To bot or not? That is the question we look at today.
A chatbot is a piece of software you install on your website making your site open 24 hours per day for a conversation with your users. You’ll find various types of chatbots that provide an escalating variety of responses.
Before today, you may have thought chatbots were only for large companies. But, many websites, both small and large, find them a useful tool.
In this article, we ask and answer the question, “Does your startup website need a chatbot?” Most often the answer is yes, and here are a few reasons why:
Chatbots Save You Money
As the owner of a small startup, you can’t be everywhere at once. And, you most likely can’t hire enough staff to monitor your website contact submissions 24-hours per day.
Yet, you might find that many of your customers are completing your forms in the middle of the night. Just imagine if you had a chatbot helping you out.
Because startups are often operating with the minimum amount of resources possible, they have to maximize where possible.
To save labor costs, consider a chatbot. They don’t cost a lot, and you will immediately see a return on your investment as chatbots often keep people on your site instead of bouncing off.
Chatbots Provide a Personalized Experience
Placing a chatbot on your startup website means you are providing 24-hour customer service to your customers whenever they need it.
In addition, you can program chatbots to speak multiple languages, so if you have foreign speakers coming to your website, the chatbot can adjust and take the lead.
A chatbot can also improve the overall user experience on your website. For example, a chatbot can see what page the user is browsing and give them information based on that page.
What’s more, if you have a returning customer, the chatbot can even recognize them and call them name, further improving the overall customer service experience.
Chatbots Reduce Your Lead Time
While it depends on your market and what you’re selling, a chatbot can cut down on your actual lead time.
For example, you can program your chat bot to ask the most pertinent questions of customers so you can see how qualified the lead actually is.
The chatbot can also answer numerous questions that your sales team doesn’t have to. And, if you sell online, the chatbot can provide immediate answers so your customer can quickly complete his/her purchase.
How Do You Know if You Need a Chatbot?
Here’s a list of questions to consider when making the decision to go with a chatbot. Will a chatbot:
- Reduce cart abandonment by answering questions as your customer works through the checkout process?
- Boost your sales by asking questions that lead to a sale?
- Help complete the sale by offering a discount code.
- Help you convert customers during the hours you are closed?
- Do you need to interact with your customers, but you can’t afford staff to handle all your website traffic?
- Do you need to engage and re-engage your customers?
- Does your product or service appeal to the Millennial crowd? Remember, they want what they want when they want it, or else they will look elsewhere.
- Are you looking to enhance your company’s productivity?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, your startup website may need a chatbot.
To Conclude
Many people prefer chatting right on your website to picking up the phone and calling.
For this reason alone, a chatbot is a great idea for your website. Not only will you increase leads, but your conversion rate will rise as well.
More than 53% of customers say they are more likely to shop with businesses that they can message. More than 50% expect a business to be open 24/7.
So, you can see a chatbot on your startup website can boost conversion rates, engage your customers, answer their questions, and increase the overall customer experience.
Are you a new startup ready to succeed? Are you looking to get your new business off the ground and watch it rise to success? We are here for you. We can help answer your questions and guide you through the process. Outsource your HR duties, finances, payroll and more to us. Contact Escalon today to get started.
Image: John Schnobrich on Unsplash
