Getting on the bot-wagon has found its way into corporate roadmaps significantly over the past 2 years. With brand giants like KLM, Philips Lighting and American Express amongst the ranks of early adopters, chatbots have cemented their efficacy across various functions even with the big boys.

Yet, a looming question lurks – how will a chatbot meet my business needs? Here’s a quick guide for starters.

1. Identify a conversational pain point or opportunity

Keeping up the online dialogue with customers has become an integral part of brand communication today. With that comes the double-edged sword of customers becoming accustomed to speedy response – so they’ll either be pleased with the prompt customer service or frustrated when their issues aren’t addressed in their desired timeframe or neglected.

Identifying this conversational dilemma for your business will significantly help to scope the gap or problem as well as set the focus of your chatbot journey and respective KPIs. A good starting point would be to assess current chat channels, chat volume and objectives of communication.

2. Pick your battle

A common instinct for businesses when it comes to adopting a new technology would be to cover all grounds. As much as chatbots are fully capable of meeting all of your business needs and functions, clutter is potentially detrimental to any chat experience.

Hence, defining that one primary track for your chatbot experience is crucial. For example, Philips Lighting Singapore’s Messenger bot recommends you the lighting for your needs within 3-4 questions, just like a salesman would, except it’s 24/7 and instant. Secondary functions are also available, which in their case exists in the form of simple FAQs for information on delivery, product warranty and feedback.

A chatbot’s stickiness resides in its core value – which in Philips Lighting’s case is their recommendation feature. The easier users can develop an association with this primary offering, the more likely they would consistently engage with your chatbot.

3. Smart enough?

Artificial Intelligence is undoubtedly the talk of the town. In the realm of chat, techniques like Natural Language Processing and various Machine Learning algorithms abound to effect smart automation in your chat interactions with customers. These advancements, will not replace the human touch in conversations all together but serve to empower your service reps to meet the ever-increasing chat volume.

How smart your chatbot starts off really depends on a permutation of factors: historical data, organic chat logs, conversational objectives, API integration, etc. Assessment of these would allow your chatbot creator to set perimeters on the techniques involved to best kickstart your journey. Hence, data gathering and classification would be extremely helpful ahead of your first meeting with your appointed vendor to effect a fast build.