It used to be, especially in the early days, that customer service had the monopoly on the use of chatbots. But as the technology behind virtual assistants became more accessible and consumer adoption continued to grow year after year, the use of conversational assistants also became more diverse. Bots began to prove that they could stand up for themselves at every step of the customer journey. There are many examples of the use of chatbots in marketing that support this claim.
The use of chatbots in marketing seems to be taking on a life of its own. So we've compiled a list of key examples of using chatbots in marketing that you can apply to any industry.
What is chat-bot marketing?
Chat-bot marketing is a tactic that uses conversational automation to achieve common marketing goals such as generation, qualification, conversion, customer acquisition and, of course, endorsements. You can use them as part of organic efforts or paid advertising campaigns.
The benefits of using chatbots in marketing
The conversational approach offers a number of advantages that are unlikely to be obtained with other marketing strategies, including:
real-time response and responsiveness;
personalization of the customer experience on the spot;
interactive interaction;
instant data collection and processing.
For an example of some of the benefits in action, imagine a conversational landing page campaign that engages your potential customers in an interactive conversation from the first point of contact. In this scenario, the bot can ask questions to instantly determine a customer's profile, interest or skill level. Unqualified customers can be guided down a development path that reflects the preferences gained from the conversation with the chatbot. Qualified customers can move on to order a demo. The hottest of them can go straight from the bot to talking to your managers or directly to buying.
How can you use chat-bots in marketing?
Overall, there is a lot of unexplored potential in chatbot marketing. The usage examples below will help you imagine different scenarios when a bot promotes your ad campaign.
1. Generating leads
Speaking of marketing, it is impossible not to mention lead generation. In fact, it is well worthy of the first mention because it is one of the most popular options for using chatbots in marketing.
Of all the options available, why do lead bots take the lead?
First, they are a friendly substitute for the dreaded online forms that everyone hates. Second, they are the easiest and most straightforward type of chatbot to put into practice.
Thus, for many companies, a lead generation bot is the first step into the world of conversational marketing. It is a particularly ideal tool for customer-based businesses whose leads need to be followed up with a salesperson.
As mentioned above, creating dialogue for such a bot is usually a quick task of putting together a simple conversational dialogue of 2-4 questions. In 2023, we expect more and more businesses to change their online form to something more conversational in search of higher conversion rates.
2. Qualifying leads
For many companies, simply generating leads is not enough.
To optimize the process of attracting customers, they need to automatically assess the quality and probability of conversion of leads. A well-designed chatbot can assess a potential customer's interest and their stage on the customer journey.
In many cases, creating a qualifying bot requires only expanding the short lead-generating conversation with qualifying questions specific to the case.
As chatbot technology becomes more accessible through the availability of tools and builders without code, brands and companies have the opportunity to gather large amounts of qualifying information without negatively impacting the user experience.
3. Fast processing 24/7
Do you know how many customers you lose because you can't call? Or how many customers you're losing to larger competitors who provide their quotes immediately online at all hours of the day and night?
Any business that relies on personalized quotes knows that every potential customer that comes in with inquiries and questions matters. You never know how big that account might turn out to be. Speed and accuracy are paramount.
A 24/7 chatbot present at your business can provide instant service and quotes based on customer responses.
It can also act as a qualification bot and notify sales managers when a valuable lead completes a conversation.
Such a bot is better than a form, as it can provide the user with additional information while collecting the necessary data.
4. Reservations and reservations
Some companies explicitly depend on bookings and reservations. Others use them as a special marketing strategy to show customers their services or products.
Either way, bookings and reservations are probably one of the best uses of bots in marketing-especially for traditionally offline companies.
One of the most famous examples of such use is Sephora's Facebook Messenger bot. This cosmetics company installed a bot that allowed customers to make in-store appointments using their bot, resulting in an impressive 11% increase in conversions compared to other booking channels.
Whether you're providing online services or running a more traditional business, engaging in conversational commerce, even through something as simple as booking, can make a huge difference.
You can allow your potential and existing clients to book appointments, consultations, tables, seats, etc.
5. Loyalty programs
Did you know that most loyalty programs go unused?
People simply forget about their bonuses or are unaware of the benefits they've accumulated... According to a Capgemini study, an incredible 54% of loyalty accounts are inactive, and nearly a third of enrollees leave the programs without ever taking advantage of any of the benefits.
