The Chatbot Market was projected to grow from $2.6billion in 2019 to $9.6billion by 2024.* In 2020 however, the market valuation reached $17.17billion**, almost double of what it was projected to in 4 years due to the impact and resultant demand brought about by the global pandemic. A good number of businesses globally and even locally in Nigeria and Africa resorted to Chatbots to handle the extra work load and the market is now expected to be valued at $109billion by 2026.
But Chatbots, and indeed, every other technology is not a one size fits all that we should just adopt blindly and expect to results instantly. No, that would be unwise.
Here are 3 problems or instances that if you experience in your work or business, a Chatbot would definitely help to resolve.
Lots of Repetitive Requests Or Tasks: Repetitive, mundane and boring tasks tend effect a person’s productivity in unexpected ways. Aside from being a poor use of productive time, people tend to make mistakes when they do and expect to do a task over and over again. This often leads to diminishing returns for the person’s output. Chatbots are commonly used to automate these kinds of processes; Whether they are frequently asked questions, or sending a type of message or file, one of the best decisions you can make for your business is to introduce a chatbot to help out with that part of your operations.
Lead Generation: Chatbots are often used to ask questions that can help qualify your leads to know which ones are cold, warm or even hot. You can then pass the most promising ones to your sales reps to follow up while you send automated messages to further nurture the warm and cold ones. According to a study by Lead Connect, 78% of customers buy from the company that responds to their inquiry first.
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Absenteeism: No matter how hardworking or hands-on we are in our work or business, there are moments which we may not be available to answer the requests or inquiries of our customers. In today’s on-demand world where everyone wants things in the now, now now, a 5 minute plus delay in responding to a request can lead to up to 80% reduction in chances of qualifying the lead according to a study done by Drift. A chatbot can help stand in the gap for those moments where you or your staff are not available to respond to an enquiry (such as during closing hours or weekends). You can integrate to your email calendar and instantly schedule a meeting right from your bot.
So do you any questions or comments around chatbots? Feel free to ask below and I will do my best to answer.
(* Source: Artificial Solutions: State of Chatbot report 2019)
(** Source: Researchandmarkets.com Chatbot market report)