Chatbot Marketing: Everything You Need to Know

Chatbots aren’t some sort of far future (or passé) marketing mumbo-jumbo either. By simplifying customer experiences, providing personalized interactions, and encouraging conversions, chatbot marketing has successfully emerged as a valuable asset for organizations of all sizes. But what is chatbot marketing, anyhow, and how can you use it to your overlordly advantage?

This deep dive into chatbot marketing looks at its advantages, varieties, and usage, and suggests best practices with examples of campaigns that did it right. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to use chatbots to take your marketing to the next level.

What Is Chatbot Marketing?

Chatbots and marketing use AI-powered software to interact with people and customers. Whether it’s providing Q&A, trucking leads, or securing feedback, the technology interacts with users in real time to make engagements more meaningful.

Chatbots provide more interactive communication than typical email blasts or unchanging website pages, and are less invasive than phone calls or in-person visits. They’re built into platforms people already use, such as websites, messaging apps, and social media platforms.

Pros of Chatbots for Marketing

Enhanced Customer Experience

Chatbots reply in seconds, without the need to wait for a long time to make inquiries. Whether it’s a user needing product advice or help fixing an issue, chatbots make sure the user experience is steady and enjoyable.

Round-the-Clock Availability

Your marketing doesn’t need to clock out at 5 pm. Chatbots operate 24/7, providing help and conversing with customers while your human team is unavailable.

Cost Efficiency

It’s expensive to hire an entire staff of full-time support. Chatbots save on expenses and time, too, by taking care of routine matters.

Scalability

One, or one thousand conversations at once? No problem for chatbots. This scalability is also a giant benefit for firms that are on the grow.

More Conversions and Leads

Chatbots can walk users through the sales funnel. A chatbot can push a shopper who leaves a cart online with a discount or otherwise answer their questions to help close a sale. Likewise, they can generate leads as they have conversations with website visitors and gather contact details.

Personalization

Today’s chatbots rely on AI and machine learning to understand and learn from customer behavior and preferences. This means brands can send personalized suggestions and messages that make sense for the individual.

Types of Marketing Chatbots

Rule-Based Chatbots

These are basically rule-based (if/then). Excellent for taking — and deflecting — simple queries, like store hours or “transferring you to the right department.” Though they’re far cheaper and simpler to set up, they’re also not as smart as those powered by AI.

AI-Powered Chatbots

Chatbots powered by AI use tools like natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to interpret context and get smarter with each interaction. For example, they can differentiate between “I need help with my order” and “I don’t know which product to buy.” These bots have increased treatment capability and can provide multiple variable interventions.

Scripted Chatbots

Bots are pre-programmed with a series of scripted responses that users are led through. Consider them as digital butlers that shine in defined customer journeys, such as suggesting things to buy or scheduling appointments.

Voice-Enabled Chatbots

Alexa and Google Assistant feed on voice-based chatbots. As more people become used to a life of voice-command convenience, these are only going to become more popular.

Social Media Chatbots

Loads of brands use chatbots on platforms like Facebook Messenger and Instagram. These bots respond to questions, serve up tailored content, and may even accept orders right inside social channels.

How to Create a Marketing Chatbot

Step 1. Define Your Goals

Now, consider what you want your chatbot to accomplish. Is it leads, customer service, or sales? CLEAR GOALS: Goals will lay the groundwork for the structure and operation of your chatbot.

Step 2. Choose the Right Platform

Choose a chatbot creation software in accordance with your financial power and requirements. Some of the popular platforms are Chatfuel, ManyChat, and Tidio. A lot of these provide templates and drag-and-drop tools.

Step 3. Map Out User Journeys

Create chat flows that help customers along. Consider how they’ll engage with your bot, what questions they’ll ask, and the vibes (or lack thereof) that you want your bot to convey.

Step 4. Test, Test, Test

Now, why don’t you run some tests to see if your chatbot is working? Test by various examples and get feedback to calibrate a bit more.

Step 5. Integrate and Launch

Publish your chatbot anywhere you want to chat – on your website, messenger app, or social media. When it is live, track the results, see what works, and what could be better.

How to Get the Best out of Chatbot Marketing

Keep Conversations Natural

When using your chatbot, I want it to feel like I’m chatting to a friendly human, not a robot. Use common language speech you otherwise would use, and not make it sound like a bot.

Provide Clear Navigation

Ensure interaction with your chatbot is as effortless as possible. Add menu items or quick replies to make it easy to navigate.

Personalize Interactions

Gather data such as names or preferences (with permission) to orchestrate personalized experiences. Even small gestures, such as using a customer’s name, can have an outsize effect.

Set Realistic Expectations

Be transparent about what the chatbot is and isn’t capable of. Can’t answer a complex question, offer the opportunity to get connected to a human team member.

Continuously Optimize

Examine your metrics in terms of response and drop off to understand what’s working. Keep improving your chatbot by compiling this information.

The Future in Chatbot Marketing

Chatbots look set to become even smarter and more versatile thanks to advances in AI, and the future is looking bright for them. Here’s what the years ahead could hold:

• Omnichannel: Chatbots will align across the customer journey, providing a more uniform experience.

• Voice technology: Chatbots powered by voice will mature further and will let customers interact naturally.

• Emotion Recognition: New gen tech will lead the way to chatbots that can access/emote user emotions and reply in empathy.

• Further Personalization: AI will help enable tailored campaigns that are ultra-personalized to an individual user’s preferences and behavior.

Chatbots: A Key Marketing Tool

These days, chatbots are not a nice-to-have addition to your marketing efforts—they’re a must-have. The advantages of chatbot marketing, from enhancing customer experience to increasing conversion rates, are simply too big to overlook.

Now that you’ve learned how to create and make use of chatbots with all of that in mind, you’re ready to get started. With it, you can begin to incorporate chatbot marketing into your strategy, increasing engagement and ROI.

Curious to see how a chatbot could change your marketing approach? Get yours in motion today using tools like Chatfuel or ManyChat, and you will find it’s already a brave new world of marketing.