Can Chatbots enhance the whole business experience

Technology keeps evolving. From first computers to tabs, technology is making our life easier. People are loving all the new digital tools and apps. Every day we read or come across some new terms, some might be too technical to understand, for example, Artificial Intelligence, big data, machine learning, the blockchain technology, chatbots are such buzzwords to us until we start using them. 

Companies nowadays are looking for some interesting technology that can interact with their customers and when needed deal with them. And chatbots took them by surprise. They have become a common term in business practices and they have changed the whole business scenario.  In 2015, more than 1.5 billion people used chatting apps. Additionally, almost 70 percent of all app usage comes from just 200 apps.

But, what are chatbots?

Chatbots have been rising since last two years. According to an online publishing platform, “Chatbots are services that let you interact with a computer using a simple chat-like interface. Chatbots can provide a very wide range of services." It is powered by artificial intelligence. For example, Ruhh, a Facebook messenger chatbot developed by Microsoft especially for India, can talk in both English and Hindi. It can be a friend that everyone needs in their life as it replies faster than you could type your message. Banks like HDFC uses chatbots to make your life easier. By the year 2022, over $8 billion in cost savings is expected in the banking industry alone, with Chatbots expected to save banks between $0.50 and $0.70 per interaction. 

Not only for entertainment but chatbots are used for business purposes as well. Chatbots are impacting and improving almost all the traditional businesses ideologies and strategies. 

How does it work?

As simple as it sounds, it works through normal conversations and picks up whenever recognition is made, so that no extra efforts need to be put to appreciate someone. They are virtual assistants and definitely the future of marketing and customer support. They understand commands as well as languages. Chatbots gets smarter as it learns from the conversation it has with the humans.

Businesses and brands are using chatbots in many exciting ways. You can book flights, order food and can do anything. 

How can chatbots enhance the whole business experience?

People are using the messaging app more than any other social media and that is I guess the turning point. Chatbots are bringing a new way of communicating and interacting with the customers. They help businesses and customers by providing instant replies. Here I have listed four points how it is enhancing the whole business experience: 

Customer Service                                                                                                                                        Customer service is an important factor in the success of any business startup. Having a 24*7 customer service will be an add-on to your overall business strategy and it will have a positive impact. This can be done with the help of chatbots. They are powered by artificial intelligence and can be programmed to give automated answers to some of the similar questions. They can provide assistance as a normal human. They can have interactive communication with the clients or customers and they might provide a solution to it as well.

Time-saver                                                                                                                                                 Chatbots can save your time by handling more tasks as well as customers at the same time. This will help you to focus on other important aspects of your business without increasing any customer based problem. 

Increase sales and customer engagement                                                                             Chatbots are intelligent. It sends a product to customers that can be converted into sales. It might also send coupons or discounts to customers which will automatically increase the sales. Chatbots can increase customer engagement by providing a little bit of information at a time and by increasing interaction. They will not bore customers as they are programmed with a great sense of humour. 

Cost efficiency                                                                                                                                                     The best part about bots is they are cheap. They require minimal maintenance and since it is automated, there is no labour-intensive work that goes in there.

Chatbots are definitely the cheapest and fastest way of providing an engaging experience to the customers. They can be a great comeback to enhance your business.