Chatbots // The Future of Business Communication
In the words of Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, bots are the new apps.
So what exactly are chatbots? This is software that has been made to conduct conversations in a human like manner.
The future of communication will be hewn on chatbots. The idea is based on having conversational interfaces where people can really communicate with the clone or surrogate of another person. There are plenty of sites online but the unfortunate thing is that they look good and are impersonal since everyone is an audience. Customers need to experience the same feeling they have while dealing with a store attendant in a physical store while online. They need roles and chatbots do exactly that and much more.
Chatbots offer business owners a great platform of engaging with customers in a more personalized way unlike applications.
Chatbots for business
Human interaction in customer service will only be initiated when necessary. So the rest of the time the chatbots will be in charge. As a result businesses will still be able to communicate with many of their customers without bringing additional customer service employees.
Chatbots will also facilitate increased customer intelligence. This will allow companies to effectively personalize every customer’s shopping experience thanks to the bots being able to log and save data points plus reach many people.
Chatbots will put small businesses on the same level field as the big shots. Since bots can undertake tasks. This is similar to having extra personnel on your team hence increased business growth.
Factors to consider before investing in chatbots for business
Will the bot be useful to my business
As much as major companies are looking the bot direction, it is important to ensure that you are not tempted to copy. Bots are meant to serve a purpose hence the need to ensure that they are truly necessary.
What are the capabilities
There are different types of bots for specific tasks. It should also be known that bot technology has not yet reached its peak and hence as much as there are benefits there are also limitations. One example of such is that bots cannot fully carry out a conversation with a natural flow. This means if the interaction goes unsupervised things might sound out of place. You will therefore need to be very particular as to what you want the bot to do and if it has the capability to execute the task effectively. You should also find out if the bot will enhance the UX experience for your customers. You must know how you will be able to strike a balance between efficiency and hindrance. If the bot does not fit on your site or social media pages then it is not worth investing in.
Get it straight
Chatbots will not take over customer service. Human interaction will still be needed. The bots will have their own lane of operations. Bots are a threat to apps but not to human run operations.
We should also expect improved buying experiences. Some process are quite time consuming when done online. The only solution is having a bot that will handle every situation smoothly, giving the user an easy time obtaining the service.
Embracing the future
The future is already here with us. Facebook is already testing business bots. Marketers therefore should brace themselves for an experience where they will be targeting many more customers while utilizing very little or no labor. There is Fify who is a bot who specializes in fashion. She will interact differently with every person plus she will be aware of the context. What else will she be able to do? She will let you know the latest trends and even give you hot gossip about a celebrity.
With the increasing rate of growth in technology, there is no telling the limitation on what bots can do but there is a fact that cannot be denied, we shall be seeing more of bots soon.
References
- https://www.techrepublic.com/article/satya-nadella-software-bots-will-be-as-big-as-mobile-apps/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2016/05/24/chatbots-and-the-future-of-conversation-based-interfaces/#35e52213220d
- https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/why-social-media-chat-bots-future-communication-jan-rezab
- https://rattleberry.co/2016/05/3-things-to-consider-before-investing-in-chatbot-technology/