Doing business today is a lot more challenging than it was a few decades ago. It has also been made a lot easier by the advancement of technology and social media. In the years before social media, you had to have a large team committed to sales; some by phone calls, some by personal visits. Social media has made things easier, and much more accessible than before. Many company’s social media presence has been made stronger by the availability of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr and other platforms provide both the consumer and business owner with a platform for direct communication. The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and virtual assistants have provided a timely method to make your online presence better.
AI and Chatbots
Chatbots and AI are more readily available. They were both integrated into Facebook Messenger, and they are a must-have for many businesses and consumers alike. They are available 24/7, and are cheaper in the long run as you don’t have to pay overtime, or have shifts for a large team to work round the clock. Conversational chatbots are an amazing novelty that has taken root within social media platforms.
This is software dedicated to holding actual conversations with human beings. They can answer any question thrown at them, give information and help with tasks without any human input. This is technology at its very best, and it has changed how business is done. It is a cost effective method that saves on wage overheads.
Virtual assistants are available on social media platforms, and are accessible day or night. They answer questions independently without any assistance from team members. If you wish to have a stronger connection with your consumers, you can give the Chatbot a personality. There are several ways in which you can increase your engagement:
Know your target audience
This is the most repeated line in any business setting. You are in business to serve your clients. It only makes sense to find out who your target audience is. Find out their average age, their interests and what their goals are.
Finding out these small details about your audience will enable you to design sales campaign strategies that are in line with their needs. Failure to do this will mean you are doing business blindly, and forcing products on them they do not need, or are not interested in.
Portray the Bot as your assistant
A virtual assistant is basically another name for the bot. Customers may not want to interact with a bot, so it would be a good strategy to market the bot as your assistant. This will be an incentive that will encourage the clients to interact with it. Be careful not to be caught in a lie by telling the customers they are dealing with a human being. Alert them that they are dealing with a bot. Make sure you keep the transactions as user-friendly as possible.
Pay close attention to the numbers
They say that numbers aren’t everything. It may be true to a certain extent, but the numbers will also tell you how well the bot is doing. Look at long dialogues that have taken place, and probably caused some confusion, and make some adjustments to the bot.
Numbers will also reveal how much traffic you are attracting. Numbers make sure you know whether your page is doing well or poorly, and what changes to make accordingly. The bot should be able to tell you how well your page is being received by your potential and actual clients. The clients are able to give feedback, either negative or positive. You can then make your deductions as per the indications.
Collect a lot of information
Information is power. The more information you have on your clients, the easier it is for you engage with them. Your Chatbot should have the ability to gather crucial information from their profiles like browsing patterns, purchasing habits and dialogues. This makes it possible to put all these into consideration as you try to connect with them.
Knowing the audience you are dealing with is a game changer. The collection of this information is an indicator of what you need to do when coming up with sales campaigns. For example, knowing the location of your clients makes it easy to know whether you can give vouchers in stores near them.
Each interaction should count as a unique encounter
In the days before the marketplace evolved, hard sales were the order of the day. Things have changed, and consumers no longer want to be bulldozed into buying goods or services. The internet has them spoilt for choice. They want to have first-hand experience, so they will sample brand by brand.
When the client wants to sample your brand, make it a unique experience. Let the client feel special. Giving your helper a personality is one way to do this. Let the customer come away feeling special and valued. Most people nowadays would rather deal with a bot than watch a video. The bot allows the user to ask questions that a video might not answer effectively. The bot is programmed to anticipate the type of questions the user is likely to ask. Make a point of going through the dialogues presented by the bot, in order to make the bot’s answers better.
Make the chatbot simple
You have the option of making your chatbot bulky, with thousands of different features. Resist the temptation to fill the bot to capacity. Instead, make your bot simple with only the basic features. Chatbots use a machine learning feature. You have to allow the chatbot some time to get to learn novel concepts.
Add the new features over time. This way, the user will not end up getting overwhelmed by too much information. The client is looking for a product or service, and a complicated chatbot will just be off-putting. Most people are turned off by too much information. The truth is, simple is always more.
Be logical in presentation
With time, the bot will become developed to the point where it can handle complex assignments. At this point, you can consider how to do a logical presentation. If your bot displays all features at once, it might overwhelm the user.
You then have to consider how to present the features in an organized manner which portrays all the features as intended. Always make sure you provide backtrack options in case the user wants to go back to a previous page.
Include Call-to-Action
The ability of a strategic call to action to attract customers cannot be over-emphasized. In your bots dialogue, be sure to include powerful CTAs that will encourage the client to go the extra mile and sign up for a newsletter, order something or even like a social media page. A call to action should be designed in an attractive manner that provokes the customer into action. A call to action will have instructions like “call now” or “visit a store near you now.” The call to action is designed to entice the client to take an action.
Doing business online with the click of a button on platforms like Freelancer.com, is the way to go, and has simplified life in more ways than one.
Competition in any business field is very stiff. For you to become a top player in the industry, you have to manipulate the social scene. Make use of all the social media platforms, and any new technology that comes with it.
If you have any queries or comments, please feel free to post them in the comments section.
