Introduction
With the massive increase in conversational commerce, there is no doubt that chatbots have become fashionable, especially on WhatsApp. Now, how does the WhatsApp chatbot work?
There are more and more companies that even create their personal bots and there are programs, such as CRMs, that already include a conversational bot. In this article, we are going to understand how the WhatsApp chatbot works, its advantages, how to create one, and how you can take advantage of this tool in your business.
What is a chatbot?
A chatbot is a program, developed from artificial intelligence algorithms or machine learning, whose objective is to simulate a perfect human conversation.
If we focus on the universe of conversational commerce, the objective of a chatbot is to guide the customer in the early stages of the sales funnel, answering the most frequently asked questions.
This, while optimizing the work of your team by not having to do repetitive tasks, should not be abused. While it is true that chatbots can improve customer service, people prefer to interact with humans.
How WhatsApp chatbot works
The WhatsApp bot, like any other chatbot, works based on three language principles which are programmed according to the degree of specialization required:
- Language processing.
- Language understanding.
- Language generation.
In the case of the WhatsApp bot, the detailed process is as follows:
Interaction Start
The chatbot algorithm recognizes keywords or information patterns from the user. At this stage, grammatical categories such as subject, verb, and predicate are identified.
In addition, in case the user’s spelling errors are identified, the chatbot internally corrects these words to determine the meaning of each one and have the complete context of what is meant.
Understanding
Once the information is received and spelling errors are corrected, the WhatsApp bot relies on its algorithms to establish the conversation path according to the resources it has available.
The resources will depend on the type of bot, from the most limited to the one with conversational artificial intelligence. The best will depend on what each business determines.
Generation of the response
Here the chatbot generates its response, using lexicon and grammatical structure according to the capacity of its algorithm. In a business environment, it is ideal that the language used is direct and helps people in the fewest words possible.
Advantages of using a WhatsApp Bot
Now that you know how the WhatsApp bot works, you may wonder what the main advantages are of implementing it in a business. Based on our experience, we could say there are five:
Personalized attention
We already mentioned that people prefer to interact with people, correct, but by implementing a chatbot, it can respond immediately to the first question from the person who wants to contact you.
With this kind of attention, people perceive that the business is attentive to their needs and it is more likely that the sale will be finalized, or at least proceed to the next step of talking to a person.
Quick responses
Like you, customers’ time is valuable. Many simply do not have the time, willingness, or patience to be browsing your website looking for answers.
For these people, the ideal is to find a chatbot that immediately resolves what they want. Then, if they are really interested, they can continue contacting you.
For example, let’s say you sell chairs and a potential customer wants to know if you deliver. Do you really expect the person to go to your page and take more than 30 seconds to find the answer? For these cases, what better than a chatbot that directly says “yes” (and at what times) or “no”.
Resource optimization
This is clear from the outset. By having a chatbot, you can dedicate your marketing team to solving more detailed doubts. Also, a WhatsApp bot allows you to guide your potential customers through different alternatives, making use of the material your business has available, such as:
- Frequently asked questions.
- Videos.
- Blog articles.
Collect data for analysis
A chatbot not only helps you provide personalized attention, quick responses, and optimize resources, but in doing all of the above, it collects information from your potential customers that can be used to improve the shopping experience.
Additionally, if the chatbot is integrated into a CRM (as is the case with Leadsales), you will be able to analyze this data and thus know what is providing value (and accelerate it) and what is not (and discard it).
Conversation security
WhatsApp includes end-to-end encryption, which guarantees security in interactions.
How to create a WhatsApp bot
Now that we know how the WhatsApp bot works, we can get down to creating it. For this, we must follow five simple steps.
Define the purpose
A good chatbot solves a problem or a need. It is key, before launching to create it, to determine what you want it for. And this involves creating a SMART objective:
- Specific: it must be quantifiable. For example: «+20% conversion rate».
- Measurable: it must be easily measurable. In this case, it is easy as you can know how many people contact you and which ones finalize the sale.
- Achievable: it is realistic. If you have average monthly sales of $1,500, it is unrealistic that three days after implementing a chatbot, these will skyrocket to $6,000.
- Relevant: it must provide value to the business. If it doesn’t provide value, there is no sense in implementing it and it becomes your liability.
- Time-bound: how long do you want to achieve the goal? It is imperative to define this, as otherwise, it becomes eternal.
Following the same example, a good goal could be «increase the conversion rate by +20% within a period of 6 months after implementation».
Get access to the WhatsApp API
Once you have the objective defined and communicated and understood by your team, you will need to request an API (Application Programming Interface) through the WhatsApp website. You can apply as an end customer or as a solutions provider.
On the site, you will need to include the name and website of your business, as well as the contact of a representative to proceed (for example, someone from your IT team). This approval process takes an average of fifteen days.
Find a bot partner
Next, you will need to choose a company that will give you access to the technology to build your conversational robot.
Build the bot
Remember that the bot is often the first impression of your business. In this step, the fun part of creating your bot happens. Its personality should attend to that of your business.
If your business, for example, sells nail polish, you may want to give it a female name and make it an expert in all the products you handle.
Test and optimize
Finally, there is the iterative stage of testing and optimizing. As a tip, tell your work team and any trusted person to chat with the bot as if they were a customer.
The first time, there will surely be errors, but this is normal and the idea is that you correct them along the way. Remember, it is better to move forward with something and correct it along the way than to seek perfection. Perfection does not exist, and seeking it can make you enter a cycle of analysis paralysis and do nothing.
How to make the most of your bot
If you really want to catapult your sales to another level, you need a CRM, and the best CRM on the market is Leadsales.
Leadsales offers everything that other CRMs don’t offer and much more. Among its main advantages, we have:
- Data analytics.
- Customizable and easy-to-use chatbot.
- Assignment of activities to collaborators.
- Customized plans with preferential service focused on the user and the needs of each entity.
- Intelligent data filtering.
- Unlimited messages.
- Up to 10 sales funnels available.
- #1 CRM for WhatsApp in Latin America: Zero installation and zero stress.
