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With leaps in technology come new advancements in AI and chatbots have slowly become smarter over time, collecting more information about their target audience and figuring out exactly what people want or need to hear. Whether the purpose of your bot is to communicate with customers or just provide some basic functions to streamline tedious tasks, they’re getting better at their jobs and have been able to advance to previously unrealistic levels, sometimes taking playbooks straight out of a sci-fi movie

If your business is new to the use of chatbots you may well be asking how they can be used to increase marketing efficiency? Our own personal favourite right now is Many Chat and it hits the spot on all of our marketing needs:

Lead Generation

Chatbots are available 24/7 to interact with customers and give them the information they need when they need it. Helpful chatbots make it quick and easy for users to find what they are looking for at any time     

Product Launches

At the point of launching a product, it can be difficult to get immediate feedback from consumers and gauge overall product reception. Launching a product via chatbot can be an excellent way for brands to get in front of customers and introduce a new product.

Data Collection

Implementing chatbots throughout social media platforms and websites can result in an enormous amount of data. Using this information, marketers can improve the customer experience, and gather insight into their current marketing efforts. A quick look at a chat history can reveal commonly used keywords and phrases which can be worked into marketing campaigns and online content to improve SEO and connect with customers better.

Brand Loyalty

Chatbots engage consumers in a two-way conversation that’s beneficial for the customer; Chatbots only deliver information that the user asks for. This increases trust and creates a powerful bond between consumers and brands. It has been proven that reducing customer effort can significantly increase brand loyalty, and chatbots are certainly a way to minimise customer effort and maximise customer satisfaction.

The Future

As you can see we are starting to see how implementing chatbots can help companies meet consumer expectations, and stay ahead of their competitors. But what can we expect in the near future in the use of bots:

  • Bots Will Become Even More Human-Like

Most of the time, especially in years past, people were able to instantly tell the difference between a machine’s voice and a human’s. Today, the line is getting more and more blurred, not just over voice but in texts too. Soon, talking to an AI may be indistinguishable from another person.

  • We’re Finding Better Uses for Machine Learning

The more data that’s taken in, the more the bots are able to process, understand and react. In the near future they’ll hopefully be able to interact fully with a user throughout every stage of their needs and making the user’s experience unique. By being unique to the individual, the chatbot can provide better results, meeting current and specific needs without giving generic and unhelpful information.

  • Bots Might Replace Apps

This particular future probably isn’t what most people expect or even want to hear. However, virtual assistants are becoming more and more common. Asking Google or Siri or whoever you use to find or open something for you is a lot easier than just going to the app and finding the information yourself. Certainly, the latter option is also easy, but just asking for what you need can save a little time and a potential headache.

While the idea might seem a little farfetched right now, apps may start to become a thing of the past. This change almost certainly wouldn’t be a sudden one that everyone would have to adhere to at once, but the time is coming. As we progress, we get ever closer to the science fiction future of just telling the computer what we want. For some apps have already phased out as chatbots become more reliable. So while the future of apps is uncertain, things are looking quite bleak for them.

  • More Voice-Based Programs Will Be Available

Talking to the computer is simply easier to get the job done, whether you have both hands busy or not. Since these bots are talking back and sounding more human than ever, we’re definitely going to want more conversations as things progress.

In marketing terms, this prediction gives an idea of what to invest in and what to stay away from, as it’s clear that we are looking at voice-based and even video-based software.

Finding marketing trends for the future is easy with all the data right in front of you. Sometimes, the trends are a bit more obvious and widespread than complex numbers or supply and demand fluctuations. In the case of chatbots, we know what kind of future we’re heading into. The job for businesses after a certain point is to decide whether they want to take the next leap. For chatbots and AI, the future is coming one way or another.