Conversational marketing uses chatbots to engage visitors as they navigate a website. Chatbots utilize playbooks to drive conversations, ask questions, interact, and ultimately guide people to an outcome, such as making a purchase, scheduling a demo, registering for an event, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading some type of marketing material.
Although chatbots are text-enabled, conversational robots, they do not have to come off as “robotic.” Unfortunately, many are one-dimensional and devoid of emotion and personality.
There is a unique opportunity to have fun with your chatbots, creating playbooks that serve as a concierge to deliver an informative and entertaining experience. The mistake, however, is using one playbook for every page; something that is very common and not very effective.
Another common blunder is creating playbooks that regurgitate your website’s menu navigation options. Write playbooks with a specific line of questioning. Probe the problem they are trying to solve, or the industry they are in. Then follow up with more specific questions and options to answer.
Delivering the same playbook to a returning visitor is also a no-no. Most chatbots and playbooks can be configured to recognize returning visitors, which can then prompt a different greeting like, “Welcome back. Thank you for visiting us again.” Then they can build on the previous playbook experience. A small but powerful way to make a strong second impression. More sophisticated chatbot platforms support account-based marketing (ABM) campaigns and can recognize a visit from specific organizations, prompting different playbooks to be presented.
The key to chatbots is making them fluid and conversational, targeted and personal, all through conversational language and the use of emojis.
Whether you have chatbots or are interested in learning more about them, we welcome the opportunity to help you make the most of them.