By: Kate Madden-Jones, VP of Marketing at Loyal
Chatbots have a lot to offer. These AI-driven platforms are affordable and relatively easy to implement. Done right, they improve a visitor’s digital experience by helping them find the information they need more quickly. But your website visitors only reap those rewards if they actually use the chatbot.
There’s no secret formula when it comes to marketing your chatbot. But many organizations find it helpful to develop a dedicated marketing strategy to introduce a new bot. Whether that strategy is big, small or somewhere in between, it’s an important step toward getting people to engage with chat for maximum benefit.
Here are 5 things to try when you market your new chatbot.
1. Go Big
Consumers are increasingly comfortable with technological solutions to their problems. Plenty of them are already using chatbots to solve problems and find information. So there’s no need to pretend that the chat window has a living human behind it. Go ahead and announce your bot from the treetops (or at least from Twitter).
2. Or go smaller (and targeted)
If you aren’t ready to go big (or don’t have the budget), try a more targeted promotional strategy instead. Find out where the pain points are in your organization. Then play up the chatbot’s ability to solve those problems. Say callers are experiencing long hold times when they phone your contact center. Change your hold message to one directing them to your website’s chat — and point out they can get answers there instantly.
3. Fold chatbot marketing into your existing marketing strategy
You can also sing your chatbot’s praises without a dedicated campaign. Many health systems have existing ad campaigns around their approachability and accessibility. Like online scheduling and digital medical records, a chatbot is another way to deliver on the promise of being there when patients need you.
4. Explain the “why”
Technology is only as good as its ability to solve problems. When you’re promoting your chatbot, make sure your messaging gets at the “why” behind the technology. Healthcare queries are often sensitive and urgent. Help your users understand that this new technology can simplify their experience and get them answers faster. When they see the benefits, engagement will follow naturally.
5. Give your chatbot an identity
There’s more to branding than slapping your health system’s colors and font styles on top of your chatbot platform. Go all-in on the technology to give it its own personality. Give it a name and a tone of voice. Of course, you’ll want to make sure it aligns with the rest of your brand’s identity and messaging. But when it comes to driving consumer engagement, a little personality can go a long way.
By taking some time and care to promote your new bot, you’ll boost the odds that your customers will engage with your digital helper. When they find the answers to their healthcare questions quickly and easily, they’ll walk away satisfied — and more likely to return. Meanwhile, you’ll be able to understand more about consumer intent than you have ever before, which will create efficiencies across your organization.
Chatbots are truly one product with endless opportunities and having a marketing strategy will help capitalize on all they have to offer.
Want to learn more? Download Loyal’s latest white paper.
