Are you inundated with customer support tickets? Does your customer service team receive repetitive questions? Could your agents be spending their time more efficiently? These are common issues that are reduced when you build a chatbot for customer service.
Companies that build a chatbot for customer service create scalable, efficient service models. This benefits both their customers and bottom line.
Let's look at 5 ways that building a chatbot for customer service compliments your existing team.
1. Chatbots reduce demand on customer service teams
First, as companies grow, they're usually faced with the task of growing their customer service teams. Human customer service agents can only handle so many conversations at once.
As webchat rises as a viable and popular option for online support, some organizations have shown that agents can handle up to 3 chats at one time. They also increase the overall number of tickets they solve as a result.
To create a chatbot for customer service means creating scalability.
Chatbots help thousands of customers with simple customer service tasks at any one time. This frees up human agents for high priority or complex inquiries where they can add real value. This also helps the job to feel less monotonous and more rewarding.
2. Chatbots decrease costs
Next, bots have the potential to reduce the number of human agents needed, and they’ve been used effectively to accomplish this.
Some companies using bots see 80% of their support tickets handled without a human agent.
Building a chatbot for business actually lowers costs. A bot handles the work that several full-time employees would, leaving your agents to handle more complex or high-value tickets.
Of course, there are initial costs when creating a bot. For example, the time invested in organizing your answers or carousels, or developer time. However, tools like Hubtype make building a chatbot easier for developers (thus saving money).
This is true even when it includes more complex components. For example, integrating AI software, or building out conversation extensions that give a multi-faceted and media-rich chat experience. Using Hubtype’s platform, you can customize chatbots that create incredible value.
3. Chatbots provide 24-hour customer service
Not everyone is interacting with your business from 9 to 5. Some studies have shown that peak online shopping hours are between 8 and 9 pm. Helping customers on their schedule provides a definite business advantage. It results in increased opportunities, leads, and conversions.
When companies build a chatbot for customer service, they're able to provide 24-hour customer care.
This provides peace of mind to customers who know that when questions arise, there is always someone (or something) that can offer help, which leads to brand loyalty and confidence, repeat sales and increased lifetime value.
4. Chatbots integrate with existing apps
Chatbots work with the messaging apps your customers already use every day. This reduces friction in the customer journey, which results in happy customers. When customer service is convenient and helpful, companies build deeper relationships and brand loyalty.
5. Companies that build a chatbot for customer service gain perspective
Finally, dealing with a larger volume of inquiries in text instead of by phone, for example, gives rich data for companies to use in creating profitable changes.
Aggregating customer inquiries and comments made by chat is a fast and invaluable resource to any company interested in improving itself. Chatbots are a powerful tool to listen and understand your customers at scale.
So, are you ready to build your own conversational chatbot? If you’re a developer, start using our platform now or alternatively, contact us for more information.