Many people don't even know how many points or benefits they've earned.
A chat-bot can:
remind members of their point balance in a friendly way;
make the loyalty program playful (e.g., allow users to earn points by solving puzzles, taking selfies with products, offering customer reviews, participating in personalization quizzes, etc.);
encourage program participants to use their points and rewards;
send reminders about rewards.
6. Services in place
What's the best thing about combining chatbots and messengers?
They can make digital marketing truly practical, and translate its effects and benefits into reality.
Some of the real services you can provide on-site with a mobile marketing chatbot include:
providing information about a business' location and hours of operation, as well as answering other common questions;
sending virtual checks to save the environment and collect data (which you can use to tie purchase information to specific customers, monitor shopping habits and ultimately personalize offers and shopping experiences);
providing a Wi-Fi password;
sharing a list of service menu items;
providing schedules and event/meeting information.
Imagine asking a bot to find the location of your favorite coffee shop chain in a new neighborhood, checking menus and offers before you even arrive at the location, getting a receipt in Telegram, and then the bot offering you the local Wi-Fi password.
Today, such services are not only possible, but actually available to businesses of all sizes and take customer service, engagement, and interaction to a whole new level.
7. Contests
Contests have always been a powerful marketing technique. Today, chatbots give them an opportunity to become even more effective.
Bots are already quite successful, but trust me, nothing gets a conversation going faster than the mention of a lucrative prize.
It can also drive the whole process from start to finish:
getting attention;
gathering the contestants;
answering questions related to the contest;
sharing the results when the time comes!
You can set up either simple mechanics (sign up and hope to win), a custom content contest, or a comment/social share contest.
It's a quick way to build your contact list, build brand awareness and engage potential customers in an interactive and entertaining way.
8. Collecting testimonials
Testimonials and testimonials are an integral part of marketing. To be able to demonstrate your success, you need to collect customer testimonials.
Your marketing chatbot can not only provide your potential customers with authentic reviews (or links to authentic reviews), but also become the friendly face that encourages existing customers to share their opinions.
First, users are more likely to respond to a bot because it's natural. Especially if the bot is in their natural habitat, such as Telegram, and doesn't force them to go overboard.
In any case, replying to a bot in a chat room is much better than pushing a button in an email and filling out a form?
Usually the customer has to be very angry or unhappy to sacrifice the energy and time to leave a review. And that's the whole point... Unhappy customers don't care how user-unfriendly your review system is... but happy ones do!
9. Community Management
Marketing is becoming more personal and small-scale. It's all about creating relationships, about listening. But only huge companies can afford to hire enough employees to handle this task, and even then it's not the most obviously profitable strategy.
A chatbot managing a community or a specific group of users can, for example:
invite new members to the group;
share location, time, and updates about offline or online meetings and events;
offer general community news and updates;
inform members about the rules and enforce them (e.g., watch out for profanity or self-promotion);
enable community members to ask questions and get quick answers on relevant topics.
10. Content
Because of their ability to engage, chatbots have evolved into a channel in their own right, worthy of having their own content strategy.
Whether you want to attract readers to your blog, listeners to your podcast or viewers to your online video channel, a chatbot can help you increase your subscribers and keep people up to date.
With a content marketing chatbot, your subscribers/clients can:
listen to podcast episodes, watch videos, read articles, read case studies, and so on without leaving the bot;
receive updates on new episodes or articles;
search on demand for content on a particular topic.
Moreover, once you know users' preferences, you can customize bot notifications according to their interests.
11. Surveys
Surveys are not only a great tool for gathering feedback and evaluating customer service. They are also a powerful strategy for gathering leads, growing your customer base, and increasing awareness of your business. That's why they're not going anywhere, but remain strong in the marketing battlefield of 2023.
Here are some features of automated conversational surveys:
they're very easy to fill out and complete;
they're mobile-friendly by default;
chatbot-enabled surveys have higher engagement rates;
they allow you to store user responses in real time and even personalize some parts of the survey (based on those responses);
in the case of messengers, the conversational approach allows users to complete the survey on platforms they feel comfortable with.
Next steps?
2023 will be the year of experience and interaction that redefines the future of chatbots. With the growing adoption of chatbots by consumers and the continued simplification of conversational technology, you can keep up with the trends without running out of resources.
Analyze your business needs, research which chatbot platform is best for your business, and proceed to create one of the marketing scenarios described above.
