In this fast-paced modern world, many things have been introduced with drastic changes. It can be a change in lifestyle, a change in clothing, or a change in society. Similarly, businesses and business processes have also faced some changes themselves.
Traditionally, most of the business process was done manually. From capturing leads to making a sale, everything was done almost manually. But, since lifestyle digitization, businesses have adapted to the changes happening around them.
As a consumer, have you ever noticed those changes when dealing with businesses? One of the changes may be your interactions with the customer support help line. If you are old enough, you can remember to call the company’s service center or customer service number to complain about the service. But now, all you have to do is text their customer service number and file a complaint online.
This is what digitization means in your daily and business life. But today we are going to be discussing this issue from a business point of view.
One of the most crucial business functions is dealing with potential customers. And the first step is lead generation. Lead generation is when you contact a person who may be a potential consumer of your goods or services. Today, companies are using chatbots to cover this process digitally and on a large scale.
In the next section, we will discuss the chatbot and how it is playing an important role in the lead generation process.
How to build a chatbot for lead generation
The number of chatbots has increased dramatically in recent years. The most popular platforms used for the chatbot are WhatsApp, followed by WeChat and Facebook Messenger.
Let’s move on to the roles that chatbots play in the lead generation process.
Attract and Connect
Attracting and connecting with your target audience is the first step in building an effective lead generation funnel. To do this successfully, you need to offer something of value that they can’t resist and grab their attention.
For example, creating high-quality content could be a great way to start this process, which is also known as lead magnets. These pieces of content are used to drive lead acquisition by offering them something that could be of value to them.
The chatbot can then send a message informing participants about the lead magnet and how they can take advantage of it, including a direct link for easy access. Also, you can ask for your name and email address to take things further.
create a commitment
Engaging with potential customers is an important step in converting them into customers. Therefore, it is vital to attract leads using their contact information to convert them.
There are two main approaches you can use to engage your prospect:
chatbot conversation
Using chatbots to continue the conversation and gain insight into the prospect’s wants, needs, budgets, and goals provides invaluable insights. This information makes engaging a lead much simpler, allowing you to customize the content that is used specifically to convert these leads.
Junk mail
Email marketing has proven itself with its high return on investment (ROI) rate of up to $40 for every dollar spent [source] and therefore it is also considered a good option to hook the cables and keep them warm.
Qualify and segment your leads
Qualifying and segmenting leads is a key step when onboarding new buyers. By asking personalized questions, you can better understand the prospect’s needs and how best to address them.
To make this process as easy and efficient as possible, consider using chatbot technology that asks questions in a conversational format. Adding buttons to answer these questions allows potential customers to choose your answer with minimal effort and ensures that you receive accurate answers.
Being able to display the next relevant question based on responses received provides a greater understanding of lead scoring and segmentation, allowing you to cater your service accordingly.
Integrate with CRM
Integrating your chatbot with your CRM is a great way to make sure you never miss out on any lead information. Plus, there’s no need to manually add or update data, as this is done quickly and easily, with many chatbot platforms offering integrations with popular CRMs and Google Sheets.
This also means that any information collected by the chatbot will be automatically stored in the corresponding app for efficient records management. With such automation, businesses can focus more on engaging their prospects and building relationships rather than worrying about paperwork bringing them down.
Offer human support when needed
When segmenting leads, business opportunities may need special attention to make sure the lead doesn’t slip away. In such a case, you should set up triggers that allow the chatbot to transfer the conversation to the support team.
This can be beneficial if a threshold number is reached. For example, if there are 100 or more users. Doing this allows business customers to receive personalized services that address their problems and needs.
Offering human support ensures the highest quality experience, so make sure it’s available when needed.
With chatbots, you can take advantage of opportunities to engage with potential buyers that you might otherwise miss. By being available 24/7, providing instant answers to questions, and providing a personalized experience, chatbots help you win new leads and close more sales. If you are not using chatbots, now is the time to start. You’ll be glad you did!
Types of chatbots
Now that you have read how to build your own chatbot for lead generation, it is time to learn about the types of chatbots that are used in the lead generation process.
Lead Generation Bots
These lead bots are quite simple in nature. These bots give the consumer some options, from which he has to choose and the process continues on the same path as programmed.
Since this chatbot is quite easy and the consumer does not have to type anything, it becomes quite easy for businesses to turn a potential consumer into a consumer.
Lead Magnetic Robots
As stated earlier in the article, lead magnets are the unique content that is provided to prospects in order to gain their interest.
Lead magnet bots send these lead magnets to people based on their buyer persona. The buyer persona is more accurate than the lead persona as it includes all the basic information such as age, qualification, address, interests, etc.
These lead magnets are sent further and may have some PDFs, newsletters or some more unique content.
Frequently asked questions about chatbots
FAQ chatbots are interesting and intelligent chatbots. These chatbots help the lead with her questions and also generate leads based on the answers a user gives to the queries.
These chatbots analyze the user’s frequently asked questions and then show them the related options.
promotional chatbots
Promotional chatbots are widely used for promotional purposes. They are used to promote advertising campaigns and different sales offers to potential customers. These promotional announcements can be sent digitally by any means (email, WhatsApp, Text, etc.)