Chatbots have the power to transform marketing campaigns – but explaining this to clients isn’t always straightforward. This blog will explain how marketing agencies can get buy-in from clients when a chatbot is the right tool to generate results.

Conversational marketing differs from conventional marketing in many ways. 

It is interactive, contextualized, and less aggressive than the delivery of promotional messages across multiple channels. While the benefits of using advanced chatbots as a pillar of the marketing plan are becoming increasingly clear, marketing agencies have a role to play in explaining them to the business owners.

This requires a fresh mindset and a deep understanding of the technological framework chatbots are based on, which means that the knowledge shared by marketing professionals is the first step on the road to wider acceptance of this innovative technology.

The art of pitching a marketing project is difficult as it is, so it’s understandable that agencies are sometimes reluctant to fully embrace a new tool or technology. However, by offering chatbots, they can provide a lot of value for their clients and ride a wave of automation that is currently taking hold of the digital world. That’s why it makes sense to learn about this exciting concept and how it can bring value to your clients.

What are AI chatbots and how do they transform digital marketing?

Modern conversation assistants are based on algorithms that track a lot of data about each user and dynamically adjust to the user's input. 

They are capable of using Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies to understand requests and provide the optimal answers. Chatbots are great engagement tools and can be used across various platforms, including official corporate websites and social media pages. In contrast to traditional chatbots that were mostly used in a customer support role, the new generation of smart bots can perform many other functions, most notably related to marketing. 

With a properly optimized chatbot that is fully integrated with a company database or CRM, it’s possible to organically increase sales and enlarge the number of loyal customers. AI chatbots can be a part of the foundation for a switch to data-driven marketing and are expected to become even more important in the future as the online channel continues to engulf all other media.

How can chatbots fit into a wider marketing strategy?

While chatbots bring many new possibilities, they must be used strategically and in conjunction with other activities in order to produce extraordinary results. 

Marketing agencies can add value by designing unique campaigns for their clients, utilizing bots in ways that support the overall business objectives. For example, a company looking to launch new products can deploy bots to direct existing customers to pages where new additions are presented, while a client prioritizing revenues could use a chatbot for up-selling.

The full range of possible uses of chatbots is still being explored, and creative ideas that push the boundaries could produce unexpected breakthroughs. Most importantly, automation improves responsiveness and engagement, which are very important traits for any modern advertiser looking to capitalize on new promotion methods in the digital space. 

With this in mind, chatbots should be an easy sell for the agencies, but they must be complemented with other elements (including traditional media and interactive features) that facilitate effective use of the data collected by bots for the realization of key business goals. 

Using the numbers to demonstrate the effectiveness of chatbots

With data-based marketing, everything can be quantified and the expected impact of chatbot implementation can be illustrated easily with visualized data. 

It all starts with the increased volume of online conversations and shortened time of reaction to any user request, but those figures can be easily translated into projected earnings and saved work hours. 

This type of vocabulary is sure to resonate with clients, who are increasingly looking for cost-effective models that don’t expose them to unnecessary risk. A great pitch should also make note of the synergistic effect between chatbots and other software systems (i.e. your CRM platform) the client might already be using, since this makes it easier for the client to see the chatbot as a logical extension of their online presence. 

Using historical examples might be a good idea, preferably from a company working in the same field. With financial projections as the backbone of the pitch, it shouldn’t be too hard to get the client to buy into the long term potential of chatbots and conversational marketing.

Explaining how customization of bots contributes to their performance

In order for clients to fully understand how modern chatbots function, it is imperative to walk them through the customization process and show them how much control over the final product they have. 

The finished bot will use a similar communication style already associated with the brand and will prioritize products and services that the company wants to promote. To make the versatility of chatbots tangible, marketing agencies could develop a couple of scenarios based on their knowledge of the client’s business and publicly available data and prepare a small demonstration with a partially personalized chatbot. 

Clients believe what they can see, so this kind of presentation could really open their eyes to the amazing opportunities created by the recent technological advances and conceptual developments arising from them.

Why should chatbot marketing agencies work closely with technology specialists?

Since chatbot creation and customization need to be coordinated with marketing objectives, it makes a lot of sense for marketing agencies to collaborate with specialists on projects of this kind. 

Experts with in-depth knowledge of the underlying technology can help to prepare a better pitch, so they should ideally be consulted early on. Companies like Instabot have the relevant expertise to support agencies in the process of embracing conversational marketing, as well as a lot of valuable experience with chatbot implementation. 

With shared goals and complementary skill sets, those two types of organizations have a strong reason to develop relationships, working together on chatbot-based campaigns designed to give clients exactly what they want: results. 

To find out more about chatbots, their benefits, and collaboration opportunities, contact Instabot today.