Communicating, Profiling, Selling in an Automated Way: with Chat Bots you can!

Perhaps you've recently visited a website and been contacted directly by Customer Service via chat, received push notifications when new content and articles are published by your favorite online newspaper , contacted a company directly via Messenger or its Facebook page, or received useful information from a Telegram chat. What is it? Two words: Chat-Bot.

Chat Bots: what are they and how do they work?

A Chat Bot is, in fact, a bot that operates via chat , a virtual assistant capable of conversing—or rather, chatting—with users automatically. Using complex algorithms, these web robots are able to interact with real people, responding appropriately and providing new conversation starters, conversing in a realistic and natural way thanks to artificial intelligence.

In their most advanced versions, thanks to machine learning processes , they are able to learn the language of individual users, even understanding their mood and are thus able to adapt the conversation and tone, all in real time.

Why use Chat Bots and what are the advantages of queam I instrument?

There are several valid reasons for relying on a Bot : although it is still a technology in its infancy, it is increasingly widespread, and the reason is only one: efficiency.

1. Automation: first of all, the Chat Bots allow you to communicate simultaneously, via chat and in real time, with an unlimited number of users, 7 days a week and 7 hours a day; this allows us to respond immediately to any request from users, at any time. This simply means making an activity scalable that, carried out manually, would never be as efficient.
2. Chat Bots can be used on websites, applications and social networks: integrating them, it will be possible to have a complete view of your target.
3. Chat Bots are a great tool for lead generation: using the Facebook Chat Bot, for example, it is possible to find new customers through engagement posts, and create a database to be able to contact them again at a later time.
4. Through the Chat Bots it is possible profile users and personalize contenti based on the answers: as in a tree diagram, each user interaction is recorded, analyzed and translated into useful information for subsequent interactions.
5. Il open rate exceeds the 90 %: this means that 90% of users will open the chat, and a good percentage of them will read its content.

Chat Bot for Business: Any Practical Applications?

In practice, Chat Bots can be programmed to perform any function that requires initial contact with the user, especially where the number of interactions is high and it becomes difficult to manage conversations without some automation.

1. The most classic example is the customer care. If it is undeniable that every user it is unique and different, it is true that the needs are common, the problems encountered are often the same and just as often they are easily solved with more or less uniform answers. Chat Bots are programmed to provide quick answers to frequently asked questions, optimizing the customer service and relieving it of the problems for which contact with natural persons is not necessary. An example? Timetables and general information, which can easily be communicated automatically.
2. Through the Bots it is possible perform basic commercial functions in an automated way: from the sale of products and services, to the sharing of information relating to offers and promotions, to the suggestion of products based on the history.
3. It is also possible optimize the activity of e-mail marketing campaigns , sharing information and contents in an automated way: to be clear, one Newsletter via chat, more direct and personalized.

Focus: Messenger Bots

Having clarified the advantages and potential of Chat Bots, we can focus on the Facebook Messenger Chat Bot. Why rely on Messenger Bots for your Digital Marketing strategy?

1. Billions of users: 1.3 billion people use Messenger - needless to say, billions of potential customers to contact and re-contact.
2. É still a little used tool: traditional email marketing is still the most used, but it is easy to predict that it will soon be replaced by its optimized version - the chat marketing - And Facebook it is and will remain a giant in the sector.
3. As previously stated, Messenger Bots allows you to profile users based on their interactions, in order to offer diversified and personalized content: it is possible to know exactly not only the gender of each user, but also the messages and promotions already displayed, those with which he interacted and how he interacted; with the right questions, the targeting will be more and more precise.

Why should you prefer chat marketing over email marketing?

If you're still not convinced, we'll briefly explain why email marketing is now obsolete. Chat bots are a more efficient alternative in every way:

1. Create a list of subscribers. Creating a list of subscribers results, for the classic newsletters, definitely difficult: it is often recognized by users as a "nuisance", in most cases users do not want to be contacted and will deny consent during registration or purchase. Chat Bots register each user from the first interaction; Basically, at the first contact with the Bot you become automatically subscriber and you are entered in the database of users to contact. Clearly, with each interaction it will be possible to interrupt the flow of information, but the process is decidedly more streamlined.
2. Profiling the users: anything is possible, but profiling users in email marketing is a much more demanding process, both in terms of time and money: The Chat Bot will do everything automatically.
3. Communication Team: compared to classic e-mail communications, which are generally more formal and detached, chat communication is different, more concrete, real and direct. The user is more easily led to interaction. Do not forget, then, that being a relatively new instrument it is easier to hit the mark in terms of originality.
4. Open rate and CTR: if the opening rate in newsletters is around 1%, it reaches 90% with Chat Bots. Also in terms of click-through-rate, this is 4 to 10 times higher on Chat Bots than on e-mails: numbers that make the difference!

