Lead generation is essential for any business that wants to succeed in 2019. Without good leads, you have no-one to sell to – it’s that simple!
So how can your business make use of technology to increase the number of leads you generate each day?
Today, we’re going to take a look at the cutting edge of lead generation; artificial intelligence, and how it can help:
Increased levels of data
In the hyper-competitive online world, marketers rely hugely on increased levels of data.
The more you can learn about your customers’ browsing and buying habits, the better chance you have of giving them what they want, when they want it.
The result is more sales and happier customers!
AI has huge potential to deliver a wealth of additional data without you having to give up extra man hours to get it. How? Simple. Chatbots.
Chatbot technology has improved exponentially in the past couple of years. It’s entirely possible for modern AI chatbots to provide a positive, enjoyable experience for visitors to your website.
As a result, this technology can now generate a lot of information about customers simply by asking a few relevant questions and then feeding the answers back to you.
Whether you want to know which products your customers are browsing, which categories they buy from most often or how happy they are with your service in general, AI chatbot technology can give you the data you need without the need for a customer service team.
Keeping your leads happy
It’s common for customers to visit a website multiple times before they end up buying.
The chances are you’ve done it yourself, right? If you’re planning to buy a new car, or looking at booking a holiday, perhaps.
You’ll often spend a few weeks and multiple visits to relevant website checking out what prices are doing, or seeing which special offers are available.
Well, AI can now actively help turn those recurring visitors into paid customers, simply by presenting them with relevant offers and deals.
Let’s say you want to buy a specific pair of headphones. You check out the relevant page a couple of times, but on the third time, a chatbot pops up and offers you a 30% discount if you buy.
Now, there’s no guarantee you’ll buy on the spot, but there’s a much higher chance you’ll at least come back to see if the offer is still valid.
And of course, if you’ve been given a great offer and you’ve got the money, it’s entirely possible you’ll buy.
That’s how effective AI can be if it’s used in the right way.
AI can actually improve your customer service
Every sensible business knows that it costs far more to get a new customer than it does to keep your existing customers happy.
What’s the best way to keep an existing customer coming back for more? To give them great customer service.
In 2019, AI chatbots are capable of providing an exceptional customer service experience. And what’s more, they can do it by working faster and more efficiently than an actual customer service team.
Indeed, a recent study across the healthcare and banking industries showed that an average of 4+ minutes per enquiry could be saved by using AI rather than a human customer service team – in a company with a large customer base, that’s a huge saving.
The other bonus is actually down to human psychology: AI chatbots can make you feel less like you’re being bothered.
As anyone knows, being bothered by staff when you just want to be left alone can be a truly annoying experience.
AI chatbots can give customers the feeling that they’re solving a problem by themselves, in a way that traditional customer service simply can’t – which is invaluable.
You still get to help your customers out, and they get to avoid having to use a human customer service team, which is preferable to a lot of people.
Of course, some people still prefer a more human experience, but there’s nothing stopping you providing both. You’ll simply be able to save a lot of time and money when it comes to the customers who’re happy to use the AI experience.
A potentially much lower cost than traditional marketing
In the world of online business, lead generation is becoming more and more expensive.
Check out the data for almost any paid advertising platform – such as Google Adwords or Facebook – and you’ll see that costs per click are going up and up, the more businesses use them.
Of course, AI is still in the relative early days of adoption. However, numerous studies have shown that an effective chatbot solution can be as much as 50% cheaper when it comes to generating new leads.
If you’re a part of a large business, that’s a potentially massive saving.
You do need to take into account the initial investment, of course, but in the long run, an AI chatbot lead generation process could save you a lot of time and money.
Improved marketing segmentation
Market segmentation is an invaluable part of any campaign.
It might sound like a fancy term, but in the end it’s simply about getting the right marketing messages to the right people at the right time!
And AI can help.
Indeed, some chatbots are already capable of segmenting users down into the groups within the first conversation.
Let’s say you’re a guy hunting for a new suit. So, your chatbot asks you which of two budget groups you’re in – £200+ or less than £200.
Then, it shows you a couple of different suit styles and asks you which you’d prefer. Once you’ve done that, it sends you a link to the relevant category page.
Within two questions – and less than a minute or two – this can drastically improve your chances of making a sale by giving the visitor to your website options far more relevant to what they actually want.
Do this for every prospect, and your chances of making sales will go up exponentially over your many enquiries.
Faster lead responses
How many times have you made an enquiry to a company you actively wanted to buy from, only to not receive a timely response?
A lot, we bet.
AI offers you the chance to give your customers a timely, helpful response, even if you don’t have the staff spare to provide it!
Anyone who’s dealt with the traditional customer service reply of ‘we should get back to you within 72 hours’ will know how frustrating this can be.
Rather than losing potentially profitable leads, an effective chatbot can respond almost immediately. Compare that to the average customer service reply time, which is around 10 hours!
Imagine that rather than making one sale for every twenty enquiries, a chatbot could help you make three or four – the revenue difference could be absolutely huge.
Again, there will be upfront investment, but for businesses with the resources, AI could be invaluable.
Get in touch now
If you’d like to find out how invaluable AI can be, and you’d like to learn more on how it could help your business improve lead generation, get in touch today.
Iconic Solutions are specialists in the use of artificial intelligence and chatbots, and we’d love to help you increase your bottom line.
