To Bot or Not to Bot? That Is the Question

Brief Summary of Episode #99

How critical are chatbots for our website?

In the latest episode, as part of the Digital Growth Series, I’m answering that question from Frank, a marketing director for a financial brand on the east coast.

It’s an important question because chatbots can make or break a digital experience.

Before you dive in, you need to consider a few things:

1. Capability

Adding a new capability to your marketing and sales technology stack can be exciting. But it can also be challenging. 

How able are you to integrate this with the other systems you currently have in place?

2. Capacity

Plenty of companies love to sell the “simplicity” of their tech, but you need to ask yourself: Do I have the capacity to roll this out?

3. Content

A chatbot is used to automate experiences and, if you’ve been paying attention to the show, you know that content is the fuel that drives digital experiences. 

Which is why it’s important to make it clear that your customers are chatting with a bot and optimize the experience over time. That way, you can avoid your customers feeling deceived and the creepiness of the uncanny valley. 

Chatbots can be wonderful tools, but they also can hurt your brand if you don’t take the time to plan ahead. 

• The 3 considerations you need to address before implementing a chatbot
• The experience of chatbots: acknowledging the generation gap and avoiding the uncanny valley
• The most effective way to implement a chatbot with today’s technology