How to install a ChatBot?

To implement a bot on a website, there are two main options: the cheapest option is to use a free platform (such as dialogflow.com or botify.com ) and follow the instructions and use the editors, finally inserting the associated code string directly into the company website; alternatively, you can turn to specialists who build and program custom bots.

Similarly, to use Facebook Messenger Chat Bots you can use an online platform or use the Facebook platform directly , which allows you to carry out any kind of customization.

Clearly, the cheapest option is never the most efficient: to get the most out of this kind of software and make optimal use it is advisable to turn to those who have the necessary skills and knowledge.

The ChatBot is therefore an essential tool for all companies that want to offer a complete Customer Care service and 24/7 assistance to their loyal and non-loyal customers.

It does not end here…

The story tells how we initially went from a paper phase, that of flyers or brochures in letterboxes, that is, uniform advertising not studied based on the target of customers that had to be good for some and not for others, but the problem did not. posed. Then after endless years of door-to-door, the e-mail marketing phase arrived.

In this case the e-mails were sent with a well-calculated cadence, it was a direct marketing strategy that used e-mail as a means of communicating commercial messages to the public.

Email marketing, if addressed to a list of pre-selected users , is called Direct Email Marketing (acronym: DEM).

At this stage, the advantages of the previous tool were numerous: paper was not wasted unnecessarily, a few seconds or rather a simple click were enough to send a message , so the process required very little time, the ROI (Return Of Investment) was significantly higher than other marketing channels, and the costs were low.

In short, it seemed like the modern breakthrough needed to attract a greater number of users, especially because messages could be personalized based on the customer. This was definitely an important aspect that made the difference compared to the previous method.

Then technology once again took over, a change was needed, this was still not enough: it was necessary to automate.

People began to imagine a robot that would do everything automatically , that would personally take care of communicating and providing the right customer service. Customer care is a significant commitment for a company, a sector that shouldn't be overlooked but which employs many operators. How could this workload be streamlined without diminishing its efficiency and effectiveness? The answer arrived, and it was the turning point: the ChatBot.

The ChatBot That Never Goes on Vacation

Essentially, the ChatBot can be identified with a person who is always available , who works for us, serving customers 24/7.

An important aspect of this tool is that, unlike humans , the automated robot is not at risk of incurring angry outbursts , a typically human characteristic, especially when dealing with difficult customers who complain or are dissatisfied with the service. One example is constant complaints.

Furthermore, the service is fully available; customers can make requests at any time of day, night or day , Christmas or Easter. There are no holidays on the calendar. Every day is the same as the previous one.

Using ChatBots is like having the password to everyone's phone. Yes, the most interesting aspect of these automated chats is that they can reach an unlimited number of people simultaneously, without even taking up time because they create a chat directly within the platforms already used by users.

Messenger, for example, is a medium everyone uses. We all use it daily to chat with friends, partners, and family. The ability to quickly and directly access this tool to promote your services and products is an extremely powerful tool.

If previously, wanting or needing to respond to a promotional email was a task that required time and effort, now, thanks to these automated chats, everything is faster and more automatic. It's almost fun , because it's actually fun to chat with a robot that looks so much like a human. It's become a kind of pastime.

If you think that all the chats you create aren't saved, well, you're wrong again. Another interesting aspect of using this tool is the fact that you can record every single chat with users to see if they're interested in the products you offer.

In short, the world of chatbots is constantly evolving and, due to its effectiveness, has replaced the presence of human operators who personally handle customer care activities. This has allowed for the dedication of more manpower to the company's core business without neglecting the sensitive aspect of customer service.

Choosing to use ChatBots nowadays is a demonstration of innovation and efficiency.

We cannot wait, the time has come to act.