Do chatbots really work?

Hey! Welcome to this week‘s blog post! We are nearing the end of another week of all things crazy happening around us. Despite the pandemic, riots, and protests happening all over, the world is still moving forward. Even with everything still happening around us, you still have a business you are trying to run, and still want to maximize your potential from each channel of marketing. So let’s look into a feature I get a TON of questions about, chatbots.

By now, you’ve probably been to a

website that has a chat feature, and like most people have closed the automated pop-up that welcomes you to the site. So the question arises, if you have a chat feature on your site, but get no engagement from it, does it really work? Can it produce the result you‘re looking for? Is it necessary for my business? The answer is simple, yes.

To understand how to make your chat feature create the experience you’re looking for, you must first look into what you have in place currently, and look to understand why it’s not effective. For example, if you have an automated chat pop-up, and notice that there is no engagement with the feature, it could be several factors: the timing of the pop-up, the content in the pop-up, the font, the language, even the photo that appears, the purpose of your chat feature is undefined. There could be several reasons why your chat feature isn’t producing results.

Before all else, the first thing you should do is determine the purpose of your chat. Are you looking to capture leads? Is it to be helpful in finding product and answering questions? Is it to provide customer support? What is the purpose of your chatbot, and be sure it is clear. I’ve mentioned several times the importance of understanding your target audience. This can be helpful in determining the purpose and need of your chatbot, as well as, the format of the context within your bot.

There are tons of bots out there that can provide specific features to your chat, certain elements for simplicity, and ways to drive engagement to the chat feature. Once you‘ve selected the purpose of the chat feature, and understand your traffic, then you can work to build a chatbot that caters to your users wants and needs.

Here are some things to consider when building out your chatbot:

Timing: Should your bot pop-up immediately with a welcome? Does it interfere with other pop-ups? Should it pop-up when someone scrolls to a certain point on your page? Does it auto-pop at all?

Context: What is the first message someone receives? Does it show purpose? Is it just a welcome? Does it ask for a reaction? Is it helpful? After the initial engagement, does it continue to promote engagement? Provide a call to action? Is it easy to navigate? Clickable buttons, ability to ask questions?

Font: What is the average age of your user? Your font should be easily read by your users. The font size should appeal to your users, but not be overbearing.

Format: If you’re looking to create a lead capture, then you should gain information as someone interacts with the bot. If you’re using your chat to interact with users and guide them through purchase, then you should make side your bot has the ability to help someone navigate the site, and search products. If you are using your chat to help provide customer support, you should ensure your bot has FAQ’s, support links, phone numbers, and have the ability to be powered by a live person.

When determining which chatbot to use, be sure to do your research on the best out there for the needs of your business. You should also ensure that there is proper tracking set in place to help you monitor the data you get from each interaction with the chat feature. You should also monitor the chat data and usage regularly, and be able to adjust it as needed. You may need to tweak it several times before getting the results you’re looking to accomplish.

Two companies that I can recommend are: Drift, and ManyChat. Both of these companies use chat differently, but have proven track records in helping create a successful chatbot.

Thanks for stopping in! Let me know if these pointers have been helpful for you, and if you’d like to learn more on how to create a successful chatbot.

- Elizabeth