This is how chatbots change the future of business

The secret to future business success lies in new customer interactions and marketing activities supported by chatbots. So it’s no surprise to come across more and more sites and apps that use these smart bots to improve communication between businesses and customers. However, technology still has room for improvement and greater development will require greater investment.

In one of our previous posts, we’ve already gathered the business areas where we can take great advantage of different chatbot solutions. And now we report on how and in what new ways companies can do this.

Driving forces for the development of chatbots

As a new trend in several business lines, chatbots are increasingly becoming strategic business tools. But for what reasons has the demand for technology-intensive applications increased so much? According to the Deloitte report, both demand and supply factors are contributing to market conditions that will lead to even more chatbots gaining ground in the long run.

The pressure on customer service is growing

As customer service congestion is a top priority for all market players, the first to automate its processes can be of great benefit. At the same time, this should not be to the detriment of quality, but if applied well, it promises greater customer satisfaction in addition to its cost-effectiveness.

Everyone wants an immediate solution

Consumers need to find solutions to their customer problems in a turbulent and ever-changing environment. To do this, they need customer support from service providers that will provide them with an immediate solution to a particular problem.

Development of related sectors

The digital transformation of the present age is creating innovations that point to even faster advances in technology. With the development of artificial intelligence and NLP, we can be sure that machine-learning-based chatbots will also start to develop rapidly.

The spread of chatbot technology

Due to the increased popularity of chatbots, most interfaces are created from the ground up so that chat applications can be easily deployed on them. This has created a "playground" that makes it easier for users to access chatbots and allows businesses to easily install and integrate.

The role of different types of chatbots in business processes

Thanks to the changes that have taken place in digitalization, we can take advantage of the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence. Chatbots are usually connected to some AI solutions, but there are also chatbots that completely ignore machine learning.

Pre-written (keyword recognition) chatbots

These simple-to-use bots provide answers to pre-written questions. Based on the central words and phrases found in the messages, the best-matched answers are selected from previously provided response databases. Although this type of chatbot can only engage in very specific conversations, it is still used by many to generate inquiries and create questionnaires.

Intentional chatbots

In the case of chatbots, the next step, according to intelligence, is the applications that determine the respondent's intentions instead of keywords. Instead of focusing on certain terms, they use different NLP solutions to examine the relationships between words, thus determining the intentions of their conversation partner, which serves as the basis for the response.

Virtual assistants

Unlike the chatbots mentioned earlier, these bots are capable of performing specific operations based on data obtained from multiple systems in addition to a full understanding of human speech. As a result, more complex tasks e.g. they are designed to handle bank transfers.

What are the benefits of using chatbots in business?

There are many articles that describe the benefits of chatbots from the perspective of users. On the other hand, we also want to identify areas where chat applications can directly make life easier for companies.

Great interface for reaching out to customers

Virtual interfaces are an increasingly important channel for customer interactions, providing a great opportunity for companies to grab the attention of their customers. Chatbots and various messaging applications on corporate websites are an interface through which potential customers can be easily reached. In addition to making it easier to reach the audience, the conversations that take place on these interfaces can bring visitors closer to the purchase and do it all extremely cost-effectively.

However, using Facebook’s messaging app not only means we can reach millions of potential customers easily, but these customers are also happy to connect with their favorite brands via Messenger. According to a Facebook survey, 72.5% of those who have already talked to the Facebook account of their favorite brands say they felt much less insecure about their purchases.

Workforce support

Perhaps the biggest driver of chatbot solutions is the lack of manpower. By using chatbots, we can be available to customers around the clock, as the bots are capable of serving multiple customers in parallel, thus supporting the work of those working in customer service. On the other hand, difficulties in the training period of an ever-changing workforce can be completely avoided. In this way, in addition to reducing costs, your company can increase both its revenue and the satisfaction of its customers.

Decision support and forecasting by creating business intelligence

Not only can chatbots be used to initiate conversations, but they are also great for gathering a variety of consumer information and feedback. Thus, they can be a great marketing tool as we can improve our products and services through a better understanding of consumer opinions and behavior.

In addition to the competitive advantage provided by a loyal consumer camp and community, using chatbots can also create a kind of business intelligence. An adequate amount of collected data can support the work of decision-makers as well as provide reliable market forecasts that will result in increased productivity and performance in the long run.

Strengthening B2B relationships

From what has already been described, it is clear how to increase revenue by using chatbots in a B2C environment, but how can they help you communicate with our business partners?

The most common form of B2B use of chatbots is to automatically organize meetings and turn those interested in customers, as they provide a faster and easier way to get in touch. They are also great as a replacement for long FAQ pages. A properly configured chatbot can serve as a user-friendly tool for answering customer problems.

I'm Keith Laurance, a Tech Blogger working with Octal IT Solution , it’s IT consulting and software solutions. I love to spread knowledge everywhere, so one can take advantage of the latest technologies.