Chatbots are nothing new, some of the posts mentioning them date back to 2015. You may have also experienced a bot more recently while making a booking with KLM on Facebook or buying an outfit at ASOS with their Telegram bot. A chatbot is a computer program that simulates human conversations. It interacts with real people through instant messaging by artificially replicating the patterns of human interactions. The chatbot technology includes smart algorithms such as Natural Language Processing, meaning a computer’s ability to understand human speech and text, Machine Learning, which allows computers to learn themselves without programming, and Artificial Intelligence.

If large brands like that embraced the idea early on, you might think it is a real ROI gold mine. In fact, one of the popular bot developers’ CEO had boasted 80 to 90% open rates and 20 to 50% CTRs on some of their campaigns back in 2017. However, it is not just about CTRs when the end result is what really matters. Some corporate B2C efforts aren’t paying off, and it is not the technology itself, but the way bot-flows are designed. You know when you see a flashy, overcomplicated corporate show-off when all they had to do was actually focus on solving problems for their customers.

How does it translate to performance marketing?

Performance marketing is an integral part of any solid marketing strategy for most service or product companies. Agencies like us help clients to achieve maximum results within the scope of their budgets in a smart and coherent manner, fully attuned to a client’s marketing strategy. Chatbots can be a valuable addition to the marketing strategy to optimize the customer journey and ultimately if done correctly, boost your sales.

Here is an example chart we created to show off a clean and easy user path:

Example chatbot flow for McDonald’s $50 voucher (e.g. OIDs 150, 7258, 32455)

Of course, we cannot disclose the actual flow that was used but rest assured it was not staggeringly different. Below you can see the results of a similar campaign that spanned over a period of 4 months, and they are quite impressive.

Actual data on similar flow used in a campaign

How to get started with chatbots?

It should be remembered that a successful bot should focus on solving problems for your user, providing concise and guiding information, and taking the least amount of time to go through everything while keeping your user’s attention.

One of the drawbacks is a lack of human-style interaction, which can be minimized by the use of time-delayed actions, such as typing or moderate use of emojis.

If you are ready to venture out in this field, get in touch with us to discuss how we can meet your needs. Or you could do it yourself with one of the bot services like ManyChat, Chatfuel, Chatteron, and so on, there are plenty out there. And do not forget to check out these great examples of actual troubleshooting already done by other companies.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your Gotzha representative.