Digital Marketing has always gone through evolution and transformation since it was adopted worldwide. Back in the 2000s, the digital realm was dominated by SEM and SEO. These were the fundamental element of online marketing and digital communication. A decade later, in the 2010s, marketing through Social Media, came into prominence. Social Media Marketing became the new trend among Internet marketers. Businesses happened through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on. Never could it have been imagined that social media networks could even be used as market places.
Finally, we have Mobile Marketing up on us. Almost 80% of people own smartphones which make it darn easy to pitch sales and promotion through mobile devices. And since the millennials use mobiles on-the-go, they can check sales messages and offers at the blink of an eye. Thus making it way easier for the marketers to mold and influence them. Though nobody can deny the phenomenal influence social networks has on us, still we have seen a change in consumer behaviors. Buyers and consumers have shifted from social media to a more informal, quick, and simple messaging platforms such as FB Messenger, Apple iMessage, Slack, WhatsApp, etc. And the old hand SMS, is undoubtedly there, ruling the stage.
And grabbing this chunk of Generation Z could be efficiently done through text messaging, or any kind of messaging. None of us can deny that this is an era of messaging apps and Instant Messaging is the latest drift. Owing to this development, marketers have changed their ways of interfacing with the consumer by taking advantage of this innovative modus operandi. And adding to this already flowing trend, are Chatbots – automated messaging system supported and ran by AI (Artificial Intelligence). Only because the new shift in consumer behavior is more and more targeted upon messaging, the big daddies of technology are now focusing more on future of chatbots. It goes without saying, that Chatbots are now an integral factor of marketing strategies.
Why are chatbots important?
Innovations happen rapidly and spread like wildfire. And when an innovation contributes to the growth of business and communication, there’s no looking back. Same can be deduced for Chatbots. Several big brands have already included bots in their CRM system and are quite happy with the way things have turned up. Brands are keener on experimenting with technology and availing chatbot interface design for business; hence they look forward to innovations and technological advancements. Be it a restaurant, or a fast food food chain, a data analyst company, an IT firm, a hospitality industry or an apparel industry, CRM systems braced up with bots help manage their loyalty programmes, product launches, response to enquiries, redressal forums, or FAqs, more efficiently than any manual input. Thus automation and mechanics companies are focusing more on creating artificial intelligence chatbot algorithm to offer further intelligence and engagement to deliver customer efficient service.
So what augmentation do bots offer to businesses, and how are they done? Well, if a visitor while checking out a website gets a personalized conversation that is beyond just clicks and views, what more could the person ask for. Bots enquire about the requirement of a visitor and then suggests only relevant tips. With 11,000 bots, Facebook Messenger is the top choice for marketers. And what more is, bots are fully mobile-optimized thus making it easier to implement them across all social media platforms. Because as we all know businesses are getting more and more mobile-oriented, chatbots must inherently be mobile-optimized. Marketers can simply interlink them across their social networks, and they can update brand messages all at once. Considering the growing effect of the IoT (Internet of Things), bots are highly in demand, and brands have already started seeing ROI through bots. Bots help brands have a consistent brand voice across all platforms at a time.
What do Chatbots have in store for us in the Future?
Because chat bots when integrated into the CRM system, helps the companies to manage their customer service stronger and efficiently than ever. Also because bots have reduced the need for human interference in these kinds of works, which saves much of cost and resources. Simply put, chatbots are going to shape the world as we know it. Though the future of chatbots is still under speculation and hovered in curiosity, it is well enough to claim that bots are here to stay. And they will metamorphose into more “human-like” and smarter in their behavior, analyses, and reports, thanks to AI.
And of course, it is not just a buzzword, creating a hype and then vanishing away. Efficiency and accuracy of chatbots are well perceived by many. And the idea to use it in the mainstream communication was an idea that clicked.
Apps have changed the way businesses used to happen in the early 2000s. And no doubt, this change is a positive and effective one that has solidified user experience, and sales and revenue. Apps are downloaded within a minute before even an order is placed through it. Thus business and apps are now intertwined. However, we can’t also deny the fact that right from mid 2015, the app business wasn’t at the helm of its affairs. As per Google, an average user had only 36 apps installed, and 80% of users don’t use apps daily.
So to be fair, chatbots are the new face of technology that has come in the forefront beating applications. New solutions everyday integrates chatbots into gadgets to make them more efficient and substantial. The current industry vertical signals at the thriving of chatbots. They are everywhere. They are much more than a simple text conversation. You just have to grasp the proper information from the bots.
