From Clicks to Conversations: Why Chatbots for Marketing are Must-Haves

Now more than ever, chatbot development is taking center stage. It’s clear to see why: modern customers get tired of complex purchasing paths (filling out a form to request a quote or sending an email to get pricing information). Practically 100% of B2B buyers interviewed by TrustRadius are in favor of a buying model that is either fully or partially self-directed. Chatbots for marketing enable you to offer self-serve options that are highly sought after by your clientele and not only.

Initially, chatbots found their footing in customer support, but it’s hardly a revelation that they’ve now carved out a significant niche within B2B marketing and sales departments. Marketing chatbots help teams speed up the sales process and serve their clients faster and better than their rivals.

But how to use chatbots for marketing, and where does one begin? Stick with us to find answers to these questions, as well as learn about the benefits of using chatbots for marketing, examples, and practical tips.  

What are Chatbots in Marketing?

At its simplest, a bot is a software tool that automates certain tasks. In marketing, chatbots help you automate customer interactions, marketing efforts, and sales funnel, particularly its initial stages. 

Applicable to any messaging platform, website, or mobile app, chatbots for marketing can suggest products based on previous purchases, respond instantly to customer queries, and also manage the entire buying process from start to finish. Such kinds of tasks can be easily automated, and that’s where chatbots in marketing shine the brightest. How counterintuitive it may sound, but bots make the customer journey with the brand more human, friendly, and convenient.

Chatbots vs Conversational AI

Claiming that chatbots and conversational AI are completely different would be incorrect, as they are closely intertwined and aim to fulfill similar functions. Chatbots act as computer programs that facilitate automated communication, both textual and voice-based, serving as digital support representatives, whereas conversational AI is the technology that enables these virtual agents to mimic human-like interactions. That’s why so many companies opt for conversational AI to create customer experiences that are more interactive and human-like.

Chatbots in Enhancing Customer Experience

The top reason chatbots for marketing are becoming a preferred tool among business leaders is that they can boost customer engagement and bring marketing benefits by offering:

• Immediate Customer Interaction

Whether your potential customers are exploring your site at the crack of dawn or in the dead of night, chatbots for sales and marketing are there to answer their questions and offer customer care. Regardless of the hour, they pop up immediately and help customers sort out the issue in minutes. Chatbots for marketing can offer a truly positive user experience and free up your support team to take care of more pressing queries.

• Personalized Customer Journeys

Artificial intelligence marketing chatbots personalize each interaction to make clients feel connected to your business. With chatbots for marketing, it’s incredibly easy to offer relevant products and customized discounts for each customer. 

• Feedback Collection and Analysis

Marketing chatbots are a friendly face for asking your customers to share their opinions on your services. Users are more likely to respond compared to asking them to do the same through an email where they have to fill out the form. Collected feedback will help you improve customer satisfaction, marketing campaigns, and services.  

Chatbots in Lead Generation and Sales Conversion

Many companies use chatbots in digital marketing to generate leads and drive sales and they have proven quite effective. That’s because they are more user-friendly alternatives to online forms everyone dislikes and the simplest type of bot to implement on a website.

• Nurturing Leads Through Conversations

Chatbots for digital marketing agencies can easily gather information regarding customers’ preferences, needs, and preferences by engaging visitors in personalized dialogues. This data can help sales teams increase conversion rates, and the bot can also use these details to segment and qualify leads.

• Seamless Integration with Sales Funnels

With chatbots for marketing, you can easily and quickly guide prospects down the sales funnel. So, they are not only good at capturing a marketing lead but also help you nurture them and turn browsers into buyers. 

Chatbots and Content Marketing

Given their ability to captivate and interact, chatbots have evolved into their own unique communication channel, which makes them a worthy tool for content marketing.

• Distributing Content Through Chatbots

If you’re looking to boost your blog’s readership, increase your podcast’s listener base, or draw more viewers to your online video channel, using chatbots for marketing will help you expand your audience and keep them updated on the latest news.

• Chatbots in Content Personalization

Upon learning about customer preferences, AI-based chatbots for content marketing will offer customized content suggestions that are relevant to users’ interests. This way, companies can deliver highly personalized experiences that retain existing customers and attract new ones.

Integrating Chatbots with Social Media Marketing

Social media and chatbots are a match made in marketing heaven. Integrating chatbots for marketing with social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook allows brands to engage with consumers quickly and reach audiences less likely to contact through traditional channels (email or phone).

