Chatbots: How To Survive The Landing Page Apocalypse

What's the lifespan of your next landing page? You might want to correlate this to the amount of time left in the pre-chatbot era. Don't think you'd lose website traffic to bots? A recent survey by Hubspot, which found 86% of customers are interested in trying bots, might disagree with you.

You may have heard of chatbots and quickly dismissed them as ‘gimmicky’ or ‘naff’, but with companies like eBay and Royal Bank of Scotland developing their own bots, there are multiple reasons as to why your organisation should seriously consider developing one. FAST.

The need for digital innovation is hardly news, especially if you want to compete with digital giants. With the increasing development in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, automation is at the top of every digital agenda. Indeed, this topic was at the heart of the debate at a recent meeting of the Hidden Edge Club, a collection of senior business leaders from the top organisations in London. Their report, Navigating Innovation In The Age of Digital Disruption, concluded more than 55% of the group were prioritising digital innovation - specifically within digital services. Chatbots featured prominently in the discussion.

In June 2016, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Facebook Messenger would now have chatbot capabilities which could facilitate direct B2C marketing and personalised customer service – on the cheap.

But ‘WAIT,’ I hear you cry, ‘what even are chatbots?’

A-ha.

Chatbots are basically an interface, much like our well-loved Siris and Cortanas, which operate through our Facebook Messenger app. Alex Sam, an Internet Marketing Specialist at Contus gives insight in his article, How Chatbot App Development Will Springboard Virtual Assistance. He states that chatbots are so good that ‘sooner or later customer support executives will all be replaced by chatbots who deliver smarter, accurate and faster responses to user queries’.

But what makes them so different?

They are specifically designed to replicate human interaction; they will not just follow your average one-sided question and answer format, but will suggest related topics/products from the information the user has already given them. They will even show humour and emotion; like talking to a real human being.

But why should you want a chatbot?

Because your customers want a chatbot. We humans need things done quicker than ever before and it fulfils that perfectly.

-         Most chatbots operate through a universal app: Facebook Messenger

Research shows that since April 2014, Facebook Messenger usership has increased from 200m monthly users to 900m. And, given that most chatbots require only this simple app to run, chatbot engagement feels easy and seamless; especially for the customer who hasn’t been able to take photos due to lacking storage space (the last thing they want to do is download another god-forsaken app).

-         Immediate, accurate service

Juniper Research found that customers are on average saving more than four minutes by enquiring on a chatbot rather than a traditional call centre. We can get one-on-one service almost immediately instead of being made to wait in a queue on a live chat service or being put on hold while hold music is endlessly drilled into our ears.

-        They know what customers want before you do

It is no surprise that 34% of online retail companies have already incorporated chatbots when they use specific, personalised data. This means they can accurately predict which products we are going to buy. 'It is the capability to capture and use data effectively that is the key differentiator between the organisations that are winning the heart and mind of the modern consumer from those that aren't.'

Who's paving the way with chatbots?

Chatbots can be seen across various sectors, such as banking, retail, healthcare, legal advice and advertising. Here are a few of the most exciting:

(1)   Skyscanner

Skyscanner was the first of the comparison websites to develop a bot that seamlessly integrates with Facebook Messenger, Skype and Amazon Echo. The bot can recommend flights based on the destinations cheapest to get to from the airport nearest to the user.

(2)   RBS

Royal Bank of Scotland last year launched ‘Luvo’, a new chatbot that answers customers’ questions online and help direct them to the right place on the website. It prevents customers from being passed through a number of advisers before finally receiving the information they need; also allowing the advisers to spend more time focusing on complex customer questions.

(3)   Domino's

Dom the Pizza Bot has just been employed by Domino’s to allow customers to order pizza directly through Facebook Messenger. By simply sending the word ‘Pizza’ or the pizza slice emoji the bot will transmit an ‘easy order’ where the user’s last ordered pizza will be ready to be paid for through the messenger.

(4)   Disney

The media and entertainment sector are even beginning to jump on the chatbot bandwagon. To promote the launch of their new film Zootopia, Disney created a bot of their character Officer Judy Hopps on Facebook messenger. It worked like a game so users could help Judy Hopps solve her cases, generally spending 10 or more minutes conversing with her.

(5)  Lawbot X

This new bot, built by Cambridge University students, will be launched at the end of the month and will effectively ‘automate the law’. LawBot X provides users with free legal advice, recommended law firms and even their likelihood of success. “Our bot gets 71% of cases right. That's better than anything else you'll get in 5 minutes. Every conversation makes LawBot smarter”.

 But do people actually want to use this?

Yes. Hubspot recently conducted research to see how many people would be interested in using AI technology to get their questions answered, and 86% of those surveyed said they would try it.

Which is good because, as Justin Clegg, Tech Entrepreneur for Podium Messenger says in his article How to Build a Great Chatbot: ‘Apps are dying, and chatbots are taking over.’

So how can I get one quickly?!

This newly developing application called Drift could be the answer for you. They have created a bot which you can simply add to your website; their bots 'help you talk to people in the right place, with the right message, at exactly the right time'. So, there really is no excuse not to survive the Landing Page Apocalypse.

This article was inspired by a discussion held by the Hidden Edge Club in May 2017, for the city’s most innovative and forward-thinking leaders in this arena. If you’re interested in joining the club for invitation only events such as this, you can register for free at https://www.hiddenedgeclub.com/about/.