Social media has integrated very well in the world of business. When we speak about the relationship between the two of them, we refer to how Social Media platforms help businesses have a better interaction with their customers. This medium has become a way for companies to be constantly in touch with their customers. For this reason, social media gained a greater importance.

Customers engage with businesses on social media for various reasons. They may want to know more about their products and services, the opinions other people have about what they offer, to have a more personal interaction with the company or to ask Support questions.

In this way, customer support gained popularity in the social media and has extended the core idea of this medium. Social media has been perceived as a channel that enables communication between individuals. Due to the need of customers to receive a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week support service, Support Chatbots have become an important part of the picture.

How support chatbots made their way into social media

When people have questions related to a product or a service, they use certain methods in order to find out the information they need. Research has shown that 40% of customers would use self-service support instead of contacting a customer support representative. Texting has become a popular method used by customers, as it is a convenient and time-efficient way of obtaining information.

In addition, social media is an important channel of communication used by customers. According to Nielsen, 33% customers prefer to contact companies via social media platforms rather than to telephone them. They also expect to receive an answer within an hour and their failure to do so can have negative effects on the business. According to Gartner, companies’ inability to respond via social media channels can lead to an increase of 15% in the churn rate for the already existing customers.

All these numbers illustrate why social media is an essential element in the customer support strategy of a business. Companies had to find a way to satisfy the needs of their customers. This is the moment when support chatbots come into discussion. Their features offered businesses the possibility to give their customers what they were asking for:

• 24-hour full service
• the ability to communicate in foreign languages
• the ability to offer complex answers
• capable of handling multiple conversations at the same time

In 2016, Facebook allowed companies to develop chatbots for the Messenger application. This not only had an impact on businesses’ sales, but it also improved the communication process and the way customers are engaging with companies.

Support chatbots’ role in social media platforms

The main role of chatbots on social media platforms will be to provide answers to customers’ questions and help them with relevant information. Whether these questions are related to the products or services people have purchased or they represent curiosities people have, support chatbots will be able to provide customers what they are looking for.

In addition to customer support, people will engage with support chatbots in 2 other ways:

• content consumption
• productivity (eCommerce)

People can read content, find out new information, ask questions about a product or service and purchase items with the help of chatbots. Social media is becoming more than just an indirect gate to a business, it is transforming into an essential part of the company itself.

Moreover, businesses can benefit from another advantage by using support chatbots: personalization. It refers to the ability of bots to adapt to each customer. Due to Facebook integration, they can have access to a wide set of information about the customer’s interests, needs and habits. They can adapt their answers as they will understand what each person wants and would prefer to receive.

It is without any doubt that support chatbots in social media will change the traditional methods of customer support. Businesses should expect new changes in these departments and should be ready to adapt to them. The key is to be flexible and to pay attention to what people are using. In this way, you can manage to increase customer satisfaction and grow your business. 

In what other ways will support chatbots impact social media platforms?

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