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The Verdict Is In – Millennials Love Chatbots

Chatbots are no strangers to the world of artificial intelligence. Since its introduction, companies are always finding ways to innovate the functions and capabilities of Chatbots. Which brings us to the question? Who actually use Chatbots?

The answer is pretty obvious. It is the tech savvy youth i.e millennials. They are active participants on anything and everything on the internet. And it is no surprise that they’ve embraced chatbots with open arms.

A survey conducted by Retale states that nearly 60% of US millennials have interacted with a chatbot before. And the remaining 40% said they’d be happy to engage with a bot soon. The survey found that millennials were highly responsive to retail bots and it helped them increase their e-commerce purchases. 67% of the people surveyed said they are more likely to purchase products/services from a brand/company using a chatbot. Whereas, only a meagre 14% were not interested to make purchases via bots.

We’ve also noticed that plenty of e-commerce companies are trying to create a smart shopper bot that will be able to help users throughout the purchase process. Bots are used to send alerts of sales/discounts, reminders for sales/discounts. Certain bots can even help you find products by studying your requirements. With these innovations, online shopping has become a piece of cake for millennials and they’re not ready to stop anytime soon!

Chatbots For Mental Health

Chatbots have proven to be efficient when it comes to addressing any business related job roles. But their capabilities are so much. Incorporating bots in business activities is just the beginning. They have great potential to be the future of therapy and create awareness about mental health.

Numerous therapy chatbots have already been launched. But there’s still a long way to go to achieve the fullest potential.

Here are a couple of reasons why Chatbots are a great way to address mental health problems –

Availability

Although, there are numerous psychologists and doctors who are available to help people with their mental needs, they’re not available 24×7. Most of the time, you can meet them only after you schedule an appointment. There is a huge mismatch when it comes to availability. Bots are readily available. They might be able to help the person out during their vulnerable times or alert the necessary authorities if its a serious situation.

Anonymity

People are often not comfortable with discussing their personal problems or issues with another person, even if its a qualified medical and health professional. And the truth is, it takes the professionals a certain amount of time to break down the patient’s walls and to gain their trust. But with chatbots, users feel secure about the anonymity. They do not think that they’re being judged about their problems. They do not feel any apprehensions while talking to a bot.

Cost Efficient

Visiting a mental health professional can be a very expensive process. And not everyone can afford to spend such money. Bots can be helpful because they are extremely economical. The cost to develop and optimize a bot is still minimal compared to the amount needed to visit a doctor regularly. And this is one of the reasons why people prefer talking to a chatbot.

Although, bots show great potential in the field of therapy and mental health, they are not the end game. However, they can act as first-line-tools and guide people into getting the proper help they need.

Do you have any other thoughts about chatbots in therapy? Let us know what you think!

How Can Non-profits Benefit From a Chatbot

Chatbots are the current trending feature that companies and businesses are going gaga over! Ever since Facebook allowed companies to program Chatbots in their messenger, there has been a steady rise in AI technology on Facebook. Everybody wanted to join and be a part of the NEXT BIG THING. Chatbots would be able to answer questions immediately, and allow the people to concentrate on bigger things.

Bots have slowly creeped their way into different industries and businesses. And believe it or not, NGOs and Non-profits can actually benefit from bots.

Here’s how chatbots can be a great asset for your non-profit –

Answer basic queries on time everytime!

It is no surprise that a NGO page on FB will be getting loads of questions from the users like, “How can I volunteer”, “How can I donate money for this cause”, “When is your next event happening”. If only there was a system that could ask answer these monotonous questions so you didn’t have to. Chatbots can help do this for you. And these queries could be answered instantly regardless of what time they come in.

Gathering a community

A non-profit’s success is all about the donors, volunteers working towards a common cause. It is about bringing them together and forming a strong community. Chatbots can help make this happen. They can send out regular alerts to users based on previous communications. The alerts can be about new events, updates or anything that might help the non-profit to make their community stronger.

