/ 6 tips for the perfect chatbot
Alexander Wijninga
|
4 min
The design of a chatbot is comparable to a bottle of wine. The basic ingredients are the same, but a small adjustment in the making changes the whole end product. In this article you can read how to create a perfect chatbot with UI design that stands for success. Read on and learn how, with a well-set-up UI design, you generate more leads with a marketing chatbot, convert website visitors with a sales chatbot and advise customers with a customer service chatbot.
The basis of a successful chatbot consists of the right platform, script and character. Pay attention here to your customers' wishes; that way you generate the most visitors to your bot. Which chatbot design would your customers most like to see? Is this a businesslike or a playful design? The chatbot interface consists of a persona, tone of voice and the right branding. With these tips you create your ultimate digital colleague.
Chatbot UI design starts with a simple question: what goal is your chatbot going to serve? Why do you need a chatbot? Do you have your chatbot support your customer service by catching up to 85% of first-line customer contact, or do you use your bot for lead generation by replacing complex web forms with an interactive conversation? The goals for chatbots are endless, each with a fitting chatbot design.
Building manually is an extensive solution with the right budget and the right time. By bringing in the right resources, almost anything is possible. You determine how your chatbot functions and where it stands online. In reality, though, this is often an unachievable job. Most organisations get stuck on the budget and abandon the build, or they lack the manpower to finish the build. One tip is the importance of the right focus. It is better to have an excellent bot in a particular area than a half-functioning bot spread over several things. To build your own platform manually you need a high budget, a complete development team and a wide range of time.
One of the biggest advantages of using an existing chatbot platform is the ease of use that comes with it. When you start with Watermelon's platform you need no programming skills, nor a development team. With Watermelon's platform you only fill in your bot's content with the help of a drag-and-drop builder. Thanks to this builder you drag the content to the right place and easily set up successful conversations. This saves you a lot of time and operational costs. You get support in the implementation process from real experts. Watermelon's Customer Success Managers stand ready to implement all the success factors in your chatbot. With a team of experts at your side, you build your ultimate digital colleague, without programming.
When the goal of the bot has been established, you can start on the tone of voice he or she carries. Think about the character you want to create. Is that character funny or rather serious? Determine whether your bot keeps a certain professional distance, or whether it feels more like a personal friend. Make sure your conversations are set up neutrally, in order to avoid prejudice. When your customer wants more info about a particular car, for example, do not assume that this person is automatically a man. This way you assure a space in which everyone feels welcome and included. On top of that it is important to let your branding come back in your chatbot, so that your bot fits your company completely. Add puns to the conversation, for example, when you go for an informal approach. Or have your avatar wear a suit in a formal setting. By thinking about your chatbot's complete character, you work your company's core values into the tone of voice more easily. That way your bot matches your organisation completely.
During chatting you naturally want your visitors to be helped properly. By keeping visitors engaged in the conversation with an intuitive design you easily guide them to the right answer. Add a clear structure, and make sure your chatbot offers a response to your customers. Think of your normal customer service. When you normally call, you are asked questions like “what is your question about?” or “what is your customer number?”. Add similar questions to your chatbot's conversation flow so that it gives an answer as specific and adequate as possible.
When your customers do want to speak to a member of staff, you want to make this easy for your customers. Your chatbot can do a lot, after all, but not everything. On top of that it is possible that your customer insists on speaking to a member of staff. By easily transferring your customer to an available member of staff you avoid a lot of frustration for your customer. With Watermelon's hybrid functionality you easily switch between chatbot and employee. Your employee sees the complete conversation history, so that the customer does not have to explain his or her story again. This raises customer satisfaction, with minimal effort.
After you have fully shaped the chatbot and have it live on your web page or social channels, you want to make sure you keep optimising. That way you keep your great chatbot design up to date and make sure you filter out any errors. With Watermelon you optimise your chatbot by processing mismatches. Does your chatbot not understand a question? Then the customer is automatically forwarded to an available member of staff. Later you process the mismatch by linking a correct answer to the question. You fill in this answer too, by working the right tone of voice into your language. By continuously processing errors and optimising mismatches you make sure your chatbot always stands ready with the right information. That way you always keep performing optimally.
By thinking about the tone of voice, conversations and optimisation you make sure you have thought your chatbot concept through from beginning to end. That way a fully set-up chatbot UI design stands ready for your customers and your staff. Your chatbot offers visitors the info they are looking for, without your bot being a copy of your website. Your customers find what they are looking for within a matter of time, without having to leaf through FAQ pages. Thanks to your chatbot you stand ready with an answer day and night, and you support your service staff. Would you like to know more about the benefits and success stories of chatbots? Then take a look at this whitepaper.
Share this article
