How Can Sales Chatbot Optimise the Sales Funnel at Each Stage?

Can chatbots replace human sales agents in gathering high-quality leads? The debate will go endless. While chatbots can simplify the process for both the sales agent and customers, the role of human touch in the process is non-negotiable.

Amidst this debate, imagine a chatbot that actually helps you turn website visitors into leads. This chatbot can interact with the customers and guide them through the sales funnel to become your loyal customers. Sounds interesting, right? That’s what a chatbot in a sales funnel does. Do you want to know more about the chatbot sales funnel and the role of a chatbot in it? Read on & explore!

What is a chatbot sales funnel? Why are they important?

A chatbot sales funnel may be a guided pathway that automates the customer journey and nurtures potential customers. From the first interaction to the final purchase, the chatbot guides potential customers through the sales funnel, making them the business’s lead. The chatbot’s role in automating the customers’ journey the sales funnel is similar to that of a salesman in an offline store.

While automating and optimizing the customer journey and experience, it assists the customer at every step of their purchase journey. Now, you might wonder why chatbots are important in a sales funnel.

The answer is quite obvious. Much like human support agents, they can understand customers’ needs and preferences, thus providing them with tailored conversations and recommendations. Nevertheless, they are available 24/7, guiding the user at every step - right from navigating the products and services to post-purchase support.

The best part is that chatbots can handle multiple queries or customers simultaneously while delivering each of them the best customer experience. This efficiency reduces costs and increases the speed of customer service, allowing businesses to manage higher volumes of interactions without sacrificing quality.

What is a sales chatbot? How are they better than traditional chat tools?

A sales chatbot is simply a chatbot or an AI agent that interacts with customers and guides them through the company’s sales funnel. Powered by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, these chatbots stimulate conversation with customers, thus enhancing the sales process.

When a customer lands on the website, the sales chatbot greets and assists them throughout the sales pipeline. Now, what makes a sales chatbot better than traditional chat tools?While traditional chat tools may not be conversational, sales chatbots are generally conversational AI-based chatbots.

They understand the customer and their pain points just like a human agent. This is why they can provide personalized recommendations to customers. They go much beyond simply answering frequently asked questions. These chatbots also play a crucial role in lead generation and conversion. They gather crucial customer information in various ways, such as offering a free signup, a newsletter, etc. Nevertheless, they also provide the customers with exclusive discounts (as available and applicable). This is why customers find them engaging, which also improves customer satisfaction.

Role of a sales chatbot at various stages of a sales funnel

It’s unsurprising that you already know what a sales funnel is. You must also know that a sales funnel basically has 4 steps or stages, namely:

1.Awareness

2.Interest

3.Decision

4.Retention

While we are discussing the chatbot sales funnel, let’s understand how a sales chatbot can prove fruitful in each of these stages

1. Awareness

Before making a purchase or deciding to do so, a customer must be aware of who you are and what your products and services are. This is the stage where the customer discovers and explores your brand and business. The customer generally learns about the brand from advertising and marketing, which may be on social media, YouTube, etc.

How can a sales chatbot be useful at this stage?

Well, imagine yourself just discovering a new brand and stumbling upon its website, wherein a chatbot welcomes you and asks about your specific concerns. Then, the chatbot will understand your problem, introduce you to the business, and explain how their products can solve your problems.

You must have come across such chatbots. This is how exactly a sales chatbot introduces your business along with your products and services to the customers. Sometimes, the chatbots present a quiz to understand the customer’s needs.

This engaging, personalized approach of the chatbot also makes the customer feel heard and valued. This website will surely make an impact instead of the traditional method, where the website has no such options, and the customers must explore the products and offerings by themselves.

2. Interest

It’s the stage where the customers start showing interest in your products and services. They want to dive into the products and services in detail and know your business better.

How can a sales chatbot be useful at this stage?\

Available 24/7, the sales chatbot is always ready to guide customers to browse their desired products. Furthermore, they can also show the product’s features, pros, and cons, thus suggesting to the customer if it’s worth it.

From providing further details of the product to providing tailored and personalized recommendations, a sales chatbot builds up the customers’ interest in your offerings.

3. Decision

When the customer reaches this stage, he/she is already aware of what you offer and how your products address their pain points. Now, they’ll have to decide if they will make a purchase.

How can a sales chatbot be useful at this stage?

The sales chatbot has already provided the customer with the necessary details of the product. Now, if they are ready to purchase, the sales chatbot will guide them through the checkout and payment process. Furthermore, they will also excite the customers with discounts and coupon codes. Once the purchase is made, the sales chatbots assist the customer with the order and tracking information till they receive the product.

4. Retention

Viola! You’ve successfully earned a lead! But, the lead nurturing journey has just started. Now, you have to focus on how you can extend this relationship further and make this lead a loyal one

How can a sales chatbot be useful at this stage?

Chatbots excel in the retention stage by providing tailored support and personalized recommendations. They engage customers post-purchase with timely follow-ups, help resolve issues, and offer relevant products, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty. This proactive approach ensures customers feel valued, increasing the likelihood of repeat business

Summing Up!

Chatbots are undoubtedly a powerful asset in the sales funnel and overall lead-generation process. They are beneficial not just for the company but also have greater customer satisfaction. With technology evolving every morning, conversational AI chatbots can almost replace human sales agents due to their advanced Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Deep Learning capabilities.

The best part about sales chatbots and chatbots, in general, is that they are applicable to businesses of all sizes and are scalable! Do you want to build a no-code chatbot easily and in a few steps? Trust me, with Thinkstack.ai, you can deploy a chatbot on your website within a few minutes with zero coding knowledge. Want to give it a try? Get started for free.