Chatbot stats and trends show that there are major changes happening in the way people do business and run marketing campaigns online. Still, many business owners and marketers are not using chatbots. Perhaps because they have no idea how these tools could help their businesses.
In essence, the top reason why you should be using a chatbot is that it can help you automate lead generation and nurturing with the goal to increase sales. But a chatbot can do a lot more than that.
In the early stages of using a chatbot, businesses are hesitant because they are not sure of how it could advance their marketing strategy. However, after some time, adopt the trends that are a good fit for their campaigns, and start deploying chatbots for lead generation, customer support and for responding to basic questions that web visitors pose.
According to chatbot stats and trends, Facebook Messenger bot is one of the solutions that is commonly used. It lives inside Facebook Messenger, so it’s a pretty simple and popular solution to implement. If developed for an e-shop, for instance, this bot can recommend products, reply to customer inquiries and blend with an e-commerce store.
Next and Staples are some examples of businesses that use Facebook messenger bot. This software replies to any question from their customers within the shortest time possible. Likewise, you can use Facebook messenger chatbot for other purposes such as recommending playlists or songs – just like Spotify does. In fact, any kind of chatbot can add value to your business.
To put things into perspective, let have a look at some chatbot stats and trends you shouldn’t ignore.
5 chatbot stats that can transform your marketing
1. The market is expanding fast
Facebook is the most commonly used social media network, attracting at least 2 billion users in a month including both businesses and individuals. This translates to around 2 billion messages sent via Facebook.
Clearly, as a business owner, you view this as a chance to create a long lasting relationship with your customers. Different from Twitter support, tickets and emails, chatbots create a new, instant way to serve your customers. According to a current market survey, people use chatbots because:
• 37 percent states it gives instant replies in case of emergency
• They help to resolve a problem or complaint
• 35 percent say it provides a well-detailed response
• 34 percent use chatbots as a channel for getting connected to a human
However, the last stat pays emphasis that chatbots should not be “all or nothing” technology. If a customer wants to talk to a human, then the business should provide the means.
2. Chatbots help customers interact with your business
According to HubSpot (2017), 55 percent of consumers prefer to use messaging apps as a means to resolve a problem. They use these apps as a way to engage with a business. One thing you should know is that customers hardly have the time to wait for your response. They want the answer instantly instead.
Therefore, chatbots can be of great help if your customers are spread worldwide. You’ll be able to provide customer support regardless of the time or day. This shows that chatbots are highly interactive – not like emails.
Having an appropriate chatbot configuration, it can create a forth and real-time conversation with your brand. And of course, you would be interested in getting feedback from customers as well. Chatbots will easily do that for you. It will assist in integrating different options, photo carousels, and quizzes – just to interact with your customers.
3. Chatbots boost conversion rates
Are you in e-commerce business? If so, you can benefit from a chatbot as it increases the rate of conversion. HubSpot (2017) indicates that around 47 percent of customers make a purchase through chatbots. So, owning an online business means that you get lots of inquiries about your services/products.
What happened if you didn’t have the time/chance to notify your customers about a clearance sale or promotion running? Perhaps you failed to pass this important information on time. And sales didn’t rock as you expected. With chatbot, this shouldn’t worry you because it will automatically do that for you. The Facebook messenger bot can help you sell products from your e-commerce even when you are out of the office.
4. Bots increase brand awareness
On average, the open rate for emails is 18.1%, while that of messages can go up to 98%. This is a clear indication that chatbots can send information quicker and more effectively than email.
As an illustration, you can program a messenger bot in such a way that it replies to specific keywords. So, in case a client seeks information about a bike, your bot will remind them in case you have a sale on the said item.
Better still, you can offer coupons in the event that they make a repurchase. These customers can redeem these coupons through text messaging or messenger apps. This channel provides quicker services than emails.
5. Customers prefer live chats
Successful businesses are different from the rest as they have identified a means to reach their customers. Gone are the days when businesses used to rely on emails as the only way to communicate with customers. They have noted that clients and consumers hardly have the time to read emails – or reply to them.
Actually, most people prefer responding to texts instead.
Surprisingly, a survey shows that people prefer live chats over other methods of reaching out to companies. Perhaps this is because of one obvious reason. Live chats are instant. Customers don’t wait for responses – they get them immediately. As a matter of fact, you can start chatting with a chatbot right now – no matter where you are.
Can chatbots be part of your marketing strategy?
After considering these stats, chatbots can be part of a well-rounded marketing strategy. When chatbots came into the market, few people were aware of them. Now many business owners are realizing what the bot technology can do for their marketing. This explains why chatbots have expanded since 2010 when Facebook launched messenger.
With these five chatbot stats and trends, we believe you are now more ready than ever to incorporate chatbots in your digital marketing strategy. Here are more relevant resources to help you get started. And here’s a resource for more ideas and inspiration.