From automated marketing platforms to intelligent assistants, the virtual customer experience is evolving every day. It’s now just as important as the products and services you provide.

In a competitive landscape, using artificial intelligence (AI) will help you offer your prospects and customers a more personalised experience, giving your business a competitive edge.

Simply put, conversational marketing automation (better known as chatbots) is here to stay, especially on social media where all the technical investment has already been made.

Tapping into the right tool and scaling your conversation capabilities helps to boost lead acquisition, increase sales and enhance the customer experience (and brand loyalty) at every touchpoint.

Here’s why…

1. AI chatbots effectively end ‘out of hours’ customer service.

By offering 24-7 access to answers, help and information at any time, day or night, this puts the power in the hands of your prospects and customers.

2. AI can answer vital questions in an instant.

Why hold up a sale or order?

3. Your customers want you to offer an automated service.

• 69% of consumers prefer the quick replies to simple questions provided by chatbots.
• 95% of consumers believe that chatbots will have the biggest impact on ‘customer service’.
• 56% of consumers prefer to message a business for help rather than call customer support.

(Source)

4. AI helps streamline the customer journey by getting rid of complicated, laborious processes, like form filling.

5. Automation helps minimise the risk of losing customers through the sales funnel.

6. 7 out of 10 consumers prefer chatbots!

A recent survey by chatbot developer Helpshift found that 94% of 2,000+ respondents “dread contacting customer support”.

7. Chatbots actually humanise the customer experience.

The focus isn’t the technology. Think of how you are helping people get the technical support, sales information or account management they need.

8. Artificial is the real deal for your brand.

Good customer service promotes good customer relationships. There are ways to build your brand voice or use AI in creative ways to take away perceptions of it being a faceless automated experience.

Even the most successful social media strategy can’t tap into the first-party data opportunity that a chatbot can. So if you haven’t set up automated messaging, now’s the time to fire up your chatbots.