Day in and day out, it’s being proven that both small and large businesses can benefit from customer service chatbots. They are steadily gaining popularity in the field of marketing and are said to supply excellent customer service and support.
According to recent studies, over 20% of customer service positions could be done by chatbots, which could end up saving small and large businesses over $23 billion in the long run. What’s of even more interest is that surveys have shown that over 35% of consumers would rather have chatbots in the companies they use to buy products and services.
If you still aren’t convinced about the benefits of chatbots, we’ll go in-depth over each benefit to help you make an informed decision. Let’s delve into each chatbot benefit and how these characteristics can help your business prosper:
Benefit #1: Chatbots have a fast response time.
As a consumer, it can be frustrating if you have ever been left on hold forever when calling to discuss a problem such as your electric or cable bill. You also know how aggravating it is to have to repeat yourself again and again to a customer service agent that is just not getting what you’re saying.
From not having to stay on hold to response times needing to be faster, consumers are pretty adamant about what they want. AI chatbots have given customers those things and will continue to do so in the future. If you want a faster response time for your customers, then chatbots can give it to you.
Benefit #2: Chatbots provide 24/7 customer service.
One of the best benefits of chatbots is the fact that they provide 24/7 service for your business. Think about it, your customers don’t all keep the same hours. So, if one of your most loyal customers needs help with a product after hours, they aren’t getting it.
Chatbots don’t get sleepy. They don’t get irritated and they are able to be on the job 24/7. The best thing about this is your business can be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for customer concerns, questions, and complaints, even when you’re not there to take them. You’re also covering every potential customer in every time zone as well.
Benefit #3: Chatbots can reduce your costs.
There are many financial benefits of chatbots. It is estimated that chatbots will help businesses save over $8 billion a year by the year 2022. That’s a lot of savings. They do things in half as much time as it takes for people to do the same job.
For example, it will take a chatbot less time to analyze legal contracts for instance than a human can, saving a legal company around 36,000 hours over a year’s time. This means you’re paying less in staff hours, benefits, overtime and much, much more.
Benefit #4: Chatbots improve the customer experience.
There are a few things that customers depend on the chatbots in a business for. These things are quick answers to questions that are urgent, questions that require detailed answers or explanations, and as a way to get connected with a human. While there are quite a few things that chatbots can’t do for customers, they are technical enough to realize this and get customers to a human when the need arises.
It is a well-known fact today, that customers much prefer self-help options over waiting for hours on the line until an agent can take their call. Chatbots can do that, which makes for a better customer experience all around.
Benefit #5: Chatbots will lead to happier employees.
What employee wants to deal with a customer who has been waiting on the line for two hours to talk to an agent, if they don’t have to? Why would they want to do this tedious task, when an automated chatbot can easily do the task for them.
You’ll have happier employees, which means they will be more productive, and able to work on other tasks as well. That makes chatbots a win-win for your company, you, and your employees as well.
Benefit #6: Chatbots will put less stress on your customers.
One of the worst things as a customer is to get transferred from one agent to another, without ever getting an answer to your problem. Nine times out of ten, that’s because you never get to the right department. Chatbots can take care of that with automated options, which means your customers are stress-free and their issues are dealt with quickly and effectively as well.
These are just a few of the top benefits of chatbots to small and large businesses. If you have been debating whether chatbots are the right choice for your business, examine these benefits, so you’re able to make an informed decision.