Is there a fax number on the letterhead of your mid-sized company? If you are simultaneously engaged in painstaking work to acquire your products, it is time to consider digital strategies. Because marketing strategies have long been on the level of digital tools. For one simple reason: they are effective, economical and are as easy to use as a fax machine.
Chatbots, for example, have simplified the use of the internet in recent years and taken interaction in new directions. Where previously online support had to be installed at great cost in order to offer a first-class service, today the chatbot is emerging as one of the most important tools of digital strategies. In this article we talk about the AI chatbot - as a possible tool of digital strategies and these topics await you:
Table of contents
- How can I help you? - Chatbots on the rise
- Digital strategies mean: being open to change
- Growing opportunities for companies with digital communication
- The acceptance of chatbots has largely changed
- The chatbot hurdle has been overcome and enjoys great acceptance
How can I help you? - Chatbots on the rise
Chatbots bring artificial intelligence to the path and everyday life of the worldwide web. Thanks to this automation, the initial conversation begins with the user searching for answers when in doubt. The study from 2018, which looked at customer satisfaction and the benefits of a chatbot, is certainly interesting. Here, 64 percent of respondents said they appreciated the uncomplicated 24-hour service. Another 55 percent found quick answers to simple questions. The further results clarify these figures. For 35 percent have bought clothes, groceries or other products due to the spontaneous help of chatbots.
Even when ordering online at a restaurant, the chatbot is there to help customers place the desired order. As if this were not enough, 44 percent of those surveyed would even use the digital assistant to make a bank transfer. So there is a lot of potential in the little chatbot.
Chatbots: curse and blessing?
On the other hand, it must also be said that this form of automation costs jobs. Where support team members sat a few years ago, the chatbot answers today. On the one hand, cost-efficient, on the other hand, one less job. But is that truly so? In many companies, the combination of both components would be possible and is also used. For example, it is conceivable that support or hotline staff would be present during the official working hours anyway. Following the opening hours, the chatbots then answer. In the end, the King customer enjoys a 24-hour support service! An ideal option that is easy to implement in many areas.
Digital strategies mean: being open to change
In the area of digital strategies, it has become clear in recent years that customers who already used chatbots to accompany them when using e-commerce sites continue to rely on its support. In particular, the 24-hour service is one of the great advantages of the voice assistant.
The procedure is as simple as it is practical. After a friendly greeting, the Internet user is asked what help he or she needs. With the first selection of different answers, the conversation gets underway. Depending on what is desired, the individualised answer can be sent by e-mail by the company or in the further course of the conversation.
With the first contact, decisive factors take place: because with solving the problem, another offer is sent to the potential customer. The anonymous barrier of the internet is broken and leads to the purchase of a product or an order. With just one tool, the conversion rate of your internet presence is significantly increased, which is made clear in the following section.
Growing opportunities for companies with digital communication
In a comprehensive study of potential applications and examples of conversational interfaces, the University of St. Gallen found out that acceptance among Internet users in German-speaking countries is 25 - 40 percent. The survey also asked whether users could imagine interacting with digital partners. Spontaneously, just under 8 percent answered "yes" and another 31 percent "maybe". This study is not the only one to clearly show that contacting digital partners is very high for particularly simple concerns. This also clearly shows that companies firmly anchor their digital strategies with the chatbot in order to record successes.
The acceptance of chatbots has largely changed
You might now be right to think: 30 percent of users would "maybe" use a chatbot? Not that much. Correct. Because now you can see the figures from 2020 and they show the successful development of chatbots in just three years. Because in 2020, 80 percent of users have already used a chatbot.
These figures demonstrate that a large proportion of those who just three years ago said "Maybe I'll use a chatbot" are now using it on e-commerce websites and other business portals. This not only increases the conversion rate, but also sales and, last but not least, brand awareness.
The chatbot hurdle has been overcome and enjoys great acceptance
But users understand perfectly well when it is a chatbot or a real human being behind the support. That's why around half of internet users expect that when they enter into a conversation, it will also show up as a chatbot. Meanwhile, users know that they will get a competent and satisfactory answer with a chatbot.
So you can and should make the use of chatbots clear! Because with around 80 percent acceptance and simultaneous use, the chatbot has arrived in daily user behaviour. Younger users up to the age of 44 are more open to its use than the age group 44 - 59. Here, around 40 percent are sceptical about digital communication. But this is precisely why it is important to install an efficient chatbot that follows the idea of "picking up the customer in a friendly way" and answers questions in an uncomplicated and, above all, fast way.
This is the task we set ourselves as a management and technology consulting company. We know the hurdles - but also the successes. With this in mind, we are happy to put our know-how at your disposal. Contact us!
