Thanks to chatbots, depending on their purpose, design and advancement level, we, as users, can easily order a cinema ticket, take advantage of help in choosing a product in the online store, find a solution to a technical problem with a purchase or receive various types of information.

Chatbot in the company – examples of applications

– answers to the most popular questions related to the product or the purchasing process,
– preliminary lead qualification – obtaining information on the expectations of a potential customer,
– comparison of the offered products based on data provided by the user,
– testing the level of customer satisfaction with the product / service.

The simplest chatbot is based on rules – the mechanics of its operation use a set of predefined answers to specific questions. As you click on the next options, new branches will be activated in the tree. More advanced bots use machine learning, thanks to which, to some extent, they “themselves” choose answers based on keywords and their construction, in theory increasing their capabilities with each subsequent interaction with the user. The most developed chat programs are based on artificial intelligence, which allows them not only to “learn” to interpret new words, but also to generate statements in natural language.

Chatbot in the company – is it worth it?

From the company’s perspective, the greatest advantage of a chatbot is the relief of the customer service department. The bot is usually able to answer frequently asked questions and solve simple user problems. If the matter asked by the client requires an employee’s intervention, the bot will provide the consultant with basic data after an initial “conversation”, thanks to which the consultant will be armed with information about the question category at the beginning of the conversation, saving time – both for the employee and the client.

Despite the many undeniable advantages, it is very easy to implement a chatbot in a way that will do more harm than good. The installation of the chatbot in the company must be thought out and properly implemented.

What should we watch out for when “hiring” a chatbot in a company?

In customer service, even the most advanced chatbot builds a psychological wall between the company and the contacting user at the outset. No human likes to be treated – mechanically. Of course, this is an individual matter, but for most clients, making contact with the program creates a feeling of being an ignored petitioner to some extent.

Conversation with a bot (especially underdeveloped) can be irritating – explaining the problem to a consultant is usually faster and easier in terms of communication than “clicking” through the available options to finally find – or not – a specific issue or reach the option of contacting a person on the hotline.

Bots process natural language better and better, but it will be a long time before they learn less standard grammar structures and will be able to fully “understand” every question addressed to them. Even greater complications arise with bots that try to interpret verbal speech. Then the first system is to understand the message using the speech recognition system and process the message into a text form, and then tag individual words. This involves a huge amount of data – each person speaks with a different voice, has a slightly different accent or phonetic habits, and there are potential interference or background noise on the line. It should also be remembered that we usually construct verbal messages a bit differently than written ones. It is only at this point that it comes to the “standard” interpretation of the text, which in itself is a multi-faceted, intricate process.

If the bot cannot recognize the interlocutor’s intentions quickly and accurately, the stairs begin. Some users will resign from contact at this stage, which can be considered a Pyrrhic victory (less work for the service department, at the cost of annoying the customer at best, losing the customer at worst).

Let’s assume that the message has been fully understood and the bot has data on the basis of which it is able to help the user. As in the case of the list of frequently asked questions (FAQ), messages sent by the chatbot must be as specific and precise as possible. In this case, placing a wall of text in front of the user, overloaded with various topics orbiting a specific issue, but not touching it directly, will increase negative feelings from the entire account.

How to implement a chatbot?

The key aspect – as usual in business – is the answer to the question of what tasks the chatbot is supposed to fulfill and, above all, to whom it is intended. Only after a thorough analysis of the purpose and requirements of the target group, it is worth moving to the design stage and then implementation.

Therefore, you should collect a database of questions with which customers (no matter if current or potential) turn to a given company – the brief should be as detailed as possible. The good news is that in the vast majority of cases it is not necessary to create a chatbot from scratch – there are hundreds of ready-made programs on the market that we can implement with the help of specialists according to our needs and requirements, for example by integrating the chatbot with the company’s CRM system.

Creating an online store is extremely hard work – even if you limit yourself to running it in a dropshipping model. However, despite everything, even the best designed and made online store will not become visible to search engines or recognizable among customers overnight. You need advertising for this to happen. There are no shortcuts here. It is worth emphasizing immediately that the effects of e-shop promotion are best visible in the long term and you often need to be patient. But this patience pays off – especially if the campaign is conducted in a thoughtful and consistent manner.

Where is the best place to advertise an online store?

