How can you use online chatbots in a creative way?
Alexander Wijninga
| 3 min
Online chatbots are being used more and more often and they’re definitely not going away. You’ll find them on websites, on social media channels, or on internal company pages. Chatbots are growing in popularity and as a result are being used in more ways than ever before: as a customer service agent, a lead generator, but also as an HR colleague, to name a few. This blog will show you a number of creative Watermelon chatbots. Continue reading!
What is a chatbot?
A chatbot is a combination of the words “chat” and “robot” This automated discussion partner has a conversation with a customer or a lead, and answers his or her questions. There are a number of goals you might have in using a chatbot - below are a few examples.
Customer service chatbot
There’s no organisation that can go without a customer service or complaint department. It’s an incredibly important, but incredibly time-consuming process. That’s why many companies are automating customer service with a chatbot. This allows customer service employees the time to focus on more complex questions and handle a higher volume of customer questions every day. This allows your customer service team to operate even more quickly and improve customer satisfaction!
Marketing and sales chatbot
A marketing and sales chatbot supports connecting with website visitors proactively, and assisting them during their session. This chatbot can be an extension of your marketing campaign. When you have a Holiday campaign running, for example, this can also translate to your chatbot by giving the chat widget or the chatbot persona a Holiday theme. You can also implement the chatbot to achieve sales goals. Your chatbot can help web visitors choose the appropriate products or support them during the checkout process.
HR chatbot
An HR chatbot is an automated HR employee. You can use the chatbot on your website, but also integrate it with WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Slack or other tools you use at your company. The HR chatbot can serve a number of purposes. Think about using it to help prospective candidates answer questions about open jobs, answer questions about your company from website visitors, or internally to answer questions from employees about topics like vacation days.
Examples of creative online chatbots
It’s not only the goals of using a chatbot that differ, but the creative approach to their design and implementation vary too. Read on for a few examples of creative chatbots, built by Watermelon clients!
Escape Room Harderwijk: a digital escape room
Are you familiar with the chatbot by Escape Room Harderwijk? When they had to close their doors during the first lockdown, the team at Escape Room Harderwijk decided to do something a bit out of the box. They built a digital escape room with the help of a chatbot. The chatbot acts as if it were a person, Tom, that’s trapped in an abandoned tuberculosis clinic. Through conversations with the chatbot, the game’s players are guided through the digital escape room. It’s to no surprise that Escape Room Harderwijk was nominated for the Computable Awards 2021! Read more about the digital escape room here (dutch only).
XO Hotels: Chatbot Xoë is always in style!
The creativity of a chatbot can take many forms. XO Hotels styles the avatar of their chatbot Xoë to coordinate with the seasons! When the temperatures start to change, Xoë gets a new look and feel! In the summer Xoë wears sunglasses, while in the fall there’s leaves decorating her avatar. Want to see what Chatbot Xoë is up to today? Visit the XO Hotels website and start a conversation with her!
The Sintbot
Our very own Sintbot has to be on the list, of course! The Sintbot was created to showcase the versatility of online chatbots. The Sintbot answers frequently asked questions from children (and their parents) about the holiday celebrating Sinterklaas. Imagine interacting with a chatbot to ask questions like “When is Sinterklaas’ birthday?” or “How old is the Sint?” The chatbot is powered by artificial intelligence, meaning that the chatbot can recognise word combinations and can consistently answer more complex questions independently. Since launch, the Sintbot has already had more than 3,500 conversations! the sintbot is currently not only anymore.
Want to see how companies are using chatbots to improve reachability? Curious how this might work for your business? Plan a one-on-one demo with a colleague from the Watermelon team!
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