There’s a cutting-edge new tool for businesses out there — have you heard? Facebook chatbots are the newest resource making waves in the world of marketing and sales, and it’s time your business jumped on the bandwagon!
Chatbots are pieces of software designed to send Messages to users via Facebook Messenger. You’ve likely interacted with one before, and you may not even have realized. That’s part of the appeal of bots: They send helpful, relevant messages based on user input, all in the same, conversational style a human would use.
Bots aren’t designed to take the place of human agents, but they are well-suited to take over and streamline many repetitive functions. As a result, your employees will be freed up to focus on other, more creative tasks while your bot smoothly handles the rest.
In short, bots can revolutionize all kinds of processes to save you time, money, and resources and boost your sales. Interested? Here are four main areas of your business that a chatbot can drastically improve.
#1. Customer experience
Chatbots make for the ultimate customer-service team members. They’re always friendly, they consistently give accurate, helpful information and assistance, and they’re available 24/7. Enlisting the help of a chatbot to answer FAQs means customers can reach your business on their own time, at their own convenience.
Plus, although chatbots for business are becoming more and more widely used, they’re still a novelty to many users. That means your business has the opportunity to delight and impress prospects with a new, cutting-edge, interactive experience.
Finally, since a Messenger bot has access to the profile of any user who interacts with it, it can personalize the chat, too. Bots can easily incorporate the user’s name, past preferences, and other pieces of demographic data, making for a fully customized and all-the-more impressive experience.
#2. Lead gathering and qualification
New leads are the most valuable currency in the world of marketing; no business will turn down the opportunity to get more. With a chatbot, the process of gathering and qualifying leads is not only easier and more streamlined but can be exponentially more effective.
A chatbot must simply ask the user’s permission, and then they have access to the person’s full Facebook profile—including contact information and demographic data. Then, if your business needs any additional details from a new lead, gathering them couldn’t be easier. Rather than redirecting a prospect to your website to fill out a clunky form, the chatbot can get the required data simply by asking questions in a frictionless, conversational style. Your bot can then store and sort all this information for your future use, acting as a sort of mini-CRM. 
There are several ways to get more users to your bot so you can take advantage of this seamless lead-qualification method. One is to set up your chatbot to send a message to users who comment on your Page posts, or even just users whose comment contains a specific keyword. It’s an easy way to take advantage of the engagement you’re already getting and move those prospects along the sales funnel.
Another way involves Facebook ads. Connecting a chatbot to your Facebook ad campaigns is easy to do. Funneling your ad traffic to a dynamic, engaging chatbot instead of a static landing page can have astronomical returns.
#3. Conversions
Not only can a chatbot help you attract more leads and gather their information more easily, but it can help you convert them to sales, too. A chatbot for business can act as a virtual sales assistant. It’s easy to equip them to make product recommendations based on a user’s needs or preferences and answer questions about your products and services.
Some companies have even designed their bots to close sales and accept payments from customers, without them ever having to leave Messenger! It’s a prime example of how bots can make it easier for prospects to buy and become customers, increasing your conversion rate.
Did you know that messages from Facebook chatbots have an 80% open rate, compared to email’s 20%—and click-through-rates that are 10x higher than email, too? These incredible statistics translate to the opportunity to have more eyes on your content, your promotions, your sales, and your coupons. Having this kind of communication power with your prospects can increase conversions exponentially, too.
#4. Communication
We know now that messages from a chatbot have incredibly high open rates. It’s just one of many reasons that communicating via Messenger is highly beneficial to your business. However, it’s not just you who benefits. Communicating via Messenger is convenient for your customers, too.
Messenger was designed for conversations with family and friends. That means that users don’t have to switch gears, download a new app, or even think twice to go from reading a message from a loved one to reading a helpful message from your brand. A messenger is a place for users to keep tabs on who and what is important to them—and if they subscribe to your bot, that includes your business!
You can set up your bot to provide all kinds of useful information to prospects and customers, which will add value and build trust. You could use it to share blog posts, articles, quizzes, and other informational or entertaining content. You could also use it to send updates about their order, or show them similar products they might enjoy. As long as you use this power wisely, both you and the user will gain from this relationship.
Will you join the chatbot revolution?
If you have a Facebook page for your business, you should have a chatbot for your business, too. Regardless of industry, chatbots can be incredibly impactful on any type of company, from restaurants, farms, and salons to HR firms and real estate agencies. Even individuals like celebrities, athletes, and entrepreneurs can use chatbots to increase their influence and broaden their business.
What do you say? Will your business be joining the Facebook chatbot revolution?
Great resource, Mary. Facebook messenger bot is truly changing the game for a lot of businesses. Especially for the customer support team, messenger bots work like a charm.