How Chatbots Play A Key Role in a Marketing Strategy

Chatbots are rapidly maturing as a technology. Hopefully, that means most of the early marketing mistakes have been made, and we can focus on the positive outcomes, good use cases as well as learn not what to do. So, here are a couple of examples of positive marketing and information delivery using everyone’s best new friend, the chatbot.

Heard the one about the chatbot and nun? No, good! And hopefully you never will, because marketers are smarter than that. Yet, there have been all sorts of chatbot faux pas in the early years of the technology as businesses demand the marketing department rushes out bots to get ahead or keep up with rivals.

Microsoft’s Tay bot was one of the first that was supposed to be down with the kids. Until the kids mocked it mightily and turned it into a filth-spewing hate-monger. Since then, most AI and learning bots have had a tighter leash put around their output, but the hurdles remain for any marketer to trip over if they don’t ensure the message and the technology are working in harmony.

1 Be the Master of Your Niche

With the world’s first vegan chatbot going down a storm in Australia, any niche market or business has a great opportunity to build its brand and make a difference. Bots aren’t just about improving customer service, they can inform and educate. And with environmental, health and diet issues at the top of many personal agendas, chatbots can deliver mass information at an individual level.

Veji will soon be a global-facing bot, helping the growing vegan army make meal, eating out and diet choices across the continents. Using Facebook Messenger, it can talk to anyone and is fast building a rapid and loyal audience. Founded by one keen vegan, Joelle Reynolds, she’s out-paced the major health brands and tapped into a booming market. Providing access to information across the whole vegan sphere, Vegi isn’t just touting one brand or chain, but focusing on quality and taste.

Any business within the foodie or a similar niche needs to get its bot in order now. Able to direct customers to products, especially if they are only sold across a few outlets, or to recommend meal ideas, pairing wine with and so on, chatbots are a key engagement tool.

There’s no need to focus on just what’s on your company’s warehouse. Being bigger and wider-ranging makes you a better part of the community or niche. And, there’s always the opportunity for cross marketing and reaching out to larger audiences.

Bonus tip: Marmite’s new LGBTQ+ jar might still be just Marmite, but boy is it reaching out to communities. The company uses apps to see if it can tell where eaters fall on the love/hate scale and an augmented treasure hunt to engage. Using technology need not be by the numbers, figure out where your brand can make a difference! Make your bot a part of the conversation to help join your marketing dots.

2 Join Up Your Chatbot Dots

Any marketing message needs to revolve around the key points of connecting with consumers, understanding their needs, refining the results or conversation, and delivering the right message while building a relationship.

The likes of Skype and Messenger are already key parts of many people’s social media habits. Being in the places your customers are is more important than putting a bot on your front web page or app. Bot services like SnatchBot can deliver your bot to most social media, including the most popular Asian service LINE, which is key for reaching a global audience.

Bots use scripts, natural language processing and other AI technologies to understand what the user is asking. Here is where marketers and their coding allies need to get the right level of messaging, authority, interest and ensuring that replies don’t offend, confuse or fail to satisfy the user. While each script and message will be different, all companies need to ensure sufficient testing to protect the businesses’ reputation and to ensure the bot delivers the expected results, with a dash of insight or personality to make each conversation memorable.

Take a look at DuoLingo whose bots can help teach a whole new language in those free moments when people have some spare time, fitting into their schedule. The bots can be fun and role-specific to help people in areas they need. Your bots might not be so niche, but there’s still plenty to learn from making the bot fit the role for the user, rather than focusing solely on force-feeding information.

Bonus tip: Rose, the chatbot service of The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas helps guests that use her services spend 30% more than guests who don’t. They are also 33% happier when they check out. Bots can be a revenue earner, but they need to put the customer in the right mood to spend. Whatever your bot’s aim in life, if sales or upselling are part of the equation, a focus on personality and value is key.