Innovation in communication tools has advanced greatly, giving convenience to retailers and consumers today in their connections with each other. The web, mobile marketing and smartphone applications have turned into the vessel of everyday communications. It is hard to envision what new advancement can come in and sweep over the latest tools.
One tool that is making the retail world turn is a tool that is gaining more popularity: Chatbots.
What Are They?
Chatbots, or “bots”, interact with customers in place of a retail customer service or sales agent. The way they work is in place of having a human writing back. An AI, or Artificial Intelligence, bot works in progress assembling your information and providing applicable information from what consumers are seeking.
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These bots have turned into a basic apparatus in business commerce today. Retailers can speak with their customers through content/message platforms for a more customized and successful strategy for consumer benefit. These platforms fall within conversational commerce.
What Have They Done Thus Far?
Today, customers lean toward communicating with brands by means of messaging instead of face to face. The quick pace of business today legitimizes why consumers need to get things done quickly with little interference. Google I/O and Facebook’s informing bots comprehend the significance of brand knowledge and what affect it has on their consumer base when the knowledge is conveyed through chatbots.
Inc. magazine states:
“Half of Consumers Want Interactions Via Chat. The demand for chatbots is only growing. In fact, if a company could get it right, 49% of consumers would rather conduct all their customer service interactions via text, chat, or messaging. That’s according to a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers conducted by Aspect. But that’s not all. Millennials said texting was the most effective communication option when engaging with a company.”
Creating A Successful Chatbot
Personalization and customization is what drives brands to use bots for consumer needs. Because these bots can collect consumer data from their interactions, they become “smarter” and more reliable.
Along with the chatbots consumers come across online for retail sites, many brands create chatbots for text message purposes. They can send the latest promotions to consumers who have chosen to opt in to receive messages, or can remind a customer that their next appointment is coming up.
Brands want to make sure their bots represent them accordingly and provide personalized experiences. The more consumers are willing to engage with a bot, the quicker retail brands can utilize these bots for a more frequent or permanent tool.
Successful service begins with brands understanding how they can use conversational commerce correctly to bring in sales and grow customer loyalty.
Today’s Commerce
Brand and customer communication works best when both sides have accepted how much technology can benefit their needs.
Creating a bot means to create a simulation that represent the brand correctly and is intelligent enough to provide information consumers need and to learn from the different types of consumers and their different motives.
Brian Heikes is Vice President of Product at 3Cinteractive. Through mobile marketing services, 3C deepens and extends the connection between customers and brands, driving increased loyalty, brand awareness, and results. Leveraging 3C’s expertise connecting mobile to business results and its Switchblade™ platform’s multichannel capabilities — including SMS and MMS messaging, mobile coupons, mobile wallet, mobile web, location based services and more — marketers can deliver timely, relevant engagement at the customers’ moment of need.
