Learn how retailers are using chatbots to improve customer service, chatbot use cases, and best practices for integrating chatbots effectively.
In recent years, we’ve seen the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP), especially in customer service. With generative AI stepping into the spotlight, the face of customer service is changing.
Customer service chatbots are just one way that AI and NLP come together to enhance the customer experience (CX). Retailers have caught on to this technology, and many are now using chatbots to provide customer service at any hour of the day and increase ROI.
Data from MarketsandMarkets reports that the global chatbot market is projected to reach $15.5 billion by 2028. With this immense growth, you may wonder, “How can I improve my business’s customer service with chatbots?” Luckily, this article will share chatbot use cases, their benefits, and best practices for integrating this technology into your business.
A customer service chatbot is an application that uses AI and NLP to provide immediate customer support via a chat or instant messaging platform. Chatbots interact with customers just as humans would, answering questions to the best of their ability and providing assistance. Overall, these chatbots serve as digital customer service representatives.
We’ll explore the many different customer service chatbots use cases later.
Different types of customer service chatbots have their own strengths:
The most common uses for chatbots are customer service, retail, and e-commerce. Let’s dive into these use cases and how companies are using chatbots:
Chatbots are highly utilized for online customer service to answer common questions, assist in finding information, and support dissatisfied customers. Chatbot technology has advanced significantly over the past several years, along with the rise of generative AI.
Chatbots are commonly used to provide customer service to online customers in the following ways:
Conversely, chatbots can sometimes provide negative customer experiences and cause frustration. According to a recent study, most customers (64%) would prefer companies not to use AI for customer service. These customers who reject AI customer service also shared that they would consider going to a competitor if a company relied on AI for customer service. Additionally, SurveyMonkey research found respondents preferring a real-life assistant (43%) as the biggest barrier to using chatbots.
Chatbots and AI are also popular in retail, and for good reason. Retailers can use chatbots to improve the e-commerce experience in retail with:
The disadvantages of using chatbots for retail and e-commerce stem from customers not wanting to see chatbots pop up on their screens during their shopping experience. Some customers see chatbots as more of a headache than a help when shopping online.
Chatbots can be extremely helpful in providing strong customer service to your customers. Here are some ways chatbots can improve customer service and increase retention.
Improve customer satisfaction by using chatbots to provide customer service 24/7. Chatbots, unlike humans, work around the clock to support your customers, which can boost customer satisfaction. Additionally, you can reduce response time and provide immediate responses to customers by utilizing chatbots.
Chatbots also allow you to provide multilingual support without hiring more employees who speak various languages. You can program chatbots to work in multiple languages, empowering them to help every customer.
You can even have your chatbot end each conversation with a customer satisfaction survey or Net Promoter Score® (NPS) survey to gauge customer loyalty.
Chatbots can improve the sales process by automating customer service through live chat, ensuring customers get the support they need during the sales process, and encouraging them to purchase. When customers feel supported, they are more likely to stay on your website and complete the buying process.
Another benefit of chatbots is that they are a cost-effective customer service method. Instead of having a roster of customer service representatives, you can cut costs by using a chatbot for online customer service. Chatbots are affordable compared to having an entire staff of customer service representatives with salaries and benefits.
You may still have call center customer service representatives for users who prefer speaking with a human for support.
Chatbots can track and analyze every customer interaction, giving your business the upper hand in understanding what your customers need and what recurring issues are. Chatbots allow businesses to gather extensive customer data for analysis to personalize experiences and enhance support processes.
If you’re considering integrating chatbots into your business’s customer service offerings, follow these best practices for the best results.
When using chatbots for customer service, you should take the time to gather customer feedback about their experiences. You can collect this information by sending post-chat satisfaction surveys via a web link. The survey would gauge a customer’s satisfaction level following a chatbot experience.
Choose a user-friendly design for your chatbot to ensure it provides a seamless experience to your customers. Simple designs with branded color palettes work well as a general rule of thumb. Keep the user experience top of mind when selecting a chatbot design.
When you start using a chatbot to improve your customer service, you must ensure that it integrates seamlessly with your existing digital tools, such as ticketing and monitoring tools. Work with your IT team to find the best-fit chatbot for your business.
Chatbots aren’t perfect, but neither are humans. Keeping this in mind, you should plan for continuous learning and improvement on both sides. Companies should continuously update and train chatbots to provide better customer service. On the other hand, your team will learn more ways to utilize chatbots for customer service over time and how to improve the process.
Using chatbots for customer service is the way of the future. With SurveyMonkey, you can create high-quality surveys and forms to send out to customers to improve the chatbot experience.
Learn how SurveyMonkey can help you boost your customer satisfaction.
Explore our customer satisfaction survey templates to rapidly collect data, identify pain points, and improve your customer experience.
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