Even though we’re nearing the end of 2019 and the automating and digitizing of just about everything is common knowledge, many of us still struggle with technology. We may struggle to understand it, or even battle technophobia and the idea that tech is here to stay. The fact is; technology is currently an integral part of our lives.

Where it may be okay to shun technological advancements if you’re, say; living off the land, as a business owner, you might want to reconsider. Giri Devanur, a Forbes Technology Council Member, according to one of his articles, believes that having a viable technology strategy is integral to function in the business world today. This statement is endorsed by the steady rise in global tech market spending from USD 2835 billion in 2015 to an estimated USD 3360 billion by the end of this year.

As a business owner or professional, you might be wondering what kind of technology could help boost and benefit your business. That’s exactly what we’re going to get into!

Narrowing it Down to Chatbots

Among the many business-tech innovations that have been making waves, chatbots are most certainly up there. Simply put, a chatbot is a program which is intended to interact with people over the internet simulating person-to-person conversation. Chatbots may be programmed using rules, they may run on AI, or could even use a combination of both. Simply conversing over chat interfaces is just a basic function and chatbots today can perform additional tasks as well.

What Kind of Chatbots are there, and what do They Do?

Chatbots can do a lot more than simply chat. Sources state that they can perform other tasks that include, calling cabs, making reservations, and helping with financial transactions, to name a few. Chatbots can be divided into two broad categories.

Simple Chatbots

Simple chatbots are those which are programmed to respond with pre-set scripts to certain prompts. Though these do mimic human interaction via online chat platforms, their responses are, more often than not, strictly limited to basic answers relevant to the human prompt or input provided.

Smart Chatbots

Smart chatbots offer a little more by way of how they may respond to a certain prompt. These are designed to offer more suggestions, record words and prompts used by humans interacting with them, and use the same for later processing. One example of such chatbots includes what you call emotional chatbots which are programmed to respond to those interacting with it empathically.

Chatbots for Business

Since we now have a basic understanding of what chatbots for business are and how they function and accept that tech integration into businesses is vital, let’s narrow things down further. To be specific, we’re going to talk about how a chatbot on a website can benefit businesses.

Cost Saving

One of the prime goals of every business is to save on operating costs to maximize profit. The way to do this is not to shortchange those working for you, but to minimize inefficient resources. Basic customer service has always been tricky when it comes to running a business. Furthermore, hiring a team of response center professionals can take quite a bite off your budget.

Where setting up a dedicated chatbot service will require a little capital, the cost-saving it will offer you, in the long run, is immense. This is because you will have a bug free program dedicated to undertaking the function of an entire department!

Mutual Efficiency

Another thing that would make investing in a chatbot advisable for business is increased efficiency. Chatbots make life easier for both your business and its clients. It will not take days off or fall ill. A chatbot will not get flustered on a hectic day or snap at customers. It will always provide customers with correct information, unlike humans, who can sometimes make mistakes.

Functions such as placing orders, booking flights, hotels, or cabs and even ordering groceries can all be undertaken efficiently by a designated chatbot.

Customer Care

Apart from this, having active chatbots benefits customers with questions as your response time will be slashed to zero. A customer care center needs to put clients on hold until agents are available to attend to them. On days where traffic is high, wait times can run on a fair bit, frustrating already distressed clients. This is especially irritating if the question that needs answering is small or basic. Chatbots attend to clients immediately and reduce the number of small yet time-consuming client requests coming in. This would also allow any agents present to focus on attending to client queries that require active human attention.

Overall, a chatbot is guaranteed to make things on the customer care end run a lot smoother.

Client Satisfaction, Generation and Retention

The streamlining of your customer care will, in turn, ensure that your clients and customers are satisfied and feel looked after. Oftentimes, companies lose clientele due to poor response times, inadequate responses, and tardy or inadequate customer care. This could be despite the provision of a great product or initial service.

Chatbots help you avoid losing customers needlessly and help create a reputation for reliability. Happy clients will suggest your services and hence also generate more interest, growing your client base.

A Long Way to Go

Despite the many breakthroughs in tech, chatbot development is nowhere near the ceiling. There’s still a lot to do by way of bot development, integration of AI, and programming bots to undertake more complex tasks. All said, as you can see, chatbots are still a brilliant way to raise company efficiency, cut costs, and improve your overall operations.

Chatbots are programs that allow you to do things faster, better, and in a way that benefits you, those working for you and those you work for.