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Incorporating a chatbot? How to put the customer first

Sure, chatbots can cut costs, but columnist Jay Baer says before you jump on the chat bandwagon, you need to make sure you're putting the customer first.

Jay Baer on January 22, 2018 at 5:45 pm

Artificial intelligence is one of the biggest buzzwords in society, and the business world is making widespread use of a practical application of the technology: chatbots. Bots are rapidly taking over customer service roles, with consumers unable to tell whether they’re communicating with a human or a computer in some cases.

Chatbots deliver results that human customer service representatives cannot. Bots don’t need to eat, sleep or take bathroom breaks, which means they’re available 24 hours a day. Chatbots can detect when customer interactions are going poorly and transfer the call to a human representative, but having a bot on the front lines dramatically decreases the number of calls that people must field.

An army of chatbots is also able to field an infinite number of calls without the need for grating hold music punctuated by occasional reassurances that “your call is important to us.” Because bots are computer programs, they’re able to mine data from interactions with customers and share this data with human representatives. In short, there are numerous reasons chatbots are the hot new thing in customer service.

That said, too many companies are climbing aboard the chatbot bandwagon with the attitude that the technology is tantamount to a comprehensive customer service strategy. In truth, they’re tools that companies can use in their customer outreach. Companies need to think first and foremost about how these tools will improve customer service instead of assuming the bots will take care of it for them.

[Read the full article on MarTech Today.]

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Jay Baer

Jay Baer is a renowned business strategist, keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. He is the founder of Convince & Convert, a strategy consulting firm that helps prominent companies gain and keep more customers through the smart intersection of technology, social media, and customer service. His Convince & Convert Media division owns the world’s #1 content marketing blog, multiple podcasts, and many other educational resources for business owners and executives. The creator of five multimillion-dollar companies is also an active venture capitalist and technology advisor, as well as an avid tequila collector.