If you’re online, you’ve encountered bots, good and bad. Fortunately, for every spambot, there’s a bot out there working hard to make our lives easier. These are the chatbots of the internet, and they’re found everywhere, from social media auto-replies to in-app chats. And unlike spambots, people love to engage with them: 67% of consumers use chatbots for basic interactions, and the vast majority (86%) are happy with the experience. If your business hasn’t incorporated chatbots into your customer experience, here’s why you should.
1. They’re Always Online
Humans need to sleep – it’s a fact of life. Chatbots, on the other hand, don’t. This is good news for those requests during the graveyard shift or during super-slow off-peak hours. Instead of paying a human to sit around waiting for a call, you can use a chatbot to handle basic tasks and put those more complex requests in the queue when your human staff are back at their desks.
2. They Attend to Multiple Requests at Once
A human can only answer a single call at a time. Wait times pile up when someone is working on a complex task, or they’re fielding a bunch of simple yet time-consuming requests. In contrast, being a pre-scripted or AI-backed prompt, a chatbot can attend to multiple requests simultaneously. With a chatbot working to handle routine tasks, your human team can more quickly get to those high-stakes incoming calls.
3. They Offer Personalized Support
Chatbots tap into your customer databases to deliver timely, personalized support based on your customer’s purchasing history, needs, and past engagements with your brand. If you use a customer experience platform like ACD’s, your chatbots can reach across a variety of different channels to ensure consistent, tailored support, whether your customer is reaching out via your website or through social media.
4. They’re Multilingual
We live in a global, multilingual world. Whether you’re working with a bilingual audience in the U.S. or fielding contacts from people in other countries, a chatbot can instantly speak your customers’ language. This helps deliver a smooth, inclusive customer experience without the challenge of language barriers.
5. They Handle Self-Service Options
Just as many meetings could be a phone call, many phone calls could be a text. This is true for customer service as well! Chatbots make it easy for customers to complete basic tasks such as activating cards, updating details, or requesting a shipping status update quickly and easily – and without having to wait for a human rep to come on the line. It’s a functionality that streamlines your customer service and puts your customer in the driver’s seat.
6. They’re Cost Effective
In today’s market, we’re all mindful of the cost of doing business, and personnel remains one of the top expenses, accounting for up to 70% of all costs. Whether you’re a hungry startup, a cost-conscious nonprofit, or a larger organization looking to scale efficiently, chatbots are a great way to deliver a powerful customer experience without payroll expense. Use them to handle simple tasks so that your human agents can deliver top value when they’re most needed.
Add Virtual Agents to Your CX Offer With ACD
Looking to add efficiency and value to your customer service experience? Explore ACD’s one-stop customer experience platform. Customizable, multi-channel, and with human and chatbot support, it’ll help take your customer service up a rung. For more information or to see a demo, get in touch today!