Here’s Why Chatbots Are the New Future

Introduction

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Chatbots play an important role in digital marketing. It is an AI-based technology which allows two-way communication between a company and user. It helps users by allowing instant real-time messaging, at all hours of the day. This is the basis of the idea however has been used in many alternative ways in marketing. For example, Staples uses Facebook chatbot to offer customers product suggestions based what they are looking for and their past purchases. Other companies like Sephora use the Kik chatbot to interactive with the consumer by giving them a personal quiz to answer as well as continuous makeup tips. Similar with H&M the bot creates a fashion profile of each user so that it can suggest customers items they would like. Chatbots are designed to fulfil certain roles, but mostly used in ecommerce to:

• Complete buyers’ purchases
• Offer buyers product recommendations
• Provide customer support

Discussion

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Most customers are very appreciative of this technology as it saves them huge amounts of time not only for them but for the business too. Without chatbots customers would have to contact businesses personally via contact number or email address which is tedious. It forces the customer to go out of their way even for the simplest question to be answered. Not using a chatbot could also put customers off as they know if they come across any issues that they will have to contact the company directly themselves, rather than being able to quickly speak to a bot. Users benefit from this technology as they can access it 24/7. They are able to answer questions quickly. If they want, they can recall all of their buying history and the best thing is AI will never lose patience. 63% of respondents even stated that they preferred speaking to an online chatbot compared to other forms of communication.

For Businesses this means that they are able to save money tremendously. Chatbots assist businesses to efficiently accomplish tasks that would usually need the requirement of human labour. However, this has had a negative impact on some, as they have lost their jobs to AI. As an innovative technology, chatbots especially have a positive impact on business as companies are always trying to cut costs without sacrificing service/ product quality. They further help businesses by developing a customer relationship, a fast service and reduces operational costs, without anyone being present.

Conclusion

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Through statistics it is very clear how much of an influence chatbots has on online businesses and even the common website. With such a positive reaction from customers and companies alike 80% of businesses want to make sure they incorporate chatbots by 2020. Chatbots are hugely beneficial and it would be detrimental to any new businesses that are not using it. It has made purchasing products so simplistic to the point that it is just one click away. It has given businesses the opportunity to provide long-term support for buyers efficiently and personally as it should be. Chatbots have impacted marketing massively and will continue to do so as it is a growing technology.

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Additional Information:

Everything you need to know chatbots 

Messaging app report

How much can chatbots actually save you

AI – statistics