What Is A Chatbot And Why Is It Important? - TechTarget

What are the benefits of using chatbots?

Chatbots provide many benefits for customers and companies. For example, improved CX and more satisfied customers due to chatbots increase the likelihood that an organization will profit from loyal customers.

Other benefits include the following:

• Increases productivity. Chatbots can converse simultaneously with thousands of buyers. This increases business productivity and eliminates wait times.
• Reduces costs. A chatbot is a faster and less expensive one-time investment than creating a dedicated, cross-platform app or hiring additional employees. In addition, chatbots can reduce costly problems caused by human error. User acquisition costs also decrease with a chatbot's ability to respond within seconds.
• Saves time. Chatbots can automate tasks performed frequently and at specific times. This gives employees time to focus on more important tasks and prevents customers from waiting to receive responses.
• Proactive customer interaction. In the past, organizations relied on passive customer interaction and waited for buyers to reach out first. With chatbots, organizations can interact proactively, as bots can initiate conversations and monitor how customers use their websites and landing pages. Organizations can then use the information gathered from monitoring to offer specific incentives to buyers, help users navigate the site and answer future questions.
• Monitors and analyzes consumer data. Chatbots collect feedback from each interaction to help businesses improve their services and products or optimize their websites. Bots can also record user data to track behaviors and purchasing patterns. This information can give organizations insight into how to better market their products and services, as well as common obstacles that customers face during the buying process.
• Improves customer engagement. Most companies already engage their customers through social media. Chatbots can make this engagement more interactive. Buyers rarely talk to the people within businesses, so chatbots open a communication channel where customers can engage without the stress of interacting with another person.
• Eases scalability to global markets. Chatbots can solve customer concerns and queries in multiple languages. Their 24/7 access enables customers to use them regardless of time or time zone.
• Expands the customer base. Chatbots can improve lead generation, qualification and nurturing. Chatbots can ask questions throughout the buyer's journey and provide information that could persuade the user and create a lead. Chatbots can then provide potential customer information to the sales team, who can engage with the leads. The bots can improve conversion rates and ensure the lead's journey flows in the right direction -- toward a purchase.
• Measures lead qualifications. Chatbots can help sales teams determine a lead's qualifications using identified key performance indicators, such as budget, timeline and resources. This can prevent companies from wasting time on unqualified leads and time-consuming customers.