After the question “What is a chatbot? ” Only appears here and there, most people now ask themselves the question: “What can I use a chatbot for? ”. Although the technology has been on the market for several years — quite successfully — some are only now venturing into the technology. Anyone who is thinking about introducing a self-learning chatbot and wondering how a chatbot makes sense for their own use case can get a good overview based on the following criteria.
Which criteria are important in the assessment?
In fact, a number of criteria have emerged that can be used to assess whether it makes sense to use a chatbot or whether it brings about measurable improvements. The following are seven important criteria and challenges where a chatbot is a great help.
1. The company regularly receives recurring inquiries
Many questions asked by website visitors and customers, such as questions about opening hours, how a product works, returns, or technical difficulties, are recurring. Manually answering them every time is a time-consuming challenge. Especially when the company is growing, the target group is getting bigger and the inquiries As companies pile up, this is where companies reach their limits. One such example is the classic use case for a self-learning chatbot. In such a situation, he can ideally play to his strengths. By using chatbots, website visitors get answers to urgent questions faster. And that around the clock and in real time. On the one hand, this has a positive effect on customer satisfaction. On the other hand, it also saves the company time and resources that can be used for more complex customer inquiries.
2. The internal process for lead generation is expandable
For many companies, it is a challenge to generate a satisfactory number of leads (= qualified customer contacts). The problem with this is that these leads usually (should) become customers later on. Companies that fail because of this, leave potential behind, specifically even cash. Until now, there have been well-known and proven methods for generating leads, for example, using a contact form on the company website or in recurring newsletters via e-mail. The problem with this, however, is that both methods now have a negative aftertaste that is not indiscriminate by hand. Newsletters are often perceived as annoying and intrusive at a time when everyone is constantly exposed to information overload.
Contact forms are also sometimes has an intrusive connotation and many website visitors are reluctant to provide their data voluntarily. Probably also out of fear of additional newsletters in their mailbox. Chat widgets on the website can be far more effective and successful when it comes to new Generate leads. The bot greets the website visitor, offers its help and is available to answer any questions. When talking to the chatbot, users provide their contact details when required — everything in the sense of GDPR. The chatbot then sends them directly to a connected CRM system. The human colleagues They then contact you and provide, for example, detailed marketing material.
3. The products and services require advice
Another possible use for chatbots: On websites of companies that sell more complex products, when articles need to be compared or when there are several configuration options, the chatbot can advise the interested party. Based on the information entered, the self-learning chatbot can suggest the ideal option. This is currently in ecommerce very worthwhile.
Since he learns with every conversation, he can anticipate recurring follow-up questions and address these aspects in a targeted manner. Furthermore, a chatbot is a useful assistant when it comes to filtering out the right article or service for the customer from the variety of options.
For example, if he or she is looking for a new mobile phone contract, insurance or a rental car for their next vacation, the options offered are often unmanageable. However, if the customer knows that a tariff of at least 15 GB is being sought or that only electric cars are an option, a chatbot can filter the appropriate information. Only the relevant options are then displayed.
Especially when it comes to advice and assistance, the chatbot is comparable to a librarian. Suppose you are in a large library looking for explicit information, such as a specific sentence in a book. The chatbot would now pick you up, take you to the appropriate book and open the right page. A pleasant and helpful experience for the user, in other words.
4. It is difficult to obtain information about website visitors
Anyone who knows what his or her target group looks like, what their needs are and what is important to them is already a lot smarter. But this can sometimes be difficult, especially for companies that are still young. But even larger, established companies can lose sight of who their customers are over time.
Here, too, there is another possible use for chatbots. They can be a good source for getting information. Companies gain important insights into the needs and preferences of their target groups. The system collects and queries data and information in dialogue with the user — only with the user's consent, of course. In addition, he can obtain user feedback or start surveys in this way. As a result, the data obtained also helps to define the marketing strategy. In this way, potential customers can be addressed in a much more targeted manner. Waste wastage and unnecessary additional costs are avoided.
At moinAI, there is a feature called Dreaming, which is used, among other things, for Generate user insights is designed. On the one hand, this feature ensures that the AI develops independently based on user inquiries and that companies simultaneously learn interesting insights about users.
5. Customers are in different time zones
With a chatbot, companies can offer their customers a contact person who is available 24 hours a day. Even when there is no employee in the office. The chatbot reliably handles communication with customers — No matter what time. He can also be reached outside domestic business hours or on weekends. Is the customer reporting a problem on public holidays? That is also no longer a problem with the chatbot.
But above all, customers who are based on other continents, in other time zones, have the opportunity to submit their inquiries and, in the vast majority of cases, receive an immediate answer. Should there be a problem that the chatbot cannot solve, there is always the option of a human employee taking over the conversation. This can be done directly in the chat during opening hours. Outside opening hours, he or she can get back to you by email the next working day.
