Is your chatbot about to be launched? The concept is perfect and the technical implementation almost flawless?
Then you should start thinking about how your chatbot should be found by your target group now at the latest, ideally even during the concept planning phase.
Is the chatbot suddenly just there and will your target groups find it on their own? Or does it perhaps have to be announced? Do you want to use other media to publicize your chatbot?
Depending on the use case, it makes sense to create an entire launch campaign for the chatbot.
If the chatbot is already part of a marketing campaign anyway, the questions are superfluous at this point. However, if this is not the case, you should think carefully about how you can get your users to use the chatbots and perhaps even receive fewer calls or emails as a result.
Many companies make a special announcement on their website when launching their chatbot or even send out a press release in which they explain the purpose of the chatbot once again.
As a rule, a distinction is made here between the two types of chatbots.
1. chatbots that are used in customer service
2. chatbots that are used in marketing and sales
If your chatbot is a bot that is intended to support customer service in the broadest sense, then it can be assumed that this bot will only be used when users have a question or a problem. In other words, if your target group is perfectly happy, they won’t use the bot at all. However, if they have a problem, they usually visit your website, call you or try to reach you via a messenger app. In this case, you should mention the chatbot at all possible previous contact points and at the same time name its advantages, but also its limitations.
The topic of data protection is also relevant for many users at this point. Therefore, companies should – assuming correct compliance with the GDPR requirements – point out that their chat service meets all data protection criteria when communicating with the chatbot.
It is also possible for the chatbot to address website visitors directly if it can be assumed based on user behavior that the user has a question.
Using algorithms, user behavior can be analyzed and predictions can be made about user behavior. This also makes it possible to predict with a high degree of probability whether a user will leave the website immediately or whether they are about to contact customer service. You can define the user behavior for which the chatbot or chat window should open on your website and offer the user help.
In this type of use case, the chatbot is usually seen as an additional communication channel for your company. In addition to the communication measures mentioned above, you can of course also proactively inform your target group about the new chatbot and its capabilities and limitations. For example, you can send a newsletter to your customers. You can also announce it via your social media channels. Or you can send out a press release in which you draw attention to the new contact point and perhaps even provide some background information about the project and its objectives.
If your chatbot use case is a marketing or sales story, then your chatbot should definitely be used, otherwise the development was in vain and the defined marketing or sales goals cannot be achieved.
Now think about the goal and the target group again. Put simply: Where do you find the people who will use your chatbot and interact with it?
No matter how well-designed a chatbot is, it will not achieve its goal if nobody finds it and interactions do not take place. PR/advertising measures are therefore essential for this type of chatbot.
In many cases, the ideal basis for this is a separate landing page, which is docked to your company’s homepage, for example. Above all, the URL should already refer to the bot if possible. Your chatbot will then also be found quickly via search engines. You also have the following options for drawing attention to your new marketing bot.
- A comprehensive presence of the chatbot landing page on the company website through linked icons in the navigation, header, footer and social media icon area.
- The design and integration of your own call-to-action banners for the homepage, header and/or sidebar.
- A link to the chatbot offer in the website content (above or at the end of a post). It is also possible to refer to the chatbot service directly in the content context.
- A note on the contact page or in the imprint of the company.
You also have the option of using other media or social media channels to publicize your chatbot. For example, you can make regular posts in existing social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, XING, LinkedIn, etc.) to your chatbot.
Or you can place ads (paid ads) on the individual social media channels or on Google, in which you refer to the chatbot. Analog advertising options such as TV or poster advertising are also possible here.
Don’t forget to announce your chatbot in a press release. If you manage to get other media to report on you, you will increase your reach even further.
Regardless of which communication measures you choose, clear communication remains essential, even with marketing-oriented chatbots.
Communicate from the outset what the chatbot can do, what its goals are and what added value it offers users. Your target group must be informed about the benefits and intentions of the chatbot right from the start. Otherwise, you run the risk of your target users developing false expectations, which in most cases leads to a dissatisfied feeling when using the bot.
You also want to motivate your target group to use the chatbot and you should definitely mention what added value the chatbot offers users. This can also be a kind of entertaining function for a marketing-oriented chatbot.
Again, do not completely ignore the issue of data protection and inform users about the data protection guidelines.
Growing through recommendations
If you manage to get your users so enthusiastic about the chatbot that they automatically recommend it to others, then you have reached the pinnacle of communication, so to speak. A recommendation from users is a sign that your chatbot is well received by the target group and it then spreads by itself without you having to constantly implement new communication measures. However, you should not suddenly stop all the communication measures you have started. You cannot rely on your target users to recommend the chatbot unconditionally.
I hope this article has given you some food for thought for the launch of your next chatbot. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time.
