Chatbot etiquette - train them well!

As is often the case with something new and exciting, the stampede to use chatbot technology is sometimes misguided. 

Yes, these amazing bots (computer programmes) do support faster and more efficient customer interaction. They do automate much of the mundane and time-consuming information gathering. And hybrid chatbots enable a smooth transition between an automated digital exchange and human customer service reps.

The benefits provided by this versatile and responsive technology are truly massive, for customer service and marketing purposes.

However, any investment that’s a knee-jerk reaction or driven by over-enthusiasm for a new “toy” is risky.

Chatbots demand careful consideration and planning. And that includes getting your chatbot etiquette sorted!

The best behaved bots

Bot powered commerce uses a conversational interface to elicit responses. So, it usually appears on websites as a Live Chat feature. Some of the best examples are integrated hybrid chatbots, which add in human involvement as and when needed.

The best chatbots use the latest in Artificial Intelligence, to formulate personalised responses. This means incorporating learnt responses too; adding to its data to become ever more sophisticated.

How can it possibly go wrong?

Naughty bots

For a start, your chatbot needs the best possible start in life to do its job effectively and it needs to be created with a strong semblance of normal conversation. Even when it's unashamedly a technological entity.

If you don’t set up your chatbot properly to your specific business requirements - and the likely needs of your customers - you could be creating a monster.

Imagine a customer trying to find a product, who is constantly directed to something wholly inappropriate. Or who receives a series of messages that show the chatbot is unable to complete the task.

Likewise, chatbots lacking a clear purpose, that miss important elements of conversational context, or which ask for information supplied “two bubbles ago” are not greeted with enthusiasm.

Within a split second, you could lose a customer and gain a reputation for being an unresponsive, unapproachable company.

All the advantages of a speedy and efficient interaction will have been lost.

Versatile and to the point

Your chatbot needs to work across any device too. Having a chatbot that falls silent when the enquiry is on a mobile is not acceptable to most customers.

You also need to avoid spammy bots.

Chatbots enable one to one customer engagement in a scalable fashion. It's best to avoid using this as a blatant up-selling tool.

If customers receive a wealth of superfluous detail - and information about other products they didn’t ask for - their patience with automated responses will quickly wear thin.

In a nutshell then, it comes down to training your chatbot to behave well, and not upset more customers than it helps!