Let’s be honest: Amazon has spoiled us.
We now expect 24/7 service and doorstep delivery of just about any product our hearts desire in a couple of days. Other retailers may try their best to keep pace, but unless they have customer service agents working around the clock, it’s nearly impossible to compete.
Wait! There IS an answer. Enter chatbots. These virtual assistants are ‘IN’ the office 24/7, and can easily and inexpensively provide customer service in many if not most cases.
Analysts predict it’s just a matter of time before nearly every business – from large enterprises to local small businesses – begin using chatbots to serve their customers.
When to Use Chatbots
Chatbots are best used for simple, straightforward tasks such as answering common questions and resolving simple issues, whether the inquiry originates from the businesses’ website, one of many social media sites or a phone call.
Increasingly, customers are sending text messages to business phone numbers, expecting a quick response to their simple questions.
(Want to know if your customers are trying to text you? We can show you when you get started with our simple messaging solution. We can also protect your messaging channel from bad actors with our proprietary security solution called Text Protect.)
Here are just some of the ways chatbots can work for you 24/7:
1) Answer Simple Questions
Answering simple, mundane questions such as “Where are you located?” or “What are your business hours?” may be the biggest advantage and time-saver a chatbot can offer.
Do you really want to hire someone 24/7 to answer these simple questions? These days, most of us want to simply send a text – and you better believe they expect an immediate response to their question!
2) Gain Insights into Customer Wants/Needs
Chatbots can determine what the customer wants and needs, which products or services they prefer and what their most common questions are.
Armed with this information, the business owner can tweak the chatbot response and deploy additional chatbots that address their customers’ issues and preferences.
3) Direct Them to the Right Place (Your Store!)
Advertisers spend thousands of dollars to generate leads, yet most ads direct consumers to their websites where they can quickly get mired in search engine quicksand.
With text messaging, advertisers can send consumers to their vanity Toll-Free or local business number where they can quickly get the information and offers they want. (Hint: a text-only offer can really drive sales!)
4) Find the Hottest Prospects
Determining which prospects are a good fit for your product or service can be a long and tedious process.
Enter chatbots. They can ask the initial qualifying questions and send only those qualified leads to a salesperson, who can then take over and close the deal.
5) Book Appointments, Process Payments and More
Booking appointments, taking reservations and processing payments are tedious jobs that can easily be done by a chatbot.
The chatbot can handle the booking, ask for and take payment, and then provide the customer with an online receipt, all without intervention from a paid representative.
Who Uses Chatbots?
Midori customers sell to a wide variety of enterprises spanning almost every industry vertical — restaurants, furniture stores, law firms, real estate companies, car dealerships and many, many more.
But the one thing they all have in common is they provide 24/7 customer service without having to hire additional service rep’s – because their chatbots are always IN!
For more information on how to ‘hire’ your own chatbot to serve your customers 24/7, text or call us at 346-223-9287.