Messengers and messenger bots look to be a major concern for social media marketers as we move forward in 2017. Facebook Messenger alone has over 1 billion monthly users according to Statista. For marketers, the goal is to find new ways to reach those users. How do we make that work, though? Two of our SMT Influencers, Chad Pollitt and Dan Gingiss weighed in on Messengers in advance of our #SMTLive Twitter Chat this afternoon at 12 pm ET. Please take a moment to look at their thoughts and join us to discuss Messengers later today.
"I've been exploring the possibility of messaging bots for simple transactions. Although I think it's possible to have a great customer experience for routine or repetitive transactions, companies will need to be careful to ensure that human assistance is just a click away. As a consumer, I tried using the Facebook Messenger bot of a large floral delivery company. The browsing and selection features were simple, but when I was presented with three delivery dates to choose from, none of which was the one I wanted, I typed "HELP". The bot first asked me if I was looking for Customer Support, but when I said "Yes" it said that the Customer Support department was closed (ugh). Even stranger, a human agent then joined the chat (I thought they were closed?) and asked how she could help. When I answered her, both the human and the bot responded to me separately. This is how quickly a simple interaction can fall apart.
Companies need to resist the urge to look at messenger bots solely as cost-saving measures. To do that misses the point of creating a simple, seamless experience for the customer. While bots may indeed save money, if there is no easy way to get to a human, the loss customers will quickly overtake the cost savings."
- Dan Gingiss, Host of the Focus on Customer Service Podcast and author of, Winning at Social Customer Care: How Top Brands Create Engaging Experiences on Social Media
"The truth is - I'm not a fan of messenger bots. The concept is cool, but the execution still leaves a lot to be desired. To me, chat bots are an unneeded evolutionary step between search engines and voice-activated artificial intelligence like Echo. I have no plans in implementing bots into my marketing anytime in the near future."
- Chad Pollitt, VP of Audience, Relevance
How do you feel about Messengers and bots? Be sure to weigh in yourself this afternoon at 12 pm ET on Twitter at #SMTLive. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.