Chatbot: Why Every Business Should Implement One

Stefan van der VlagGeneral, Guides & Resources

5 MIN READ

Every business needs a Facebook Messenger chatbot. It sounds like a bold statement, but every time someone creates a bot, and use it in their business, they’re thrilled with the time saved. We get this back every… single… time. We think it’s because everything the chatbot handles, saves time for your staff. And as a result, it allows everyone to focus on work in a better fashion.

So, What is a Chatbot? 

Funny fact is that almost everyone online has talked with a chatbot before. Even funnier is, that tome people don’t even know they are/were (most of the time). See, if you visit a website and there’s a little chat box in the lower-right corner, there’s a good chance that it’s a chatbot. Now, it doesn’t come as a surprise… But, the most popular and powerful chatbots are Facebook Messenger chatbots. They make it easy to use their chatbots on any website. 

A chatbot reads your questions and provides answers that have been provided for it. Since most questions from customers, employees, and others are predictable… the bot can give everyone an instant and useful answer.

  • “How much is shipping?”
  • “How many vacation days do I got left?”
  • “I want to schedule a viewing of the house at 1110 Main Street?”

The chatbot can either give them directions, provide a simple answer, or automatically handle whatever they need. For example, the shipping question can be tackled by asking a question about the prospects’ whereabouts. And from there hen sending them to the shipping calculation page. A bot can automatically look up an employee’s vacation days or give them instructions on how to look it up. It can pull up a real estate agent’s calendar, check for an open slot, book a time, and send emails to both the buyer and the agent. The key is that the chatbot can handle all this without a need to contact someone. 

Why Facebook Messenger Chatbots?

Over 1.3 billion people on the planet use Facebook Messenger as their primary messaging system. In other words, they use Facebook Messenger to speak to others more often than any other system. Since so many people are already using Messenger, a Messenger-based chatbot simply fits right into their lives. The Facebook Messenger chatbot platform is really popular! Since it’s inception in 2016… Over 11k bots were created in just the first 3 months. There are way more now, literally hundreds of thousands more have been deployed around the world. 

Why do businesses need Facebook chatbots?

The idea behind a chatbot is simple: There are thousands of interactions that every business is involved in that are repetitive. If your customer service staff is taking time to answer simple questions… like “Where is my order?” or “Can I get this in blue?”… they’re not able to handle the more complex issues like unhappy customers or complicated orders. Since your staff saves a lot of time not answering the same questions repeatedly, it leaves time for things that they’re actually needed for. It’s because of this, and more factors, so much time is saved and optimized.

Below are a few quick examples of the interactions that Facebook Messenger chatbots handle every day:

Qualify Leads

  • Every buyer, especially for anything significant, needs to be prequalified. These are routine questions that are usually “yes” or “no.” A chatbot can ask the questions, make decisions, or simply pass the information on to the right person.

Automate Sales 

  • A chatbot can act as a salesperson. Every interaction starts with some basic questions. The answers cause the salesperson to look for specific products. You can even program a chatbot to make related suggestions. 

Improve Conversions

  • Most sales conversions need time, often repeated contact, that will lead the customer to eventually buying. A chatbot can handle all of that automatically.

Customer Support

  • Often, customer support consists of figuring out the problem. As well as guiding the customer through the process step-by-step. A chatbot can be programmed to deliver those steps without any human interaction.

(Click on the linked text, I.E. Qualify Leads, to discover how chatbots help grow your business in those areas)

Facebook Messenger Chatbots & Humans

There’s often a concern on the part of business leaders that customers want to speak to a person. They do, but not if it’s going to take an hour to get someone on the line. The key to a chatbot if that it’s programmed to sound like a human being. It provides answers instantly, and it can resolve most of what a customer needs.  The most important thing for any business is to allow humans to be the backup for the bot. If the bot doesn’t know the answer, the customer needs more help, or the issue is too complicated for a chatbot to understand… It can forward the customer to a human who can handle the rest of the interaction.

Needing a plan

To get the most from your Facebook Messenger chatbot, you need a plan. With the help of a conversational bot designer, you can layout the bot’s interactions to meet your customers’ needs. 

It all starts with this: 

“What is the goal of my Facebook Messenger chatbot?”

Go here for a unique Guide. Join the Facebook Group, and go to the Files Section. Look for a PDF called Give Your Chatbot a Soul”, thank me later!

See, if you want it to prequalify potential customers, all its interactions should be geared toward that goal. But, if the purpose is to help customers solve tech problems, you will start with a few questions about the problem’s nature. And then guide them to articles that will help them solve their problems. And, when you’re trying to make sales, you want a chatbot that talks about the customer’s wants and needs. Then it makes suggestions, with images that will get the customer excited! The goal of your chatbot really dictates how you set foot into the bot building process

The Cost of a Facebook Messenger Chatbot

With new opportunities comes new revenue, but also costs. And so, a chatbot too, costs some money to set up, but it’s inexpensive enough for almost any business. The biggest key to a Facebook Messenger chatbot is that it saves you money and time later. The amount of time and money you save will pay for the cost of the chatbot. 

How To Get Started with Bots?

That said, the truth is that a chatbot is something you can create for yourself. Facebook hasn’t made it easy enough to do, you need to be a developer to leverage their API. Luckily, Clepher bridges the gap and gives you a drag ‘n drop platform allowing you to set up a bot quick and easy. To get the most out of it, watch training, or consult an expert. Experts will have access to the data needed to know what questions to ask when. Very often, they have template chatbots that are then customized to your needs. This is another place where you’ll save time and money, merely letting someone else handle it.

Get started with your Facebook Messenger chatbot today. Clepher is the world’s leading chatbot platform for Facebook Messenger. You’ll quickly discover why thousands of businesses are using our smart tech for their bot needs… Give us a try?


Click Here to Discover How a Chatbot on Facebook Messenger Will Help Grow Your Business!

 

Related Posts