Are you wondering how to approach the topic of online store advertising? First of all: before you act, plan what you will do. Especially that in the virtual world there is a lot of tools waiting for you that can be used to advertise an online store. However, if you rashly invest in advertising, without first specifying the basics, you may find that instead of gaining … you will only lose the funds spent on the campaign.

How to avoid it? Specify precisely the assumptions of the campaign before proceeding to the selection of channels through which the promotion will be conducted, as well as the content of messages that are to “go out into the world”.

What exactly needs to be specified before advertising?

A. What is the target group of your customers?
Who are you addressing your offer to? Are they recipients in a specific age range? A specific gender? With specific interests and lifestyle? Or maybe you want to reach a very wide group of customers? The more precisely you define your target, the easier it will be for you to plan communication and the better you will invest your funds. For this purpose:

– create personas representing the target audience of your products – give them symbolic names and surnames, specify their approximate age, needs, interests, expectations and possible objections, and even add sample photos,
– think about how the products you want to sell are supposed to solve their everyday problems,
– think what type of communication style will be appropriate in the advertisement – is it more “official” and neutral, or maybe “laid back” and bold?

B. brand DNA
Do you know what and to whom you want to sell? You still need to define what image your brand will have. What associations should the recipient build? What is it supposed to be associated with? With prestige? Or maybe with low prices and fast delivery? With high-quality products? Or maybe with “exotic” goods unavailable in USA in a stationary way? This will translate into both the manner of advertising and selected communication channels.

C. Objectives of the advertising campaign
What will be the aim of the conducted promotional campaign? If you are just starting your business in the e-commerce industry, first of all, you need to make potential customers aware that you exist on the market, and in the next step to build their trust. Only then will the campaign move towards promoting specific products and lead directly to the conversion. Most often you have to go through all these stages in order to gradually start to expand your portfolio of clients – not the one-time ones, but those who will come back again and again and recommend your services to friends.

So start by identifying a key campaign premise. Once that’s done, it’s time to define your specific goals. This can be, for example, an increase in traffic on the store’s website, obtaining sales leads, or strengthening the sale of a specific product. What course of action you choose will depend on what tools and channels will be used during the campaign.

D. Budget
How much money can you spend on an advertising campaign? Remember: it is not worth limiting expenses for promotion, because it is … very apparent savings. Why? Take a moment to consider where are you buying? In stores whose offers are readily available and visible in the palm of your hand, right? This visibility will not build itself! If you don’t tell the world about your store, nobody will hear about it and find it.
Nevertheless, there is no such thing as an unlimited advertising budget. It is worth knowing in advance how much money can be invested in the implementation of a specific campaign.

How to promote an online store?

Do you already know why you will advertise your e-shop, who do you want to contact and for how much? Now it’s time to choose the tools with which you will conduct the campaign. The decision is not easy at all because – as we mentioned – the number of options is really solid. Important hint: you don’t need to use all the available options during one campaign. Choose those that will match the assumptions of the promotional campaign or choose those that, with a limited budget, can potentially turn out to be the most sensible.

How? For example, a very large online store, which cares about huge ranges, may think about advertising using ATL channels, e.g. press, radio, and even television. However, this is a solution primarily for the largest players on the e-commerce market. Those who operate on a slightly narrower scale will focus on promotion mainly on the Internet.

So where to promote? The basic rule that is always worth having “at the back of your head” is: be where your customers are. Where? Here is an overview of the tools that are good to consider.

The advertising system provided by the Mountain View giant is the absolute basis of Internet advertising. Why? Simply put: because we all use Google, and the platform offers extremely wide opportunities to promote ourselves. What more can you reach for?

Sponsored Links
Where are the recipients looking for the products they want to buy? They very often start their hunt by entering a search term into the Google search engine, and then… they click on the first search results. However, sponsored links appear above them. The presence of your store in this section will increase the chances that its offer will be checked in the first place. Customers rarely distinguish an ad from organic results, and even so, these ads are very well targeted, and advertisers want the person who clicked on them to make a purchase. If the ad is set wrong, they will just blow your budget.

Google Shopping
In recent years, Google has improved its advertising tools and today one of the most interesting proposals for e-commerce is a “carousel” of products displayed in the search results – with photos and product prices. Such a mini catalog with promoted stores’ offers increases the probability that the recipient will click on your ad and then make a purchase!