• Enhancing Social Media Engagement

Intelligent chatbots for digital marketing agencies used on social media platforms generate more personal engagement with users. They can initiate conversations with users who comment on posts or run engaging polls. On Instagram, marketing chatbots can send product recommendations or promotional codes to users who show interest in specific content, while on Twitter, bots can answer customer responses, solve problems, and collect feedback.

• Leveraging Chatbots for Social Media Campaigns

Chatbots for marketing allow brands to automate and personalize engagement and check whether their marketing campaigns resonate with a target audience. In such a way, you can turn passive followers into active participants and propel your social media campaigns to a whole new level thanks to chatbots marketing strategy. 

Chatbot Marketing: Examples

Many well-known brands use AI chatbots in marketing for different purposes: driving sales, streamlining the customer journey, gathering qualified leads, automating tasks to save time, or for real-time assistance. But all of them succeed in effective bot implementation for marketing automation. Here are some examples of success stories.

LEGO

LEGO’s Ralph is a conversational ecommerce chatbot disguised as a friendly gift-finding assistant. It asks potential customers about their kids’ ages, preferences, and interests to recommend LEGO sets that fit their needs and links to official LEGO stores where parents can buy them. So, Ralph simplifies the choice and purchase with a few clicks. Festive GIFs and humor accompany all of that to create a joyful atmosphere for gift shopping.

Source: Thedrum

Reserved

Reserved’s friendly chatbot is a handy one-stop shop for navigating their store. Need to track an order, return an item, or vent about a hiccup? This AI bot tackles it all. If customers feel indecisive, it’ll clue them in on hot deals and help them pick the perfect gift card. And if there is an issue, a quick handoff to a local live agent ensures customers are never left without support. It’s like a personal shopping concierge in your pocket, minus the hefty price tag.

Sephora

Sephora’s chatbot is a personal beauty advisor, offering makeup tutorials, reviews, and pro tips for any beauty questions users may have. Plus, it’s got this great “try-on looks” feature where customers can use their phone’s camera to see how cosmetics look on them, making it easier to find the next favorite makeup must-have.

Tips for Implementing Chatbots in Marketing Strategies

If you want to incorporate chatbots into your marketing playbook, and there are many worthy reasons for that we have discussed above, you should know how to do it right. Here are some recommendations for implementing chatbots in digital marketing.  

Define your goals and target audience 

Before anything else, clearly define what you want your chatbots for marketing to achieve. Do you want it to answer FAQs, qualify leads, or drive sales?  Identify your target audience to tailor the chatbot’s voice, personality, and content to resonate with them.

Choose the right chatbot technology

Considering your goals and budget, there are several options you should choose from:

• AI-based vs. rule-based marketing chatbots:
  • AI-powered digital assistants use natural language processing and conversational AI to understand user intent and respond dynamically, offering a more human-like experience. However, they require more complex training and development.
  • Rule-based chatbots use decision trees and predefined rules, making them easier and faster to set up. However, they may struggle with complex questions or unexpected inputs.

• Custom vs. platform solutions:
  • Custom bots are built from scratch, offering complete control and flexibility but requiring significant investment.
  • Platform-based chatbots in marketing leverage existing platforms with pre-built features and templates, making them more cost-effective and ideal for simpler needs.

Create a compelling bot persona 

Don’t let your chatbots for marketing be faceless entities. Give it a personality that aligns with your brand voice. Be playful, informative, or helpful, depending on your goals.

Focus on a smooth user experience 

Make sure users can easily navigate conversations and find the information they need. Keep dialogues concise, offer clear options, and allow users to switch to a human agent if needed.

Start small and iterate 

Don’t try to build comprehensive chatbots for marketing right away. Begin with a simple version focused on a specific task and gather user feedback. Continuously iterate and improve based on user data and insights. More information on the technical and development aspects of bot creation you can find in our guide, How to Make a Chatbot.

Prioritize privacy and transparency 

Make sure your chatbot clearly informs users about how their data is being used and ensures privacy and security in all interactions.

Promote your chatbot strategically 

Don’t hide your chatbot in a corner of your website. Promote it through various channels, like email marketing, social media, and website CTAs (calls to action). Let your audience know how the chatbot can be helpful.

Build a Marketing Chatbot with Relevant Software

Implementing chatbots for marketing strategy can give your brand the upper hand. But what you need to know is that not all chatbots deliver equally engaging and lifelike conversational experiences. To ensure your customers enjoy a flawless chatbot interaction, conversational AI might be the move you need.

At Relevant Software, we offer conversational AI chatbot development services for social media platforms and websites alike. We can also help you integrate AI into your existing bot. If you want to supercharge your marketing with custom intelligent bot solutions, drop us a line.