In our last blog post on guided selling, we explained exactly what guided selling is and how you can use it to improve your customer service. Chatbots are an increasingly popular way to implement guided selling. When creating a chatbot, it’s crucial to consider certain details to ensure it effectively executes your guided selling strategy. By following these 5 tips, you can maximize the potential of your chatbot in your online store.
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1. The Chatbot Persona
The first fundamental step is to create a chatbot persona. Each bot should possess a distinct personality that aligns with your e-commerce brand. To start, consider the traits of an ideal retail sales associate. What characteristics do you expect from employees who interact directly with your customers? Your chatbot should reflect these traits. This persona will guide how the bot engages with your customers. Consistency is fundamental; the dialogue between the chatbot and users should always be consistent with the persona. Therefore, ensure the persona is well-developed.
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2. Ask the Right Questions
This tip is essential for your guided selling chatbot. The bot needs to ask the right questions to provide your visitors with the best possible advice and lead them to a purchase. You must specifically query the user’s needs and goals, tailoring the questions to your product range. The parameters for effective product advice can vary depending on the type of product. To choose the best questions, imagine how a sales conversation would unfold in a store. Consider the different categories of your product range and develop questions for each of these categories.
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3. Keep It Simple
With the guided selling chatbot, it’s crucial not only to ask the right questions but also to avoid overwhelming your customers with too many. The goal of guided selling is to streamline the buying experience and quickly direct customers to the right product. Ensure that users remain engaged with the chatbot and that the product advice doesn’t seem overly complex. Ideally, keep the interaction to between 4 and 6 questions. “Keep it simple” also means not bombarding the user with excessive information. Only essential details should be shown in the chat, and the conversation should flow naturally.
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4. Pay Attention to Your Target Group
Your online store’s target audience is also important when developing a chatbot. How can you best address your consumers? Do they have specific needs that should be prioritized in product advice? Start by examining your customer persona and let it guide you. For instance, if your customers are often bargain hunters, prioritize price in your recommendations. Other criteria, such as quality, can be considered afterward.
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5. Conversational Design – Outline the Dialog
The last tip is among the most important. For your chatbot to be effective, its dialogue must feel natural. In line with the concept of conversational commerce, a digital customer approach is crucial for e-commerce. Therefore, the conversation needs to be meticulously designed.
To achieve this, consider the three pillars of conversational design:
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First Pillar – The Amount of Information
Long blocks of text look unnatural. Short texts are the norm in chat, so keep it brief. This also encourages collaboration. Give the user a chance to respond. Remember, it’s a dialogue, not a monologue!
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Second Pillar – Quality
All information provided by the chatbot must be up-to-date. Avoid linking to old products that are already sold out and do not include expired promo codes.
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Third Pillar – Relevance
The chatbot should not overwhelm the user with information. To avoid this, include only relevant information in the chat. Focus on what is most important for product advice and the customer journey.
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The digital shopping advisor – how the chatbot can help you make your customers happier
Imagine a customer is looking for the right food for his pet. However, the pet has food intolerances, so the shopper has a number of things to consider when making a selection. He begins to click through the assortment, but cannot find anything for his pet. Annoyed, he leaves the online store. There is a better way. For example, with a guided selling chatbot that helps the customer right from the start. Instead of having to search for food themselves, they can ask the chatbot what they want and quickly find the right food for their pet. In addition, the data from the consultation can be stored, and the next time the user visits the home page, suitable food types and brands are suggested directly. These may even be on sale at the time, adding to the customer’s enjoyment.
With the combination of trbo Advise and trbo Personalize, you can offer your customers comprehensive advice almost like in a brick-and-mortar store, as well as an unforgettable shopping experience.
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Conclusion – Take Your Time to Design Your Guided Selling Chatbot
Guided selling offers your company a range of advantages, with chatbots emerging as a potent tool for this strategy. Customers are often in need of guidance, and chat interfaces are perfectly suited to provide it. Therefore, investing in a well-crafted chatbot for your online store is a smart move. This technology enables you to offer round-the-clock support to your visitors. To help customers find the best solutions, the chatbot’s dialogue must be carefully designed. By asking questions tailored to users’ needs, you can simplify their buying process, convert visitors into customers, and enhance your conversion rate.
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First published on chatchamp.com
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