Humans figured out trade early on by 3000BC and their water-bound missions attest to this fact. Even then, there were ideas about how to treat customers. There is but one rule in customer service: your customer should like every part of exchange with you, be it before, during or after the purchase. No business can underestimate the power of a good customer experience. There are 5 stages to a customer’s buying cycle and every stage is important to give a great customer experience.
1. Awareness
“I have a need, a thing to buy
To help me cope with my daily life”
This is the stage when the customer realises his need and thinks you can fulfill it. Customers these days engage with a number of channels – Websites, Mobile Apps, Voice Calls, Email, Messenger Apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, etc. What a complex life? But chatbots can work with a variety of channels and help your business be available nearly everywhere. Customer experience is about being available to them the moment they need it. Chatbots can be made available 24/7 on 365 days a year without any disruption in your customer experience. Show them that you treat their needs seriously with chatbots.
2. Consideration
“This or that?”
A customer evaluates between your product or service and your competitor’s at this stage. Improved customer engagement and super enhanced personalization through chatbots can help you influence your customer. Customers needs and trends are always changing and chatbots with deep learning can provide crucial customer insights. They can also be specifically trained for tailored operations, answer custom queries, provide custom content and brand voice alignment. Chatbots help you provide an interactive FAQ about your product or service and research the apt product using customer preferences without getting grumpy. They can even decide when your customers need a human assistance and act accordingly.
3. Preference
“It’s the moment to act”
A customer here gets emotionally attached to a product or service but is being conscientious. Chatbots can ease their way by indulging in individualistic conversations and engage multiple customers at a time. Customers especially millennials engage well with chatbots and prefer this self-service. Chatbots with AI can record purchase history with customer behaviours and use it to suggest relevant product recommendations with compelling discounts/offers.
4. Purchase
“Lucky for me, that’s what they like”
Yipee! You won with the customer choosing your product but lost by cart abandonments. What could be the reason? Phone rings, guests arrive, baby cries or milk boils. Life is so unfair. With a chatbot, you have a virtual brain watching everything. The chatbot can prompt the user with reminders and assistance offers for the purchase. It can handle sales and take payments. It can retrieve information on stock levels, shipping terms and payment details, all the things a customer would want to know.
5. Repurchase
“Oh here comes the comeback”
Once a purchase is made, you have gained a customer and have to work to keep it that way. Chatbots can assist you in retaining your customers. They can use push messages, texts or email and offer a quick reminder or perfectly timed offers that encourages customers to come back. They initiate simple notifications for customer’s special days like birthdays and emotionally connect with the customers to strengthen brand loyalty. They also inquire about customer experiences and any issues with the buying process, thus helping in eliminating glitches.
Try a chatbot and you will wonder how you ever managed without one!
