We know you’re wondering because you’ve probably heard enough to believe this is possible… The idea of AI-powered Chatbots replacing Customer Service.
But before jumping the gun and letting go of your Customer Service team, consider this: One of the most trying conversations for any Customer Service Team Member to have is resolving issues that customers have. It’s a part of any business, no matter how seamless all communication and processes are made.
From issues with delivery to uncontrollable delays or disappointments based on misunderstanding, and more – how much happier would your team be if they weren’t spending part of their day dealing with these concerns?
That’s where an AI chatbot can come in handy! Imagine this scenario…
A customer receives their order via a third-party delivery service but isn’t able to open it until later in the day when your business is closed.
One of the items – which left your warehouse/office in good condition – is broken.
Understandably, the customer is upset. Without an option to reach out to you until the next day, they stew in that disappointment and may be thinking about what they’re going to say when speak to you.
On the one hand, most people recognize that the company isn’t always at fault. But on the other hand, when it comes to money being on the line, of course, there needs to be a solution. In instances where something is time-sensitive or expensive, they’re going to need to direct their frustration wherever and however they can.
How much easier would it be for everybody if this customer could navigate to your website late at night, report the issue through a Chatbot, and know that you’ll address it the next day?
This saves the time and resources of tied-up phone lines and/or starting the day with a long queue of emails that need to be answered ASAP. In some cases, time is wasted addressing an email only to find out that the customer has also already called in and spoken to someone.
Instead, you can have emails or a report noting the issues to be processed; as was submitted through the Chatbot. Your Customer Service team can tackle that instead, and then follow up with customers with the good news.
Sound like a good plan? Let’s explore a couple of scenarios and uses!
Chatbots Programmed To Inform
You’ll want to make sure that the information you’re providing won’t cross any questionable lines and is safe to be communicated this way. While there aren’t any specific regulations in place just yet, people are starting to push for this now that AI-provided content is exploding in use.
For example: You can find papers online for proposed regulations in the healthcare industry so that people are not allowing chatbots to advise on diagnoses or treatments. This seems logical, especially when pointing out the breach of privacy that would need to be involved in properly doing so. This is why it’s worth searching for anything that could apply to your industry and simply being aware of it.
Having said that, we did work on a project that involved programming a Chatbot for a healthcare clinic. But instead of speaking specifically about sensitive, personal situations, it would answer questions such as “What’s the best at-home treatment for a pulled muscle?” or “What do I need to know if I am taking ‘specific drug’?“. As opposed to providing any advice wherein more background information would be needed, these gave answers that came straight off of information sheets that the clinic’s doctors had created. Asking any questions that didn’t have a logged answer would tell the user that they should book an appointment – and the bot took them through a contact/booking process.
But you also don’t need to be that specific or have a vast library of information to set it up…
These can be set up using a variety of data points. The more information we can program it with though, the more informative it will be. It can be a simple Q&A bot, or it can explain information that you openly provide to clients (ie. How-To articles or resource guides). Or it can do both.
The long story short is that having a bot answer initial questions to prospective clients cuts back on the time needed during a face-to-face consultation. Better yet, they may be more eager because they’ve come across all that information on your website. Alternatively, this could answer product-specific questions that allow customers to make a purchase immediately instead of holding off while they investigate.
Chatbots Programmed To Nurture
It’s entirely possible to set up a Chatbot that will automatically pop up at a certain point while someone navigates your website. With it prompting to start a conversation, it could make the experience more pleasant for users.
While in this day and age, people are quick to realize there’s no person on the other end, this still works wonders. By programming the bot to welcome someone by saying something along the lines of “Ask me anything!”, users realize that they can quickly access information without needing to click around and read the whole website.
This works similarly to the above, just with a different intention and/or touchpoint (activation).
It all boils down to how you want to use it and what you want to program it to do. Whereas a bot that serves as a form of Customer Service can live on a page, this type of Chatbot can be available site-wide. It’s an added layout item – always being expandable in the corner no matter what page you’re on.
Where the nurturing experience can come in is with the ability to program the bot to connect users to functions. It could be the bridge to connect it to a particular employee or department, or even add users as subscribers.
For example: It can answer any questions that a person may have about a particular service. Then, it can ask if the person is interested in learning more by having a consultation call. The next step of the process can be to collect the basic contact information; which can be sent to the appropriate person within the company, as well as add them to the mailing list by checking off an opt-in option.
When you get down to envisioning how this would apply to your company, you can see that the possibilities are wide open. You may have pages with forms that already fulfill this purpose, but you can still keep those. Just knowing that someone can do this without even navigating away from your homepage means more opportunities for conversions.
Chatbot Options: Endless
If you can think it up, it can be done! This is the current state of the digital landscape after all.
Assuming you work with a company like ourselves – who can be hired to train a bot specifically and only for your use – then you can’t go wrong.
But it is work that takes time and testing before it can be “delivered” (made ready to integrate on your website). If the very thought of using an AI-run bot interests you, book a consultation call for your brainstorming session. We can discuss the various possibilities, what we would need from you to make it happen, and what this project would end up looking like.
The trend of AI is here and it’s strong, so it’s never too late to jump on board. Consider the possibilities today and how to use them to your advantage!