Your customers want answers now, but you need to focus on delivering great products and services. Answering the same questions again and again simply isn’t the best use of your time. That’s where chatbots come in.

Automating one-on-one conversations between you and your audience, chatbots have the power to convert anonymous traffic into warm leads around the clock. Once you’re set up, it’s simple to use chatbots to create an amazing user experience and provide relevant and timely engagement with site visitors — without the steep time investment of more traditional methods like phone and email.

Chatbots Come in Two Main Types:

  • Rules-Based: Rules-based bots offer standardized responses and funnel users through a “tree” of questions.
  • AI: AI bots conduct basic conversations in natural language.

Regardless of type, a well-placed chatbot can redefine the user experience (UX) on your site, transforming any static page into a dynamic 2-way communication channel with your brand. Chatbots automate and personalize the sales cycle for your leads while freeing up your team to handle more important business.

Combined with stellar communication and customer service, chatbots can help boost business productivity while making clients happier than ever. And when you have access to powerful marketing and sales automation functionality like SharpSpring, the possibilities are endless.

Here are some innovative ways to use chatbots for your business.

Offer a Personalized User Experience on Your Website

It’s common practice in ecommerce to upsell related products to customers who make purchases on your site. In brick-and-mortar retail stores, it’s hard to ignore the magazine covers and colorful candy-wrappers lining the aisles, too. Chatbots can be embedded on any page of your site to even greater effect. For example, when a site visitor checks your product page for email marketing services, a well-placed chatbot can offer assistance and slide in a conversational upsell on the benefits of integrating with a powerful CRM.

Chatbot Example Image

Responses and recommendations can get much more specific based on how people engage with your chatbots. Sophisticated chatbots can easily secure lead information from your visitors and even opt them into your email sends without a form-fill. People appreciate feeling like your brand caters to their individual needs, so being able to opt-in by simply answering “yes” to a chatbot instead of filling out a form can make the difference between apathy and a conversion.

There’s no need to stop at product recommendations, though. Chatbots can consult with leads or customers about their needs and offer personalized solutions. Perhaps the user knows they’ll need email marketing but aren’t sure exactly why. They visit your email marketing page where your chatbot provides valuable information to sell the benefits and drive them closer to a conversion. You’ve automated lead nurturing, while further cementing the presence of your brand with your audience.

As technology continues to evolve, chatbots are increasingly able to offer highly specialized recommendations and advice. Essentially, your chatbot could serve as a true digital assistant that can capture users’ needs, questions, and preferences, help you define your target personas and provide information that’s fully personalized for each user.

Using the SharpSpring platform, you can now create chatbots to provide automatic support for specific questions your web visitors have. You can find out more about getting started with chatbots here, or simply reach out to your account manager for details.

Use Chatbots to Gather User Data and Improve UX

The best way to verify that your chatbots are improving user experience on your site is to obtain user feedback. Your customers want to spend less time taking surveys and more time learning about your products and services. Use chatbots to gather feedback in the natural flow of conversion for quick, unobtrusive data collection. Getting this right is crucial to optimizing your marketing strategy.

For example, instead of sending your users to a survey page after someone completes a purchase, have a bot capture their attention at the end of the sales cycle. Bonus points if the bot is able to stay with the customer throughout the entire sales process.

Keep the chatbot “survey” simple and brief. Instead of having customers rate their experience on a scale of 1-to-10, try being more conversational with  questions like, “What did you like best about our website?” or “How can we make things easier for you next time?”

Case Studies

SharSpring’s chatbot launched in 2020, and we offer an in-depth Case Study video featuring Tom Berry, the Founder and Managing Director of SharpSpring partner agency Autus Consulting, who emphasizes the effectiveness of chatbot personalization and audience segmentation, as well as the importance of allowing your chatbot to reflect your company’s own brand and personality. Check out the full Case Study in this video from our SharpSpring at Work series.

Another useful chatbot Case Study to check out if from Landbot.io. They also feature chatbots and their site uses chatbots to their advantage. At the bottom of every article on their blog, a bot asks for the reader’s feedback on the article. It’s simple, attractive, and keeps engagement streamlined to two questions: “Did you enjoy this article” and then, “How would you rate this article?”. The chatbot responds to your rating with a funny GIF, then asks you if you’d like to sign up for the newsletter or get started with their service — or both.

This bot is a three-in-one: it gathers feedback, collects user information and nurtures leads. Plus, it’s cute and enjoyable to use.

Wrap-up

Chatbots can drastically improve the immersive aspect, scope and quality of the user experience on your site. To maximize success, make sure your chatbots reflect company values and consistently express the key messaging associated with your sales and marketing strategy. People appreciate unique, personalized and fun buying experiences, so aim to provide that with your chatbots. Consider common problems and issues people might encounter on their way to conversion and design your chatbots to bridge those gaps and nurture leads through your sales process. With these best practices in mind, you’ll be well on your way to revolutionary results.

AUTHOR
Harryson Pointdujour