Fundraising

This is one of the core activities for any NGO. They need to actively raise funds to keep move their cause forward. Instead of directly asking users to donate some money, the bot can help share stories, experiences and related data that can motivate the user to actually do something for the cause. It reduces the manual effort but still gets the job done.

Moreover, bots can help gather data based on their interactions. It can provide useful insights regarding the audience and help funnel the non-profit’s to the right audience.

Do you have any other reasons as to how bots can help a non-profit? Let us know in the comments below!

Don’t Let Your Chatbot Commit These 4 Mistakes

It has been a while since the rise of Chatbots and there is no doubt that these bots have proven to be incredibly helpful to both the brand and the user. It minimizes effort and maximises the benefit. It also serves as a great marketing tool for the brands.

But with the the rise of a new feature also comes a rise in the errors and mistakes made. The story doesn’t end after the development of a chatbot. Businesses make plenty of mistakes when it comes to revising the functionalities and conversational abilities of a bot.

Here are some common mistakes that your bot must definitely stay away from –

Lack of focus

Bots are developed as a solution to a problem. It is important to identify the principal problem and ensure that the bots are working towards that. Make sure that your bot is not trying to do a hundred tasks at once. It may lose focus and in the end, you will be unable to solve your primary problem.

Spamming an abandoned conversation

This is one of the biggest mistakes committed by the bots. Users constantly complain of getting spam messages from the bot even after the conversation has ended. It is worse if the bot continues to spam the user even after it was unable to effectively help with the user’s query. Alternatively, the bot can send a message or two after the conversation if it contains some valuable information that the user will appreciate.

Inability to answer the question

This is another good reason as to why your bots are not that successful. It simply does not add any value for the user. The main reason why bots where set up in the first place was because they could respond to the users’ queries instantly. If its unable to find an answer for the question, it must let the user know about it instead of repeatedly dodging the question or providing irrelevant answers. It only makes the user more annoyed. It could provide the user with an email ID or a helpline number incase the question is out of scope from the bot’s abilities.

Asking repeated questions

The bot must be developed in such a way that it is able to store information of previous engagements with the user. It becomes a mundane task for the user if they have to provide their contact information or account details every time they communicate with a bot. Therefore, it is important to integrate your chatbot with user information data to simplify the process for the user.

Why do Millennials love Chatbots?

It is 2018 and technology is at its peak! Well, technology and social media. And who is the biggest user of both of these? You guessed it right, it’s the millennials!

It is believed that, by 2020, almost 85% of consumer interactions with businesses will be with bots or through self-servicing. Research states that 60% of millennials have interacted with a chatbot and 70% of users have had a positive experience with a bot. And the users who haven’t tried are also excited to interact with a bot.

Companies have realised that chatbots are a goldmine with millennials and brands like Sephora, Dominos and Starbucks have already created their very own chatbot that are highly popular amongst millennials.

So, what is it about chatbots that makes them so irresistible to the millennials? Well, you’re about to find out.

Feeds into their need for instant gratification

If there’s one thing that all millennials hate, it is waiting. They want instantaneous replies and feedback. And this is one of the major reasons that they love chatbots. Their queries are attended to in a jiffy! Plus, with the improvement in chatbot technologies, bots are improving their conversational abilities to become more humanized and friendly. Millennials may not receive the same instant responses while interacting with a human. This is why, they are more prone to communicate with bots instead of other customer servicing channels.

Keeping up with the latest technology

Millennials love staying ahead of the curve. Be it fashion, technology or music. They all want to be a part of the next big thing. They loved drones and hover boards and they’ve also started to love chatbots. It is the newest addition to social media channels. They’re all happy to experiment with the latest technological revelation.

Convenience is everything

Millennials take their smartphone everywhere, they’re always connected to the different social media platforms. Brands need not take any effort to educate these millennials about these platforms. All they have to do is be present on the platforms that their TG frequent the most. The convenience of the chatbots is what makes millennials use them again and again.

How to effectively market your Messenger Bot

Chatbots have been around for a while now and there have been hits and misses since its inception. We’ve cracked the mysteries on what makes a bot successful and the tips to create a perfect bot. And since brands have realized the true potential of bots, they all have incorporated it in some aspect of their business.

