Top Reasons To Invest In Chatbots & Automation & CRM Software

The market for chatbots is booming – it is growing by 35.2% annually – more than almost any other. In view of Corona, nobody knows exactly how the market will develop, but one thing is certain: If you want to be prepared for the future, you should prepare.

How can bots and automation in particular help to master the crisis and to inspire and retain customers over the long term? The situation surrounding the COVID 19 pandemic is currently slowing down investments in new – supposedly not immediately necessary – technologies. But you should take advantage of the opportunities that new technologies offer. Here are 5 reasons why it’s worth it right now:

Chatbots In Service

80% of the questions in customer service are repeated over and over again. The service team has often already documented these questions – ideally digitally. Most FAQs are also available. So why not have the first-level support processed by technologies in order to create capacity in the service team? Smaller conversational AI solutions, such as chat or voice bots, can be implemented with limited effort.

Chat and voice bots are intuitive, simple, and user-friendly for customers. They are able to answer the simple, classic questions in first-level support or to solve more uncomplicated inquiries. The artificial intelligence behind the bot recognizes patterns in the language so that you can formulate your concerns in different ways and regardless of this you always get a valid answer. CRM Software for small businesses is the best one to use.

And that around the clock. When customers ask an urgent question, the bot is ready, while the service staff may be in the home office and the technology does not allow them to work as quickly and efficiently as usual. In addition, bots require little maintenance, are not forgetful, and are constantly learning new things. This gives the service team more time for comprehensive second-level support.

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Automation In Marketing

The use of marketing automation supports marketing in individually supplying customers or prospects with the relevant information, enables an automated one-to-one relationship, and creates trust. From automatic lead scoring to qualifying interested parties. This makes the development of the leads measurable because actions by interested parties are weighted and assigned values. In this way, so-called “Sales Qualified Leads” arise from visitors or “Marketing Qualified Leads”, which can then be seamlessly transferred from Marketing to Sales.

If speed is more important than ever, it is automated workflows that enable marketing and sales to both collaborate and facilitate the path to a successful deal.

Voice Bots As A Partner In Sales

In sales, a customer relationship management system helps to establish customer relationships with little effort and to maintain them over the long term. Especially in times of crisis, when you cannot sit face-to-face, it is important to have all the data on your customers ready to give them the feeling that they are taking care of them in the best possible way.

However, the time-consuming data maintenance in particular often prevents employees from filling the system with valuable information and using it. Voice bots can support this: They open up new possibilities in the interaction between humans and machines and can be integrated into the existing SAP Sales Cloud, for example. Practical examples (such as Valentina ) show how simple but ingenious such support looks. From the appointment system to the follow-up of the appointment, everything can only be controlled in one’s own language without having to open a mask of the SAP system.

Smart Commerce Support

70% of online customers think it makes sense that chatbots support them in the ordering process. The sectors that normally sell more offline than online can now benefit from this. Examples of this are the wine trade, food trade, fashion, pharmaceuticals, and many more. Hybrid models that work online can be found and developed here. Chatbots and/or automation can help bring customers directly to the destination they want and make recommendations.

The bots can also be useful for up-and-cross-selling. They take in information, needs, and feedback and store them. When the customer comes back to the shop, the bot can advertise products that are right for him or higher-quality services. It goes without saying that this will generate higher sales that are now urgently needed. And an investment in such a technology quickly pays for itself.

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Intelligent Processes In The Back Office

Another way to more easily maintain operations in crisis situations is to use process automation or even robotic process automation (RPA) in the back office. From invoice matching to sorting mail and emails, to opportunity scoring. Regardless of whether front or back end, bureaucratic, always the same processes are particularly suitable for automation.

The most important questions: Which RPA software complements the company’s existing software structure? Are there perhaps already automation options in the systems without having to implement AI directly? Breaking through bureaucratic structures makes life easier for employees and enables important processes to be maintained more easily in times of crisis.

Chatbots And The Customer Experience

Chatbots and automation are not only worthwhile in times of crisis. All of the points listed contribute to a goal that can be the necessary differentiation from the competition: a perfect customer experience. A factor that should not be underestimated in a modern market in which differentiation through lower prices or better quality products is becoming increasingly difficult. In marketing, commerce, and service systems, it quickly becomes clear how chatbots and automation contribute to the customer experience.

These areas usually have direct contact with customers. But how do intelligent processes in the back office, for example, contribute to the customer experience? Everything can go perfectly beforehand: If the bill is not correct in the end or you have to wait a long time for it, the customers are not happy with their buying experience. And how does it help the customer when the sales representative receives support in the CRM system? The employee is a) happier and b) has more time for personal support.

The employee experience is a factor for the customer experience that should not be underestimated – regardless of the company department. Satisfied employees with more time can take care of customers and customer loyalty much better than dissatisfied and stressed employees.

In every process, in every bot and automation idea, there is the potential to make life easier for employees and customers. Now it is time to use the potential!

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