The biggest advantages and problems of chatbots in marketing

More and more companies are relying on chatbots for online communication. These smart programs communicate automatically with users, for example via Facebook Messenger or Whatsapp, but what are the benefits of these digital helpers for marketing? And what are the biggest stumbling blocks? MK conducted an online survey of over 50 marketers at the beginning of March 2017.

Respondents see the greatest strength of chatbots in the fact that they are available to users at all times (61.3%) and provide immediate feedback (54.8%). The possibility that chatbots can learn and therefore become more intelligent is also seen as an advantage by just under a third. Only 6.5%, on the other hand, think that chatbots will replace apps.

The biggest problem identified by the marketers surveyed is that chatbots are often unable to provide suitable answers to complex questions (55.2%). Impersonal communication (48.3%) and a lack of emotionality (41.4%) are also often cited as weaknesses of digital helpers.Comments: How do you see the role of chatbots in marketing?"In the future, chatbots will play a very important role in customer dialog within marketing. It is estimated that four-fifths of all service inquiries could be handled via chatbots. FAQs and much of the processing would be a thing of the past. This not only has advantages for companies, but also for consumers. They can clarify problems and questions without time-consuming research or communication. And around the clock. We live in the real-time age. It's time for marketing to enable 24/7 customer relations. Of course, customer service is by no means the only area of application for chatbots. Lead generation is also possible."Oppermann Torsten, Delasocial Gmbh"Chatbots will usefully complement traditional websites and social media and provide the desired information - and no more - in a personalized way by simply answering questions. Complex offers in particular can benefit greatly from this."Metzinger Peter, business campaigning GmbH"Chatbots will play a bigger role in the younger generation in the future because they get their answers to questions quickly and time is still money. And in the older generation, they are less likely to be accepted because they lack credibility, personality and 'humanity'."Bacon Lisa, Kiel University of Applied Sciences"Chatbots are a very efficient solution for first-level support, standard questions and processes. However, humans will never be replaced, as a human is still the better solution as soon as things become more complex."Daniel Bieri, Bi-Com Communications Marketing"A form of individual communication is possible on a massive scale, but chatbots cannot satisfactorily address the real (personal) needs of customers."Zimmermann Dirk, Institute for Communication and Service Design"They will become hate objects. People will hate them even more than Billag or tax officials or health insurance call centers. Nobody will like them. It's like the impersonal switchboards of big companies ... "... dial 1, for products dial 2 ..."Jakrlin Lahor, Fruitcake W + P AG"I see a high demand for intelligent chatbots in automated, non-critical customer dialogs that are designed for a quick response. They are getting better every day and simplify the use of digital services. However, I'm critical when it comes to individual and brand-appropriate communication, or when the customer doesn't even know that a chatbot is responding to them. In certain situations, a customer still expects a "warm body" as a counterpart."Schaffner Adrian, evoq communicatons AG"Chatbots will significantly change the way we communicate with customers. Adaptive, polite and cost-effective chatbot solutions are just the beginning of a new way of communicating that is more in line with needs and times."Treichler Tobias, St.Gallen-Lake Constance Tourism"OK for general inquiries - but still no substitute for personal interaction."Heinz Schopfer, SDV Swiss Dialog Marketing Association"Still restrained because currently only very specifically applicable."Daniel Hartmut, IGP Pulvertechnik AG"A very impersonal method with the potential to annoy customers."Zurflüh Fredy, cce-partner"Can be used for highly standardized workflows / processes and FAQs"Robert Sandrieser, Terre des hommes**********Read more about chatbots in the current issue MK 04/2017. Subscribe now!**********