Outdoor advertising
Google Ads is also advertisements displayed on various external portals – in the form of banners. This format, discredited some time ago, if only due to the fact that many internet users blocked banner ads, is now back in favor. For two reasons. First of all, more and more websites are introducing technological solutions to prevent ad blocking or asking their users to display them (it works!). Second, remarketing ads are widely used and are much more effective. What’s the thing? In remarketing campaigns, the recipient on the banners sees personalized ads that show, for example, the products he has previously viewed. Such constant reminders can be very persuasive!

Google Ads tools – as long as the campaign is run by a specialist with appropriate qualifications – can bring very good short-term and long-term results. Although the configuration of the campaign is seemingly very simple, in fact, specialists should watch over its course – they will make sure that every dollar invested in the promotion earns itself and brings the expected ROI. In the case of Paraphrase-Online.com, campaign optimization is entrusted not only to a specialist, but also to our self-learning algorithms that introduce even thousands of changes a day. This campaign optimization ensures that you invest resources in the time and place most appropriate for it.

Social media

If e-commerce advertising on social media is of course Facebook first. The portal founded by Mark Zuckerberg has today become a source of information, entertainment and inspiration. That is why it is worth being here and promoting your e-shop. How?

First, use the full potential of free solutions. So, first of all, run a fanpage of your e-shop. Regular, engaging posts will allow you to build a specific audience that will grow over time.

But that’s not all. On Facebook, you can use a wide variety of advertising tools. There are, among others:
– post promotion – so that they are displayed in the news feed of people from your target group,
– classic banner advertising,
– advertising in the form of a carousel of products – redirecting directly to the e-store,
– video advertisement, displayed during the presentation of film materials on the portal.

It is mainly these tools that the online store will use. Like Google, Facebook also allows you to set the purpose of the campaign and conveniently configure other details. It’s also easy to track the results your message is getting. Regular monitoring of the results allows you to implement any corrections in the campaign or draw conclusions for the future. Depending on the industry, remarketing on Facebook can also turn out to be very effective and it is worth to complement the activities carried out with Google Ads at least in the basic scope.

Remember that advertising an e-shop on social media is not necessarily just Facebook. Depending on the profile of your business, you can also reach your potential customers, e.g. on Instagram (especially in lifestyle industries), and even on LinkedIn (especially if you sell products intended more for business customers). Where is the best place to advertise an online store using social media? This question will be answered by e.g. an internet marketing specialist.

YouTube

Is YouTube a good promotion channel for an online store? In many cases, yes. And how to promote yourself in this medium? One of the options is to publish video ads that will be displayed during videos watched by users. However, it should be remembered that here you need to focus on short, several-second messages – especially since visitors to the portal most often “click” ads whenever possible.

But that’s not all. An increasingly common solution used by online stores is the so-called influencer marketing. In a nutshell, it is about starting cooperation with the creator running a popular YouTube channel and placing the store’s brand in its material. For example, online stores with cosmetics operate in this model. Collaboration can take many forms. An influencer can:
– mention in the material about the current promotion in a given e-store,
– recommend purchases on the site,
– offer your recipients a special discount code obtained in the affiliate program,
– link products used in the published video and available on the e-shop website.

A skilfully and unobtrusive campaign can result in a quick and significant increase in traffic in the e-store. However, it should be remembered that in order for such effects to last long-term, cooperation with influencers should be repeated regularly.

Another option offered by YouTube is … running a video channel through the store itself. What could happen to him? In the case of an e-shop, specific industry guides will work best. Valuable films will reach a wider audience, thanks to which they will work in the field of image and sales.

Are the places where it is best to promote the online store the only channels you can use? No! There is also a whole range of inbound marketing and PR tools that are worth paying attention to. One thing is certain: the campaign strategy should be developed and implemented wisely, preferably under the supervision of specialists. Then it takes place in an orderly, not chaotic manner, and above all – translates into the desired conversion.