Unfortunately, the crowding of bots on the internet have made it difficult for every single chatbot to stand out. This brings us to marketing. How can a business effectively promote their messenger bot and not let it get lost in the crowd?

Well, we’ve got just the right tips to ensure all your existing and potential customers are aware of this feature.

Increase the visibility of your bot

The first step to promote your bot is identification. All your development efforts are baseless if users cannot easily discover your bot. There are different steps to go about this.

  • Create messenger QR codes and place them at your store, events, office or even upload them online on your social media handles and website. This will allow the user to quickly scan the code and get in touch with your business
  • Add a “Message Us” button on your Facebook page
  • Place a “Message” button on your website too. The facebook message plug-in can be embedded onto the website and it can help direct the user to your messenger bot if they have any queries. It also helps push all your efforts to one uniform location
  • Give your bot an identity and a username so people can easily type in the name of your chatbot and locate it

It’s all about the content

Now that we’ve covered visibility and brought the user to your chatbot, it is important that the bot engages and assists the user effectively as possible. To achieve this, it is important to understand the reasons behind creating a chatbot and what makes your chatbot unique.

It is imperative to convey information about your bot, its latest updates and features to ensure top of the mind recall and also to maintain the interest of your audience. This will also provide room for user reviews and feedback to help fine tune your bot’s performance. Your bot can be made more fun and interesting by incorporating GIFs, audio and video files.But do note that your updates about the bot do not become spammy for the users.

With the right balance of the above mentioned tips, you are surely on the right path to Chatbot success!

How can Chatbots help in E-Commerce?

It is no surprise that the internet and social media have taken over every aspect of life and everything is available to the user at the comfort of their homes. The number of users making purchasing from an e-commerce store has been steadily increasing over the years. Almost 80% of online purchases is made from a mobile device. So the online stores must ensure that they provide a seamless shopping experience to their customers.

This is where the chatbots would be of great help to them. The best part is that, chatbots do not require you to install a specific app, it is inbuilt within the principal store app or within the social media channel.

How can chatbots help boost e-commerce businesses

Build buzz

Chatbots are perfect to build a buzz around latest products, offers, discounts and sales. They help communicate such information to users on social. This is an ideal way to get the word out there without appearing spammy. Users would appreciate the personalized touch. This would encourage them to at least visit the website.

Instant customer service

Customers want instant answers to their questions, especially when it comes to addressing grievances and purchase queries. But the customer service team cannot be available 24×7. In this case, incorporating chatbots ensures that these queries are addressed instantly. This enables the user to have a smooth online shopping experience.

Personalization

Over and above the usual benefits, one of the biggest pros of incorporating a chatbot is personalization. Customers want to feel like the brand understands them and their needs. This aspect is key to brand loyalty. With AI, it is now possible for bots to grow and learn from every interaction. This empowers the bots to provide personalized solutions to the users based on their interests/purchase behaviour & previous interactions.

Busting the common Chatbot myths

Chatbots are currently experiencing a peak in their growth. More business are companies are joining the AI bandwagon. This technology has been developed, customized and innovated to suit the needs of different businesses in multiple industries. But there are still some common misconceptions surrounding chatbots and we’re here to bust these myths once and for all!

Myth 1 – Chatbots are only for big businesses

This is one of the most common misconceptions when it comes to chatbots. Yes, it is true that some of the biggest brands in different industries have made use of this technology to achieve big results,but, it is not restricted to the elitist brands. Chatbots can be developed for your business, irrespective of the size. And you need not worry about the costs of the chatbots being super high. You can actually develop a cost-effective chatbot for your business without compromising on its quality.

Myth 2 – Chatbots are only used for Customer Service

Most people believe the biggest function of the bots is to address customer queries when the employee is unavailable. But in reality, the potential of these bots is so much more! They can used in various functions like Sales, Accounting, Communications and many more.

