Implementing AI Chatbots for Small Businesses: Benefits and Challenges

AI chatbots for small businesses are an essential requirement to transform customer support for higher productivity. How is that the case? Let’s uncover!

With globalization spreading its wings, companies’ most significant challenge was running their operations 24*7. This was particularly challenging because not only the companies required resources to run product-related operations but had to support customers at the same time.

Hiring representatives was the only solution, however, it required resources in terms of capital. With huge companies, shelling out money has never been an issue as long as they are profitable.

However, SMEs and specifically small businesses often suffer because they need to cut costs not to increase profits but to survive and breathe financially. Thus chatbots for small businesses came into existence.

To further define a chatbot, “An AI chatbot is a computer program that utilizes AI technologies such as machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, etc to mimic human conversational skills for multiple business use cases”.

The initial version of chatbots had their own dictionary and based on the best match for the customer’s query, they responded. However today, we have generative AIs systems aka AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Google Bard, Microsoft Bing, etc that can support customers with almost any query because of the vast data they are trained upon.

These chatbots are worthwhile for almost every level of business that is out there especially small ones. Why? As they reduce the operational cost associated with customer service and customer support.

Therefore to learn about the benefits of chatbots for small businesses and the capability of Chatbots for small businesses, let’s read ahead…

Need of Chatbots in Small Businesses!

For small businesses, there are several challenges especially if you are in the growth stage. This requires running operations smoothly and handling customers, as efficiently as possible. AI chatbots can’t support product-related operations, however, small business chatbots heavily aid customer support.

Chatbots and customer service today go hand-in-hand. In fact, customer chatbots have the capability to solve issues that have been a common denominator amongst SMEs. Issues such as:

Time Dependency

Small businesses are often constrained by time. They need to deliver everything as effectively as possible being on their tiptoes. It is because there are multiple operations that are concurrently running. To stray away from the load, using chatbots for business is a collateral requirement at least in today’s ecosystem.

Fewer Resources

Small businesses are limited by both capital as well as the number of heads in terms of employees. This demands them to have a solution in place that can fill in this gap.

Cognitive Overload

The majority of tasks that are carried out on a daily basis in a small business are repetitive in nature. Endless hours of monotonous work that too in volume leads to cognitive overload in employees. One great example of this from customer support POV is handling calls for similar queries.

Strengthening Relationships

Be it a personal relationship or a relationship with a customer, communication is essential. With conventional resources i.e. human operators, companies were required to hire employees in three shifts of 8 hrs, especially for a business venturing globally. This was done just by listening to the customer and taking their request in real-time.

Scaling

Businesses can’t upscale or downscale the number of employees as per the requirement. However, business requirements constantly undergo crest and troughs, this thereby requires a scalable solution that adjusts itself as per the requirements.

Generating Leads

Business requires support that can cater to customers from the perspective of generating leads and aggregating a wider email list. Having a solution in place that can listen to customers 24*7 and take data from them to further reach is another essential requirement.

Different Ways to Use Chatbots for Business

There are a plethora of ways chatbots for small businesses can be used. Below, we have mentioned some of the most common examples of using a customer chatbot:

• Customer Support: Chatbots and customer service go hand-in-hand. In fact, the prime existence of a customer chatbot is to serve customers and handle their inquiries. Adding to it, customer chatbots can be used for answering FAQs, providing assistance with common inquiries, and directing customers to appropriate resources.
• Assistance with Orders: Chatbots can recommend customers with appropriate products. Adding to it, chatbots can also guide customers through the ordering process, and provide assistance with the size of the consignment. This enhances the experience of the customer.
• Getting Feedback: Customer chatbots are also capable of aggregating feedback from customers regarding the products and services provided by small businesses.
• Conducting Surveys: Chatbots can be used for conducting surveys. For instance, chatbots can be used for collecting important data such as customer preferences, contact, previous purchases, services or products they want to have, etc.
• Social Media Engagement: Small business chatbots can also be used for social media platforms by managing the incoming traffic and providing responses to their queries. Adding to it, these chatbots can also manage comments, feedback, and resolve customer issues.

Benefits of Chatbots for Small Businesses

There are multiple benefits of chatbots for small businesses. Therefore, let’s quickly check out what they are:

• They are capable of providing customer support 24*7
• They are capable of answering FAQs for the customers
• They can provide responses to common queries.
• They can reduce operational costs by reducing the number of resources required
• They provide a scalable solution
• They have the capacity to streamline the operation

Examples of Different Chatbots for Small Businesses

Right now, the market is populated with chatbots for small businesses. Below are some of the best AI chatbots that are available in the market:

• ChatFuel
• Pandorabots
• Botsify
• Aivo
• Intercom

Wrapping Up!

Chatbots are a necessity for small businesses. In an article by Oberlo, it is mentioned that there are over 33.2 million small businesses that are working in the united states. Each of these businesses tries to cater to the customer’s real-time, not only IT-based businesses but even direct consumer-based small businesses with a digital presence too such as bakery shops, restaurants, convenience stores, etc.

The combination of chatbots and customer service is unparalleled. There is no replacement of chatbots for small businesses and with the emergence of services like ChatGPT, Google Bards, etc, we are anticipating the future will be much brighter for the small businesses.

FAQ:
1. How small businesses can use Chatbots?

Answer: The primary usage of a small business chatbot is to provide customer support. However, it can be used for handling social media engagement, lead generation, conducting surveys, etc.

2. Do I need coding skills to set up a small business chatbot?

Answer: In some cases, the users are required to have coding skills to implement a chatbot. However, there are several development platforms that allow the implementation without any coding skills.

3. How do I use my small business chatbot for lead generation?

Answer: Chatbots can be used for engaging customers. This means they can be utilized for analyzing potential customers, providing relevant information, and later on converting them as leads.