Why Businesses Need Chatbots - Smart Health Shop .com

Around 50% of users expect to receive clear and instant assistance from a company, no matter what day and time it is. It’s true, today’s customers are pretty demanding, so every business is looking for a solution to respond to their expectations, assisting the audience 24/7.

The thing is that when users are sending their requests, in the majority of cases, they ask very similar and simple questions that could be answered by means of adequately configured programs. It’s required to introduce chatbot technology in the business to cope with the task. We shall thoroughly explore the issue to figure out why companies need to consider chatbot implementation.

Table of Contents

Chatbots for business: how do they work?

The typical work cycle of any chatbot usually includes the following aspects:

Receiving a request from a client;
Analyzing of the request obtained;
Determining client’s wishes and intentions;
Executing the actions in accordance with the predetermined scenario (the script);
Generating a response in natural language;
Saving the dialogue to process future client’s requests;
Sending a response to the client.

Starting from 2015, the evolution of ML and Big Data has contributed to a more effective way of communication with users. Thus, present-day chatbots successfully take advantage of Data Science technologies, adequate speech recognition, and other effective AI instruments.

Benefits chatbots offer businesses:

Increased sales. AI-powered chatbots help users find what they need by offering visitors items that people will most likely want. The drive of sales is possible due to the ability of chatbots to memorize client’s preferences;
Reduced costs. These technologies are capable of serving a huge number of consumers, meaning, staff costs could be significantly reduced. The practice proves that 75% of requests can thoroughly be processed and resolved by those virtual helpers. By the by, chatbots could be successfully applied if you decide to create an app for marketing and promotion;
Fast request processing. Chatbots can easily access huge amounts of data thanks to the programmed algorithms applied. Human beings will never be able to find the needed details that fast;
Automatization of communication. Chatbots manage to automate specific business processes. These virtual assistants effectively cope with solving simple tasks, thus, the personnel shall have more time to take care of more strategic challenges;
24/7 performance. Chatbots can work around the clock with no days off. It means, whenever a customer needs to get in touch with you, even if it’s in the middle of the night, he or she shall receive assistance. Unfortunately, such AI-based consultation might be slightly far from ideal, still, it’s much better than nothing;
Growing client loyalty. When chatbots are implemented accurately, users will promptly get the answers to their questions. People won’t be forced to wait for a long time getting annoyed and irritated;
Data collection. The possibility to collect data on users is critical for every business, thus, entrepreneurs who take advantage of those virtual helpers can gather all essential details. The thing is that chatbots can simply ask users some questions to get more particulars. Consequently, all the details gathered allow businesses to provide their audience with the most personalized offers;
Holding the interest of clients. The technologies in question make a business to be latter-day and interactive. Such companies always manage to keep pace with the times. Moreover, a younger generation will be easily engaged as well.

Benefits chatbots offer clients:

Up-to-date way of communication. According to stats, around 65% of users would write a message to a company rather than call it. That’s what chatbots are for;
Easy content search. Customers don’t have to do the research to find the details they need. People can simply reach out to chatbots to obtain what is needed;
No waiting. 70% of respondents say they appreciate that chatbots provide clear and fast info. Managers can’t ensure such level of communication since they can’t interact with several customers simultaneously, while chatbots can;
Clear interface. Those technologies are very easy to use, and usually, chatbots are the ones to encourage conversation. Customers don’t have to look for a dialogue box to contact AI-powered helpers, so it’s pretty convenient;
Total availability. Chatbots can bring equal benefits for both clients and businesses, so the ability to come to the rescue 24/7 is one of them.

To get the overall picture on chatbots we have to reveal all the secrets, so let’s move on to the next point.

Disadvantages of chatbots

While learning about the benefits, you might have a question why not everyone goes for chatbots if these technologies provide so many bonuses. Businessmen consider a few reasons for this (though, they could be successfully resolved):

limited cases of use;
security concerns;
cost;
user distraction;
accuracy concerns;
support from management and executives;
training requirements;
ethical concerns;
ongoing investments due to regular upgrades.

Some inexperienced entrepreneurs use the above opinions and doubts to say “No” to chatbots, but those statements are completely unfounded. However, these virtual assistants do have real downsides, such as:

Possibility to annoy the audience. When chatbots’ dialogues aren’t thought through properly, users won’t like the service and might decide to leave the platform.
Misunderstanding. Chatbots might not understand properly the tone of the message. Just imagine: a person sends the message, say, “Your product is truly awful!”. If a chatbot gets confused and misinterprets the meaning, answering “It was my pleasure to assist you!”, the situation will be pretty ridiculous.
Inability to solve non-standard problems. Sooner or later, this won’t be an issue anymore. Still, for now, such a disadvantage can cause certain troubles.

Despite the above limitations, it still makes sense to implement these AI-powered solutions. So, if you do, it’ll be wiser to consider the drawbacks while creating your chatbot. It won’t be too difficult to avoid those issues.

Summing up

There are industries that are already taking advantage of virtual helpers widely. Among the brightest examples, we shall distinguish the following markets:

insurance
fashion and beauty
telecommunications
public utility services
healthcare
public catering services
restaurant business
finance
eCommerce
tourism and transport services
HR.

In fact, clients don’t mind communicating with chatbots: 40% of respondents have no issues with being helped by those AI-based solutions. Under the condition, the service is properly made, there’s a great chance (up to 90%) to get a positive response.

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