Myth 3 – Chatbots lack human touch

This would be the biggest myth that surrounds chatbots. People believe that Chatbots can only offer robotic and repetitive replies to questions. But that is not true.  Chatbots can be built to constantly evolve and learn from every interaction they have. It generates useful insights from every conversation it has. Bots are even being utilized for counselling. So the matter of personalised touch purely depends upon how effectively your bot is built.

Myth 4 – Chatbots will lead to unemployment

Chatbots are developed to make the jobs easier for people, not to completely eliminate them in the process. Even though these bots can be built to perform multiple tasks effectively, its benefits pose a limit. Certain activities need to pass through a human.

 

With these busted myths, you can surely understand what bots can and cannot do. In this day and age where technology dominates every aspect of your life, bots are the perfect addition to grow your business to the next level.

How to humanize your Chatbot

A chatbot is a computer program which conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods. Of Late, bots are slowly making their way into daily activities and businesses. They’ve already revolutionized the way users communicate with different brands online.

Nowadays, users expect instant replies from businesses which has led to the increased demand for chatbots.

But there is a constant question as to how to humanize a chatbot? Users feel more comfortable communicating with a chatbot that has some personal touch to it instead of a bot that gives robotic replies.

Bots need to be integrated with some emotional intelligence that evolves based on user interactions.

Here are a few tips that can help create a personal touch for your chatbot –

Build your bot to accommodate your user

Often, chatbots only offer a few answer options to the consumer which severely restricts their options. The bot has to be developed to make things easy for the user. The bots must be constantly improved and made better to understand human dialect. They must also be programmed to learn and evolve from every encounter.

Quick replies to queries

Even though it is important to have a conversation with the customer, long conversations are not appreciated every time. Users wants quick answers to their questions with the least amount of effort involved. This is when you truly know if your chatbot is effective.

Develop a personality for your bot

Although the bot has to be built to accommodate the user, it is also necessary for the bot to have a personality that falls in line with your brand and its values. Tests like Myers-Briggs can help choose the personality traits for your bot. For example, if your brand caters to the millenials, it is important for the bot to have a fun, playful personality that the target audience can relate to.

Irrespective of your purpose of creating a bot, it is important to understand there is a human entity on the other end of the conversation. A humanized chatbot can help build stronger connections with the users and increase the brand loyalty. Afterall, It’s all about creating meaningful interactions.

Ohmybot launches #ChatQuizChallenge to promote Baahubali 2

Ahead of the highly anticipated release of Baahubali : The Conclusion, the makers wanted to
promote the launch with an interactive Chatbot quiz to give fans a quick recap of the movie.

Social & Digital Agency KRDS India was roped in to develop an interactive Chatbot on the page to
promote the movie. The move comes after KRDS India developed a series of movie promotion
Chatbots, recently for Kaabil, M.S Dhoni, Jolly LLB 2 and Badrinath ki Dulhaniya.

The Chatbot was launched on Baahubali’s official facebook page after the trailer was launched on
15th March 2017. The idea was to engage the users and get them to guess on the storyline of
Baahubali 2 from whatever they could gather on the trailer of the movie.

Users can message the page to play the #ChatQuizChallenge that had 5 trivia questions from the
Trailer. The BOT is a multi-lingual BOT and is available in five languages – English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.

Commenting on the Chatbot, Senthil Anand – General Manager at KRDS India Agency said:
“With the huge success of Baahubali – The Beginning, fans of the movie across India have been eagerly awaiting the sequel and keeping this in mind, the #ChatQuizChallenge was launched to fuel the anxiety created by the trailer and to get users to subscribe and get new updates from the production crew.
We’ve already seen good reception to the BOT on all languages and hope to hit a milestone with the number of subscriptions to the Chatbot soon”

At the end of the quiz users can receive a customized Baahubali 2 artwork with their profile picture to show their support for the franchise. The user could also subscribe to the Chatbot to get exclusive updates from the production crew of the movie.

The Chatbot was a raging success with over 86,000 users within two days. It can be accessed by messaging the page or on messenger