We left the positioning of online stores for the very end. In the long term, it is usually the cheapest method of acquiring new customers. However, among all forms of advertising, it is also the most “investment” nature. By investing funds today, you can feel it only in 3 or e.g. 6 months. Therefore – even though most people do not set up stores to operate, for example, only for a year – most of them decide to position themselves only after some time. It cannot be clearly stated that this is a mistake. Every investor wants to achieve returns as quickly as possible and can do it with e.g. Google Ads. However, if at the beginning you have a slightly larger budget for advertising, then it is definitely worth conducting your marketing in two ways and in addition to what is “now”, think about what “later”. The sense of investment in positioning – in relation to your budget and needs, will also help you determine the specialist – in this case, the positioner.

What is inbound marketing?

Inbound marketing is a strategy aimed at persuading the customer to contact the company on their own. It was created in opposition to traditional methods of promotion – included in the circle of outbound marketing.

Inbound marketing involves:
– building long-term, valuable relationships with the client – those that will result in not one conversion, but many,
– partner, two-way communication – one in which the company really listens to feedback and reacts to it,
– shaping and strengthening the company’s image and building an emotional bond with customers,
– “leading” the client through the sales process in an advisory form – so as to provide him with the necessary information, but not directly persuade him to buy.

This strategy has been the most popular promotion method in recent years, used by both large brands and smaller companies. The place where it is easiest to implement inbound marketing strategies is the Internet.

Inbound marketing vs outbound marketing: what’s the difference?

Before I go over the specific tools from the “inbound” palette, it is worth explaining in detail the differences between traditional promotional communication methods and inbound marketing.

Messages in outbound marketing:
– have a highly persuasive character,
– they are typical advertisements – they can be easily identified among other content (thus they can be “filtered” by recipients, and thus – ignored),
– they are often overly intrusive, which can evoke negative emotions (although this does not have to be the case, as long as the outbound communication strategy is well planned),
– they are less likely to be precisely targeted, which means that they also reach random recipients, which translates into relatively low efficiency.

It is also worth knowing that outbound advertising can carry high costs per pageview / click, because it has to pass through a fairly dense screen before it reaches the customer who is really interested in the offer. For these reasons, modern marketing focuses precisely on building inbound traffic.

In inbound marketing:
– communication is two-way in nature – it is focused not on one-sided message, but on interaction (thus building partner relations and commitment),
– the goal is to build a relationship, not a one-time sale,
– focuses on counseling, not intrusive persuasion,
– messages are personalized and reach well-targeted recipients – thanks to this, they enjoy a better response.

So you could say that inbound marketing puts the customer in the spotlight and realistically adapts to their needs, not just promising to do it.

What does inbound marketing do?

Reaching for inbound marketing tools is not just a temporary fashion. These activities bring very tangible results – in the long term. By using these tools and, in fact, by changing your approach to the client, you can gain a lot.

– Own database of potential, very promising customers
Not the random ones, of which one or two people out of every 100 people will be interested in your offer. One in which there will be consumers with high conversion potential, and therefore in human terms: more willing to make a purchase. Importantly, the list of potential customers builds itself – those interested will leave the data for you, e.g. by subscribing to the newsletter. This is the beginning of a long road that will ultimately lead to a positive transaction closing in many cases.

– Building commitment
How do you make purchasing decisions? Is it only based on “hard data”? What if you have two products with very similar features and price in front of you? How do you choose then? Then even the most hardened “logicians” will reach for emotions, so they will choose a brand that they simply associate better. One that is not indifferent to them. Being focused on interacting with users and encouraging them to take action on their own is like a foot in the door – the commitment invested builds a bond, and thus increases the chances of the final purchase of the product.

– Financial benefits
Inbound marketing strategies bring long-term benefits – also financial. The costs of generating a lead and then converting are much lower than when using outbound techniques. Reason? Much more precisely targeted communication. Since you reach people who, at least initially, are interested in your offer, the chances that they will decide to buy becomes much higher. Simple! In addition, once set in motion, skilfully selected inbound strategies can function almost like a perpetual motion machine, or at least operate and attract new customers for several years.

– Better meeting customer needs
When you reach for inbound marketing, you focus on how to realistically solve your clients’ problems. And since you give them ready-made proposals tailored to what they really want (and not what you think they want!), You can count on positive interest.

In summary, inbound marketing means lower costs, higher effectiveness in reaching customers and long-term effects. In a word: everything you dreamed of!

How to start using inbound marketing?

