Chatbots are becoming the fastest-growing communication channel for organizations. Why? Because they’re the easiest way to scale support. Chatbots can help businesses save on customer service costs by speeding up response times and answering up to 80 percent of basic questions—all without needing to bring in a customer service agent.
While companies are finding chatbots useful in general, Salesforce chatbots in particular are powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technology that makes them smarter and more personalized to give customers the predictions, recommendations, and answers they need.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Salesforce chatbots, including what they are, how they work, and ways they’ll benefit your business. Let’s chat about it.
What is a Chatbot?
A chatbot is a computer program that mimics human conversation through voice or text communication. Often, chatbots are used to engage with customers along with other channels, including email, phone, and social media.
Customer service chatbots are used to answer simple, repetitive questions that don’t require an agent’s skills. For example, imagine a customer wants an update on a delivery or product promotion. In the old model, they’d need to call or message through a customer service portal, wait until an agent became available, ask their question, give the required information for the agent to look into the issue, wait for the agent to find the answer, and so forth.
A chatbot can answer questions like these in a snap by tapping into relevant information automatically. This process saves time for customers and service reps alike, improving the experience of the former and freeing up the latter to focus on more complex issues and building customer relationships.
Benefits of Chatbots
It’s important to note that chatbots are neither designed nor meant to replace human beings. Instead, they’re used to complement human customer service representatives. Automating repetitive customer support duties like addressing simple questions and collecting information gives service reps the opportunity to do what they do best—provide the human touch that customers are looking for.
And AI-powered chatbots kick things to the next level by dramatically improving the quality of understanding and decision-making of the technology. Here are some of the benefits of using Salesforce chatbots:
Faster Customer Response Times
The most significant benefit of chatbots, customers can get immediate answers to simple questions via chat instead of waiting for a response in an email or by phone. By shortening the customer’s wait time, you’ll reduce frustration and increase satisfaction.
Provide Resources for Customers
Chatbots can welcome customers with a greeting when they land on your site and direct customers to resources they might need or might otherwise miss.
Personalize Customer Experiences
Chatbots can be used to scale personalized experiences as they get to know customers and use AI to predict their next steps.
Reduce Support Cases
Chatbots can assist with support cases by quickly answering questions for customers and, in turn, reducing the number of cases that support agents need to resolve. Automated Salesforce chatbots can be the first point of contact for customer service. Studies show that incorporating an AI chatbot as a support strategy can reduce live agent attrition to only three percent.
How Salesforce Chat Works
Salesforce chat works by combining the company’s service platform with personalized automation. Salesforce chat can also be integrated across platforms like WhatsApp and Messenger for even more convenience.
The chatbots simulate human conversation by prompting the user to input information, and the chatbot responds automatically until the problem has been solved. But what happens if the chatbot reaches the limit of its supporting capabilities? What if a customer’s issue is too complicated or confusing for a robot to understand? Not to worry—in cases like these, the chatbot can easily connect the customer to a live support agent to handle things from there.
Getting Started with Salesforce Chatbots
Customer expectations have evolved almost as quickly as technology. Salesforce chatbots can help you meet those demands while saving your live agents time and allowing them to focus on more strategic tasks.
Is your organization ready to scale support to handle whatever comes your way? Our senior-level Salesforce consulting team can help you set up Salesforce chatbots or partner with you on any Salesforce-related project you may have. Contact us today to learn more and get started.
