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What is a Chatbot (And How it Can Improve User Experience)

If you spend time online, you have most likely encountered a chatbot. They are becoming more popular than ever due to their convenience and ease-of-use.

In fact, a recent survey discovered that 40% of millennials say that interact with chatbots daily. The number is expected to rise as more people gain access to the Internet.

It is a great time to integrate chatbots with your website. Stay ahead of the competition by using chatbots now, and maximise your business’s customer service efforts.

In this blog post, we are going to discuss how chatbots can benefit you. You will also discover three chatbot WordPress plugins you can install without professional assistance.

Let’s get started.

What is a chatbot?

A chatbot is a computer program that interacts with users mostly through the Internet. They are often found on websites or used on messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

They can make business processes more efficient and save businesses both time and money.

According to recent surveys, here are a few relevant things you should know:

• There are over 300,000 chatbots on Facebook.
• By 2020, the average person will most likely interact with bots more than their spouse.

Combine both numbers, and a picture begins to emerge. Chatbots are taking over our daily lives, especially how we conduct businesses.

And they’re here to stay.

Examples of a Chatbot

If you want to see an example of an excellent chatbot, go to HubSpot’s website.

As soon as you land on the website, you will see a popup on the lower right corner of the screen. A short message welcomes you to the website. You can then choose from three options regarding what you want to do next.

The options include:

• Learn about products.
• Learn about pricing.
• Get educational content.

HubSpot’s chatbot is so great because it clearly shows they’ve put a lot of thought into it. First of all, they identified all their potential visitors and mapped out “user journeys.”

These user journeys allow HubSpot to present information that is palatable to different types of visitors. This gives HubSpot the chance to convert users in the most effective manner imaginable.

If you do use a chatbot, you do not have to make it exactly like HubSpot’s. You can change it depending on your business model and target audience.

Benefits of Using a Chatbot

It collects leads.

Forms are the most common way to collect leads.

However, used properly, chatbots have the potential to be ten times more effective.

Unlike forms, chatbots are interactive. They can tailor their responses based on the user’s input, encouraging further engagement.

For example, if a user is interested in a particular product, the chatbot can direct the user to a conversation simply about that product. This saves the user from having to look for specific information and increases your chances of converting the user.

You also present information in a more interesting manner. Users no longer have to scan paragraphs of text, because the chatbot will offer them options.

It improves customer service.

Chatbots allow you to provide excellent customer support 24/7.

Some businesses offer customer support on a fixed schedule, but you can never predict when customers may need assistance.

With chatbots, you will no longer need a “skeleton staff” during holidays. You can ignore your emails after working hours.

No matter what time of day, a chatbot can answer all customer queries and concerns. It does not need time off.

This means both potential and returning customers get expert advice 24/7. They become satisfied due to your swift response and are more satisfied with your business overall.

Chatbots also won’t have to spend time formulating or researching their responses. They have pre-programmed responses, enabling them to respond to customers in record time.

It automates tasks.

If you are running a business, time and money become more valuable than ever. You need to allocate both resources efficiently.

Integrating a chatbot into your website allows you to do that.

Without a chatbot, you would need regular customer support staff to reply to customers. If you do not have the resources to hire chat support staff, you will have to do it yourself.

A chatbot saves you both time and money. It saves you from hiring additional customer support staff or having to reply to customers yourself.

3 WordPress Chatbot Plugins

Integrating a chatbot into your website may sound difficult, but it is a task you can accomplish on your own.

There are plenty of WordPress plugins available that allow you to add this feature to your website. You can install these plugins with a simple click and proceed from there.

WP-Chatbot for Facebook Messenger

WP-Chatbot is a free WordPress plugin that lets you add a Facebook Messenger widget.

This plugin can be added to any WordPress website and can be viewed no matter what device users are on.

As if that were not enough, users can continue chatting with you after they leave your website through Messenger.

Collect.chat

Collect.chat is a free WordPress plugin that lets you customise your own chatbot. This is a perfect plugin if you have a very visual brand and would like your chatbot to represent it.

You can install it with one click, and start creating your chatbot. There are plenty of templates you can choose from. Customise everything with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder.

Virtual Spirits Chatbots

There are plenty of chatbot plugins available but very few support languages other than English.

This is why Virtual Spirits Chatbots stands out. Aside from English, their chatbot is available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, German, Dutch, Hebrew, Arabic, and Italian.

Conclusion

There is no denying that chatbots are an essential part of doing business online.

If you use a chatbot, you can save time and money–two extremely valuable resources. You will no longer have to hire people to answer customer queries. You won’t even have to do it yourself.

The chatbot can respond to potential and existing customers 24/7 in an accurate and pleasant manner.

Need help adding a chatbot to your website? Cornerstone Digital is a web development company in Sydney. Call us on (02) 8211 0668 or email us at info@cornerstone-digital.com.au.

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Darlyn Herradura

A self-professed book and digital marketing nerd, Darlyn Herradura focuses on building trust between customers and businesses with the written word. She understands that creating valuable content is the best way to get found online and happily spends her time doing that.