6. Communication via social media is important for the company
From a company perspective, social media massively facilitate communication with the target group. The opportunities to address customers via this channel are very appealing. However, it may well mean that the number of conversations quickly reaches an extent that, no matter how large the department in the company is, can no longer be represented. Hiring additional employees and increasing staff quickly becomes very expensive and is not a scalable option in the long run.
Here too, a self-learning chatbot is once again a cost-effective, reliable solution. The software in the background is designed in such a way that it is easy to communicate with any number of dialogue partners at the same time. In addition, recipients are statistically three times as likely to open messages on Facebook than with a marketing email. In this way, sending companies benefit from an additional advantage.
7. Companies want to uncover optimization potential for the website
The company website provides all necessary information and answers to all questions, but visitors still turn to the chatbot again and again — why? It may be worthwhile to reconsider the structure of the website. If relevant content is not found, it should be more obvious and stored higher up in the website structure. This use of the chatbot can be ideally combined with the other points and provides a practical additional benefit, as it were.
Side effect to consider: Chatbots as an innovative element on the company website
The 21st century is characterized by the desire for individuality and — sometimes more, sometimes less — for positive self-expression. This effort is the basis for the success of social media such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. This is no different for companies; here, a positive overall picture is even decisive for competition. The constant struggle for customers and positive public perception is about standing out from the crowd. This applies to products and services, but also the corporate identity including the website (Tips and options for using a chatbot on the website).
But how do you offer the customer an unusual experience on the company website when everyone has access to the same technology? Self-learning chatbots can make the difference. Even though some companies are already using them and they are therefore no longer uncommon, chatbots are still attracting positive attention. Anyone working in innovation-driven industries in particular can subconsciously create a future-oriented perception with chatbots. The company can therefore establish itself as a pioneer, act as a role model and possibly even arouse general interest from the press and customers.
As you can see: Chatbots not only offer automation options for more efficient processes, increase customer satisfaction and save costs, but can also be a kind of lighthouse project for a company. For an overall overview of the versatile AI chatbot technology, we recommend our guide “Chatbots: Features, benefits, uses — and simply everything you need to know about chatbots.”
In summary: The possible uses of chatbots
Chatbots, which can be used to communicate using natural language, have developed into intelligent assistants and offer a wide range of applications. The bottom line is that they can be used wherever communication with people is required. Companies successfully use them on support sites or in online shops to answer customer inquiries.
Especially when it comes to recurring, relatively simple questions, the chatbot shows its strengths and can make everyday working life easier within a very short period of time. At the same time, self-learning chatbots are also used to greet visitors and get in touch with them for the first time. If necessary, they will independently refer the customer to a real advisor.
As an innovative highlight, they have a positive effect on the company's external perception. The possible uses of intelligent personal assistants are therefore not limited to individual areas, but cover a wide range of different services for the user.
How does an AI chatbot pay off for my use case?
Whether an AI chatbot pays off for your own use case is, of course, the decisive question. So that you can determine this reliably, we have developed two “return on investment” calculators, the Calculator for customer service (save time and money) and for Marketing & Sales (more leads):
The moinAI lead calculator for the Online marketing calculates the return on investment based on the desired conversion rate and the value of a lead for your company. The calculator lets you dynamically select four variables and calculates how worthwhile a chatbot is in terms of lead generation. Ideal for Chatbots in marketing or sales.
Since chatbots are just as common in customer service and support is used, is there also a suitable case for this case Ticket calculator. Based on the processing time of a support ticket and the number of support tickets that your company receives, this calculates the time and cost savings from a chatbot, among other things.
moinAI
- the self-learning AI chatbot for your use case
Do you think that a chatbot can offer you and your target group added value and make everyday life easier? If so, then the moinAI chatbot solution could be the right option for you. Regardless of size, the chatbot can be used across a wide range of industries (e.g. ecommerce, industry, energy, tourism, publishers, forming).
From customer service to customer relationship management (CRM), use his skills to make your internal processes more efficient. Not least thanks to the synergies created, the costs are quickly amortized. For our customer To offer a reliable solution, we are constantly developing moinAI. In this way, the technology always remains at the cutting edge of technology and your company or project scalable. An excerpt of the latest developments can be found in our AI recaps.
For over five years, we have been developing chatbots, implementing messenger marketing strategies and automating communication processes. With our holistic product training, we support you even after successful implementation.
If you would like to find out more about how moinAI can specifically help you implement your digitization strategy, find out more on our website or book one non-binding and free product demo with one of our chatbot experts.
