Business chatbots are appearing across Facebook Messenger, websites, apps and social media. Driven by AI, vendors claim they can solve many business problems, but does your company need one, what are the benefits, how much will one cost, and what can one actually do for your business?

Chatbots are one of the rising forces in online technology, helping businesses deal with customer support, information management, sales and marketing. Therefore, any company with a customer-facing operation or a growing number of workers can benefit from a chatbot. But how, specifically, can it improve yours?

Your 24/7 Agent

At its simplest, a bot expands the capabilities of your office. A chatbot can operate twenty-four hours a day, dealing with enquiries when the workers aren’t present. Those enquiries can range from the simplest of information like opening hours, staff availability, making appointments to sales information like stock checks across branches, all handled in one quick chat.

Most businesses deal with these kind of queries, and saving time for the company’s workers is the main benefit allowing them to do other more productive tasks. Startups often lack the time or staff for this type of detail, making bots a valuable resources. And, if your business is expanding around the world, chatbots can work in many languages to support new markets.

The key benefit is that people are never out of contact with your business, or waiting for an answer. In the age of always-on business, the more your bot offers customers, the more likely they are to remain loyal to your business.

What can a chatbot do for your business?

Beyond the simple use cases, chatbots have a range of functions that can benefit a company. Chatbots can help customers choose the right product for them, if your business sells a range of similar items. The bot can link to stock control databases and find what’s available, and ask the user their preferences for colour, sizing and so on. It can even finalise the order, making a sale while your focus is elsewhere.

Customer support is the next key area of use for bots. Once a customer buys something, they will need some help at some point. Rather than wading through a FAQ or support forum, or spending time on hold on the phone, a good support chatbot can establish their issue and provide the solution in seconds.

Another valuable use is marketing, bots can talk about your products or services eternally. That frees up your teams to focus on building the next product or services. Focusing a bot on brand building and marketing means you can reach a huge customer base without spending the resources that larger rivals might have at their disposal.

Finally, the bot can also work for the people in your business. A bot can like to a human resources database and help manage absences, holiday requests, provide important information for new hires and let your HR people (if you have them) work on more productive tasks.

Worried about using a bot?

As with any technology, there’s some concern over the use of bots. Some people are worried about privacy, others that bots only appeal to the young or that the business case isn’t suitable for your company.

The reality is that all ages of customer are now used to smartphones, apps, social media and other digital platforms. A chatbot is just the latest of these. Assuming your business explains clearly to customers what the chatbot it, what it does, and what it can’t do will ensure a warm welcome. Bots can also be endowed with personality to make them feel less robotic.

Chatbots like SnatchBot offer high levels of privacy and security

And, as with most cloud services, chatbot privacy and security is built in by the service provider. Check out SnatchBot’s privacy page as one example of all the hoops that bot providers will jump through to ensure your data and customer chats remain safe and secure.

How can your business make and run a chatbot?

The simplest way, as with many business IT solutions, to get a chatbot up and running is to use a cloud service that does all the coding, storage, analytics and hosting work for you. That means no need to install software or learn apps. Bot design is the same as building a conversation, so businesses don’t need expert coders in the company to create a viable product.

Starting now means your company keeps up with, or gets ahead of your rivals, and as chatbots become an expected part of any digital presence, your customers will be expecting one.