You already know what exactly inbound marketing is. However, this is just the beginning of the road. Now you have to plan your strategy in this spirit. What tools to use? How to prepare for it?

First things first: in inbound strategies you give the client a sense of control. You give him your responsibility. You just let it find you. You don’t urge. You show possibilities. Only this and so much.

How to implement inbound marketing strategies?

Inbound is based on three main tasks that the marketer has to face – obviously related to the stages of leading the customer through the sales funnel. You use inbound marketing to:
– attract the recipient’s attention – inform them in advance about your presence on the market and show that you are a partner who can be trusted. At this stage, it’s all about building a brand image,
– engage him in interaction – it does not have to be a purchase of the product right away At the beginning, it is enough for him to like your post, write a comment or subscribe to the newsletter. The time for the “harvest” will come later,
– provide a solution to your problems, so you can enjoy your purchase.

Remember: the above levels of commitment also define the relationship with the customer, who from a complete stranger becomes a “friend” (feeling a hint of sympathy for the brand), a friend, customer, and finally a promoter of your company. And this is exactly what it is about to achieve.

What inbound tools can be used on the Internet?

The range of tools suitable for generating incoming traffic is huge – especially in the Internet space. At each of the stages discussed above, you can apply different solutions and media.

Inbound techniques at the stage of attracting the recipient’s attention

Attracting a customer’s attention – especially in a competitive market – can be the biggest challenge. So how do you get attention by doing it in a non-pushy way? The answer is simple: prepare valuable content for the recipient. For that to be the case, you must define in advance who and for what purpose you will be addressing.

In inbound marketing it will not be necessary to clearly define the purpose of the promotion and the meticulous creation of personas. It’s about identifying exactly who your potential customers are. You have to answer questions about their needs, concerns, worries and … how their day is going. How do they use the Internet? Where can you find them?

Once you know this, getting their attention becomes much easier. You will not be blind, and you will appear where they are also. And what specific tools to use?

Content marketing
Create a company blog and publish valuable content on it – the kind that will allow you to find answers to the questions bothering your customers. They cannot be strictly advertising. The more expert and specific the responses you give your audience, the better your impression will be.

Social media marketing
Start promoting yourself on social media. Not all of them, but those that your customers visit. For example, a clothing manufacturer can “win” little by promoting itself on LinkedIn or Twitter, but already on Facebook or Instagram – much more! Remember that promotion through these channels is about building engagement – and therefore about making your posts receive the greatest possible response from “live” users.

SEO
Positioning is the first step to attracting attention to your offer. The higher your page is in the search results for related phrases, the greater the chance that the interested party will find your page and leave a lead.

Classic ads
preferably in the remarketing model – so that they reach people potentially and initially interested in the solutions offered. Thanks to this, you will gain a greater impact on real results.

How to engage customers?

The second step is building commitment. You can also use the tools above, but the ones below are most suitable for bonding and interacting.

Landing page
So “landing page” – a special, short and specific website, the purpose of which is to obtain a lead, i.e. customer contact details. It must be very interactive and offer the recipient an advantage for leaving an email – it could be, for example, a free e-book.

Newsletter
Sent to people who have left their own leads, it is much more effective than communication with recipients from an external, random base. E-mails will remind recipients of your existence and encourage them to click, read an interesting article, and take advantage of the current promotions that you offer.

Chat-bots
Those that appear directly on your website and, for example, on your Facebook fanpage. Their task is to encourage the client to start a conversation – in a simple and easily accessible form. They can automatically answer frequently asked questions or… redirect you to the seller.

Marketing automation tools
This includes intelligent solutions that contact the customer when he has already taken some action. For example: a customer visited the website looking for vacation offers, but at the last moment changed their mind. The system can send the person a question about why this happened or send a message with similar offers.

How to build a positive relationship and satisfaction with cooperation?

Cooperation with the customer in the inbound model does not end with the purchase. This is just the beginning of the road. Therefore, communication with him also continues after the transaction is completed. At this stage, you can use, among others:
– mailing – sending an e-mail with thanks, a discount code for subsequent purchases or a request to evaluate the course of cooperation evokes positive impressions,
– marketing automation – periodic communication with the customer and sending him new offers.

Of course, there are many more tools that can be used for inbound-style communication, and a specific strategy should be developed taking into account the specifics of the company’s operations.