Today, we spend an average of 2 hours per day on social networks and messaging services. But even if we are technically competent people, we are looking for even more human interaction. The same goes for technology.
The trend of artificial intelligence is spreading more and more. This is supported by the McKinsey report which indicates that in 2016, companies invested $ 26 billion to $ 39 billion in artificial intelligence. This direction has an important effect on many branches of technology, including web design or application development, but mostly on communication between brands and their customers. This is also one of the main reasons for the increasing popularity of chatbots. Most brands do their best to create more and more customized bots.
By creating a chatbot, many focus primarily on the subject of a conversation. We think about the questions that need to be asked and the meaning of the answers. Many companies forget to adapt the scenario to a particular situation with a specific customer. Although customers are different, they have something in common: each requires a completely natural form of interaction with a brand. We are more willing to visit sites or applications where customer service is efficient and personalized.
Currently, the main problem with chatbots is that customers tend to treat them like robots and do not feel comfortable during their conversations. As a result, sometimes customer service that uses robots is not necessarily faster or more attractive than other methods.
Creating a chatbot with a specific character is easier said than done. However, this is a crucial point for modern brands. On the other hand, only chatbots with a clearly defined personality are able to prove their intelligence and convince customers to speak with them honestly.
Let’s take the example of a robot with a specific character. Once we had an experience with my colleague and I asked Siri if he was Cortana … Siri seemed to get jealous. Now, we know he does not like users to confuse him with another artificial intelligence assistant. In addition, Siri’s reaction is consistent with the Apple brand, known for its individuality. Therefore, we can certainly say that Siri has a character.
Best Practices for Creating a Chatbot with a Character
Before you start designing your chatbot, you must thoroughly analyze all the conversations that have taken place with your customers. Use all the sources you have, such as your live chat archive, contact center records and correspondence if necessary. The basic conversation scenario should be based on your customer knowledge. Otherwise, your bot will not be useful to them.
You must be fully aware of your customers’ language, questions and expectations. Choose the conversations where your customers were most satisfied with your customer service. The preparation of branches in a conversation tree must be based primarily on these positive experiences.
There are many ways to ask a chatbot to make a reservation for a movie at the cinema. But this number is unlimited and some keywords remain repeated. If the film is primarily aimed at young people, try adding a few common words for this target audience to the scenario.
Do not try to create a chatbot that completely imitates your brand image. The chatbot must be your brand ambassador but not a member of your board. By analyzing past conversations with your customers, you should know exactly what features your customers love most about their conversations with your customer service employees. Then, do your best to implement them in your chatbot scenarios. When you have designed your robot, check several dozen times how the conversation works. You must be completely sure that the scenario is correct before making it public.
By observing the progress of artificial intelligence, we can predict that in the near future, chatbots will be one of the main things to manage when creating a business brand. They even have the potential to replace the traditional “user interface”, becoming something more crucial for the interaction between brands and customers.