Intelligent Chat in a Time of Crisis

Botco.ai co-founder and CEO, Rebecca Clyde, sat down with the SmartBug Media Podcast to talk about the importance of reshaping marketing strategies and brand voice in response to the changing business landscape of these times. Rebecca believes this pandemic will change customer habits that will endure beyond the crisis. Read on to learn how chatbots can help to effectively engage customers with your brand from anywhere, including their homes.

Ms. Spencer: My name is Jen Spenser. This is SmartBug on Tap and this week we’ve got an extra episode for you from one of our super smart friends. If this is your first time listening, welcome! You’re in for a special treat today. I will be back next week with more tips and tricks from SmartBug’s hive mind but for now, let’s get to the show!

Ms. Clyde: Hi, I’m Rebecca Clyde, co-founder of Botco.ai.

If you’re wondering how to reshape your marketing strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ve come to the right place.

In this episode, we’ll discuss how to avoid being tone-deaf when marketing, and how to make it easy for customers to engage with your brand anytime, anywhere, even when they’re at home.

At the end of this segment, we’ll take a look ahead and discuss how the COVID-19 outbreak might reshape marketing in the future.

So, let’s dive in. For starters, the last thing you want is for your brand to be considered tone-deaf, especially during such unprecedented times. First and foremost, please realize it’s okay to not have all the answers. The truth is, no one has ever experienced anything like this before, so we’re all navigating this together. However, it’s absolutely key to make sure you think twice before you send anything. These are difficult times, and you don’t want to risk creating a PR crisis amidst all the uncertainty.

The best approach is to simply be direct and authentic. Your brand cares about its customers and its employees, so make that known—just make sure your words line up with your brand’s actions.

The Voice of the Customer is also a key aspect of marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Who are your customers, and how are they personally affected by this? Walk a mile in their shoes before you push out any statements, and if you have access to a recent buyer persona, this is the time to use it. Also, if your business has any front-of-line staff that talks to customers directly, consider reaching out to them to gain additional insights.

Another key concern during the COVID-19 outbreak is the economic impact it is having on business. While there are certainly ways to mitigate financial losses, it’s key not to act too quickly. Even though you might develop a short-term solution to boost revenue, you need to really consider the long-term implications. Experts are saying this pandemic will slow business down for the remainder of 2020, so make sure you develop a plan that can get your business through the next 12-18 months. In other words, don’t slash the long-term trust you’ve built with your customers for a quick buck now.

On top of properly addressing issues related to COVID-19 and your business, it’s just as important to make sure your customers have an effective way to engage with your brand from anywhere, including their homes. Chatbots are one of the easiest, affordable, and most effective ways to do this. The artificial intelligence built into today’s chatbots has come a long way since the early days, and with the right platform, bots can be trained to accurately answer customer questions in an authentic voice. For example, chatbots running on Botco.ai’s can handle more than 90% of interactions without live agent involvement.

Today’s bots can handle everything from scheduling, lead generation, engagement, and more. So, if your business doesn’t already have a chatbot, now is the perfect time to consider it.

One of the best things about chatbots is the ease of implementation. Chatbots can be integrated into company websites, text messaging services, social media, and more. Since customers likely have limited access to any in-person locations during COVID-19, reaching them where they go most is absolutely essential. Having a bot can also help offload staff pressures, giving them time to rest and recuperate if needed.

Lastly, what does COVID-19 mean for the future of marketing? While no one has a crystal ball, there are some things that might change for the better moving forward. It’s likely that people’s coping mechanisms for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic will create more virtual activities that will last long after social distancing ends. We’ll start to see more advanced AI and marketing automation solutions, potentially experience more events virtually, and maybe even see a sharp increase in virtual reality marketing.

Listen to the full podcast here.