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How to Build a Powerful Shopify Chatbot

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You can increase sales on your Shopify eCommerce platforms with chatbots. How you may ask? Well, the best way to achieve conversions is to ensure your customers are happy. You can make this possible by making the buying process seamless and pain-free. 

Ensuring prompt responses to queries is critical. 24/7 access to customer service reduces waiting time. You can lose a potential customer if you do not catch them at the right moment within the purchase cycle.

Another effective method is to help guide decision-making with product recommendations. Personalizing services based on past shopping behavior makes customers feel you value them. Chatbots integration with Shopify allows you to achieve all these, and more.

Our article looks at how you can build a powerful Shopify chatbot. We will walk you through critical steps to follow.

  1. Chatbots vs. Live Chats: Which is the Better Option

Live chats can take care of customer service on your Shopify platform. Live agents take digital calls anytime a customer needs help. Many companies will outsource such work to call centers. The advantage is the human-to-human interaction that is not achievable with machines. 

The agent can also start the push to sales, depending on the nature of the conversation. The downside is many businesses cannot afford to have a team on standby 24/7. In case of a lot of calls, the waiting time for customers will belong. 

Human agents may also mismanage the customers. We have all experienced a rude, disinterested, or ignorant agent. You could lose a lot of business this way.

Chatbots can be available day and night. Investing in AI chatbots gives you access to machines with human-like abilities. Handling customer issues is quick, meaning they can manage large volumes of work. 

AI chatbots can also adjust responses, depending on the situation. Chatbots are also excellent for leads generation. Data-driven insights will allow the business to know which leads to pursue or discard.

The initial investment in such technologies may indeed be a little high. But, computing the costs long term will make you see the savings. 

Write a checklist of what it means to have live agents day and night. Your list should include salaries, insurance, overheads, and office equipment.

  1. Decide on the Job Description of the Chatbots

When investing in chatbots, have clarity on exactly what you want them to do for the business. A basic chatbot can take care of simple customer support tasks.

The other option is sales bots which provide more functionalities. Such include:-

  • Leads generation and qualification
  • Personalized product or service recommendations
  • Scheduling meetings and sales calls
  • Inputting data into the CRM, and so much more.

A third option is to build chatbots that incorporate both functionalities. Budget allowing, these may be the preferable option. You get to take care of customer service and sales on one robust platform.

  1. Integrating the Chatbots With Your Shopify Store

There are three methods to integrate chatbots with a Shopify store.

  • Use a Shopify app. you have tons of options available on the Shopify store. Such include Ochatbots, Relish, Acobot, and Octane. Please take time to read up on whatever you choose. Look at things like the cost implications and configuration requirements. Your due diligence should also include reading customer reviews.
  • Integration through third-party systems. One of the most popular options is the Facebook Messenger chatbots system.
  • Develop a custom chatbots system. This option gives you a lot more leeway. You can include features that respond to your unique business needs.
  1. Develop the Chatbots Conversations

Once you decide on the system, the true work begins.

Start by analyzing the type of questions your customers tend to ask a lot. Think about it like developing an FAQ script. 

Developing categories and maps of common issues is important. It makes it easier for the system to provide a response based on the customer query.

Next, determine what areas you want the chatbots to cover. Such include sales support, campaigns, and promotions like coupon trials and discount codes.

Next focus on the flow of conversation. The flow should start something like this;  greetings > you are speaking to > how can I help.

Do note, creating a chatbot conversation can be very challenging. You must understand your customers and have developed relevant personas. It helps to have clear expectations and easy-to-follow instructions. Also, provide directional cues, fallback answers and so much more.

Once you have all the scripts and a good flow, comes the copywriting part. Place yourself in the customer’s shoes. How would you like the interaction to sound like? One solid tip is to humanize the conversation.

  1. Setting Up and Configuring the Chatbot

Setting up and configuring the chatbots may need some expert-level advice. It is especially important if you have customized the chatbots with advanced features. 

You want to ensure that you have the right scripts and codes in place. If not, the customer experience can end up being very unpleasant. Imagine trying to get information about a product but the chatbot does not have the right information. 

What if the chatbots are not able to redirect urgent issues to live agents due to poor coding? You can find some pretty amusing or cringy examples of such situations online.

Always have it at the back of your mind that the chatbot is in direct communication with your customers. The experience can start a great relationship. On the other side of the coin, it could end it before you achieve conversions.

Final Thoughts

Chatbots provide a lot of functionalities on your Shopify platform. You get to improve customer experience. They provide prompt inquiries and are excellent for personalization and product recommendation. 

The sales team can also use the bots to generate and qualify leads. They can then spend time pursuing hot leads or nurturing warm ones. Such have a higher chance of converting into actual sales.

Our article has looked at steps to take to build a powerful Shopify chatbot. Articles like this are an excellent starting point. But, it is important to take the time to do a lot more research. There is so much exciting stuff to uncover about chatbots.

Also, consider it an investment to hire an expert to help with the process. The one thing you can take to the bank is this. Chatbots are an excellent investment for your Shopify eCommerce platform. So, get building!

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