’re great when there’s a lot of customer traffic or when the customer service team is busy dealing with other calls. They’re also great for automating repetitive tasks, such as sending automated customer service responses or handling customer complaints. If the answer to a question is simple, it may be best to take a quick response from a bot first, and then the customer service team can provide more specific details if needed.
In this article, we’ll be walking you through what exactly a chatbot is and the benefits of using it for customer service. So, chatbots are a great option to consider whether you’re looking to improve your customer service or give your team a little relief.
What is a Chatbot?
A chatbot is a computer program that interacts online with people through text or voice conversations. This online software is ideal for interacting with customers who have questions or need help with your company’s products/services. Artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbots are becoming more popular as they can provide a more personalized experience for the customer and can be used to automate customer service tasks.
In a chatbot, you can set up your communication preferences. More specifically, you can choose how often the bot sends messages and the type of messages it sends (text, voice, or both). Moreover, you can control how the bot will reply by choosing its tone. So it will match your business voice and style of communication.
In the chatbot builder, you can schedule meetings, track conversations and assign responses to specific agents depending on the topic. This information is helpful for a business to improve its conversion rate.
Benefits of Using a Chatbot for Customer Service
There are several benefits to using a chatbot for customer service. Some of the benefits include:
1. Reduced customer service costs
One of the main benefits of using a chatbot is that it saves you money by reducing the need for customer service staff. Customer service with a chatbot means that you can have continuous support for your customers. It is not affordable for all businesses to provide support all day and night, 365 days a year. However, depending on your business, this might be very important for your clients. A chatbot can give related answers until an agent can contact and help the users more deeply if needed. So, you can avoid the cost of extra agents in your team that can undertake night or weekend shifts. In addition, in cases where the questions are too many for your staff to handle, a bot can reply until someone can reach the customers.
2. Reduced response time
Using a chatbot reduces the time it takes for a response. Bots can operate 24/7 and have the ability to reply to multiple users at once. This means you will not have to wait long for an answer, which can be crucial for impatient customers or those dealing with an important issue.
3. Improved customer satisfaction
Another benefit of using chatbots for customer service is improving customer loyalty. A chatbot can help you keep your customers loyal by providing them with quality service. In addition, it can be customized to provide the best possible service for each customer. This will make users feel appreciated and special. Customers can feel more satisfied when they get a quick reply to their inquiry. Although sometimes this response might not cover their need, it is better to get an answer than not get any. If they need further help, the bot can schedule a meeting with an agent. It can be very reassuring in some situations.
4. Personalized Customer Relationships
Chatbots can also help you build more personalized relationships with your customers. Usually, the chatbot can be programmed to remember specific customer preferences. This way, when a customer contacts the service, the agents will have more information about the individual and can offer the correct answers. For example, you can provide personalized recommendations for products and services when you know what a client is interested in from previous conversations.
AI Chatbots for WordPress
With the increasing use of AI chatbots in websites, more and more software platforms are providing this service. In a WordPress website, it is easy to use AI chatbot software to improve user experience and sales for your business.
There are many popular live chat platforms that you can use in WordPress. Greatives team has used Drift, Crisp, and currently HubSpot. The last one is a complete solution connected with the HubSpot CRM features and HubSpot plugin.
Conclusion
This article outlines the possibilities and pros of setting up a chatbot for customer service. Of course, no robot can interact with your customers better than a support specialist. Chatbots cannot replace agents. They can only help them to provide better services and keep more satisfied customers so that companies can reach their goals.
We have realized that users are more excited when they talk to real people. However, researches show that half of the users are not bothered if talking to robots or not.
