Chatbots can be a great addition to your customer retention strategy. They can save you time, money, and help to keep consumer satisfaction high so that our clients come back for more. But one of the reasons live chat is so popular is because of the human touch. So, it’s best to strike a balance between automation and real human interaction. Here are some suggestions for when to use them and when not to:

When to Use Chatbots

Simple Situations

Chatbots work well for simple and frequently asked questions, but technology has not reached the stage where they can deal with complicated issues. Issues such as “How do I reset my password?” or “What is your refund policy?” work well for bots.

Pre-Screening

Getting customers to talk to the right person in the first instance can increase consumer satisfaction and first contact resolution rate. You can use chatbots to collect important information from customers and direct them to the right people the first time.

When Operators Are Busy

Instead of keeping customers waiting, chatbots can buy you some time until a relevant agent becomes available — use it wisely.

Out of hours

One of the benefits of live support software is that you can offer it 24/7. However, for smaller businesses it can expensive to staff these hours. Although not comprehensive, chatbots can provide some level of support when your operatives aren’t working.

When Not to Use Chatbots

It’s Complicated

Bots lack the problem-solving skills that humans have. Complicated issues are best left to your agents.

It’s Emotional

Issues from emotional customers should also be left to humans. Chatbots currently don’t possess any empathy skills. And a cold hard approach to customers’ issues may inflame them and make them worse.

The Majority of the Time

Most of the benefits of live chat come from the fact that customers can talk to other human beings in real time. 43% of people say they would like to deal with a real-life assistant. Thus, use chatbots to help out your agents, but don’t favor them.

Rocking it With Robots

They say dogs are man’s best friend, but if you use them right chatbots can be a great pal to have on the side. They can take the pressure off your staff, keep your speed of response high and help you offer a 24-hour service, which could all aid your customer retention strategy. A quality live support software will have a bot that you can program for all your needs. Xeno offers unlimited bot messages from a conversational bot that you can use to help automate marketing, sales and support tasks.