Chatbots were created to interact with humans. They are used by companies, mostly inside their customer service department. Although they have been commercialized only for a few years, they are already extremely popular with all businesses, no matter what their size is, and here is why. 

Companies face Challenges in an Omnichannel World

Before the arrival of the internet, life was much simpler for companies. They had their own (usually smaller) market to care for, in a given region, and they would answer to customers requests either through a call center or on site. Some people would write complaining letters that they would send through regular mail, but that was only occasional. Nowadays, there are so many different ways for a consumer to get in touch with a company. That is what is called omnichannel, in today’s marketing world. And if no one is there to answer them, they simply walk away and head to another company that can offer them the same service or product, through a given channel.

That is why companies need chatbots. They can respond immediately to anyone’s demand. And if they can’t solve the issue by themselves, they will transfer the message or the call to an employee or a manager of the business, so that they can handle the situation in the shortest amount of time. All companies can have one, since there is a free chatbot tool that offers the service, online. Those who thought that it would be too expensive to have a chatbot for their customer service needs, now have this option to look at, in order to make sure that they will never lose one client again, just because no one was there to respond to their queries, on a given channel.

What are the Channels on which a Company can place a Chatbot?

As a consumer, you can find yourself communicating with a chatbot in a variety of location, and not only online. For example, if you get in contact with a call center, it is possible that a chatbot will answer you. Its goal is to direct your call, but also to answer your query if it can, so that a human response is unnecessary. A company’s website is certainly the place where you will find the most chatbots. In this case, their role is similar to a salesperson that you would encounter, if you were walking into a physical boutique. It is placed there to respond to any question that a consumer may have, regarding the products or services that the company offers. It can also serve as a customer service tool, at least to redirect the question to the right person inside the company.

You can also find yourself chatting with a bot, on social media accounts. They offer a variety of options to those managing them. You could be thinking that you are speaking with the owner of the account, while it is actually a chatbot exchanging messages with you. Again, the chatbot may also be used to respond to any query that people may have about the person, the company, or the products and services. 

Chatbots are the solution of the future for companies, because they solve a lot of issues for them. Customer service agents, when needed in large numbers, can be quite expensive in terms of salaries. With a chatbot solving some of the customers issues by itself and doing so for many users at the same time, it can reduce the number of agents that it employs. Most importantly, customers are happy not to waste time, when they address themselves to these companies. And a happy customer is one that will buy again.