Chatbot vs Live Chat

admin 14.05.2020 0 1073

Successful business is based on three pillars — a high-quality product or a highly-needed service, efficient marketing and the target audience loyalty. The third item directly depends on the methods and character of communication with the potential clients. The companies require completely different approaches to communication. In any case, the correct communication strategy will allow you win a larger client base and keep the attention of those who already know your brand.

In order to achieve operational communication, networking and offer solutions, chat bots were introduced in websites and messengers. Still, the question remains what is better: live communication or automated bot response? Which solution will be more profitable for your business? In this article, we will review the major pros and cons of the two options, as well as analyze the cases where chat bot is needed, and where human control is of vital importance.

Pros and Cons of Live Chat

Now it’s time to talk about advantages and disadvantages of talking to an operator. The following benefits are becoming obvious.

Adaptability

Of course, misunderstandings between people may happen, but the operator is the one who will understand the requests and wishes of the customer. This is especially important when the company offers custom orders, adapts to the customer’s requirements, or provides solutions to complex tasks. It is necessary to understand the working process from the buyer’s / customer’s perspective very well, and choose between the conciseness and adaptability the characteristics that will help in your particular case.

Live Communication

This advantage is not always highly needed as well, but sometimes it may appear critical. Human communication is focused on emotions and may persuade your potential clients to make a choice in your favor.

More Opportunities

While a chat bot has limited functionality, human resource is much more diverse. An operator answers the questions (even if they are slightly ignorant or silly), may recommend the best option, tell about the other customers’ experience, actually listen to the client and offer his vision of the situation.

The main disadvantages of a live chat are limited time and slowness, considerably longer response, high cost.

Read about pros and cons of chat-bot here.

The comparative analysis of chat bots and live chat

As we can see, the main difference is a human factor (as a combination of all qualitative characteristics of a person, both positive and negative). At that, human presence may be both a necessary precondition for making an order and a waste of time of the employer for routine mechanical processes.

And here we come back to the idea that one needs to understand his target audience and business nuances well in order to make a decision for his own benefit, his business and clients.

A Bot or Not a Bot, That Is a Question

A chatbot and an operator have a range of completely different benefits that may be required in some cases and unnecessary in the other. A bot means speed, availability, conciseness, consistency, automation. An operator means adaptability, emotional capability, being kept informed, human wisdom. These “sets” of benefits will be needed in various cases. So, what our decision will be?

A Chat Bot Will Cope Greatly with the Recurring Processes

If you are offering a finished product not requiring flexible customization, or selling one type of product, a bot will be your irreplaceable assistant. It helps a buyer to select a color of the product, size and other parameters, inform about the availability, payment, delivery, and quickly arrange a purchase.

The same applies to ordering services, which is performed according to a uniform scheme (booking a table or a cottage, making an appointment at a beauty salon, massage parlor or dance lessons, auto rental, etc.).

Also, a bot deals very well with other recurring processes, like information mailout, conducting quizzes, responding the frequently asked questions, etc.

Please note: in the long run, human intervention is necessary in any case. A bot allows to reduce huge workload and save the operator’s time by connecting him only to those people who need personal advice.

A Live Chat Will Create a Customized Approach

An operator becomes necessary when multiple changeable and customized orders are made. He will be able to better understand the client’s wishes and consider all the nuances. Thus, for example, when selecting the tailoring service, the customer is likely to trust the specialist’s opinion. He will listen to the recommendations, and only afterwards make the final decision.

The same applies to the personal tours or, for example, property transactions. And even in these cases, it is possible to appropriately automate and speed up the work with the help of a chat bot.

And to conclude…

In any case, you can optimize your work and the working day of your employees by introducing a properly developed and elaborated chat bot. In some cases, it will perform practically all the work of the operator, and in other cases, it will become a personal assistant. The program will sufficiently save the operators’ time by eliminating the necessity to respond to identical questions. If the chat bot, however, cannot cope with the tasks and questions, it will redirect the customer to the operator.