Chatbot vs. App vs. Website [en]
A few years ago, the standard question was whether a mobile website or a mobile app was the ultimate solution for customer communications. Meanwhile the question arises which place chatbots will take here.
A mobile website is primarily intended to transmit text, images, audio and video to the user. Here, the information offered predominates in the direction of the user. He must filter the relevant information from the flood of information and can react to it, but if the usability is bad, the user clicks the page away. A website has no chance to get the user, running a website in the background is not really makable, and if you need push notifications you won’t win the race with a mobile website.
However, the big advantage of websites is that the content can be updated quickly and easily by the provider, as they are usually queried in real time by a server. The only entry barrier for the user is to find the page in the www jungle. A registration or installation is not required.
A mobile app offers significantly more ways to interact with the user. The use cases and possibilities of design are often limited only by the imagination of the developers and the budget of the client.
However, apps need to be programmed, published, and installed by the user at a much higher cost.
Although content can be reloaded dynamically in apps, the basic functionality is static and changes can only be achieved through updates. So if you rely on apps, you spend a lot more effort to get in touch with the customer, but you get more technical options, or you can get in a deeper relationship with the user. Apps are also able to animate the user to act on their own, but a dynamic adaptation is rather difficult to realize.
Chatbots enable a very targeted customer interaction and a very personal approach. You can get to know the user during the interactions and react dynamically. This allows them to offer personalized services to the user and proactively approach them, just as they would like a perfect client advisor. In the meantime, even a complete shopping process can be depicted in chatbots. From product advice to billing, logistics and aftersales, anything is possible.
Another advantage of bots is that the user can interact with them in natural language, and the voice recognition of the smartphone now also makes voice control possible. Although this may not be the main application case, it opens up additional target groups. Chatbots hold great potential if used properly.
A chatbot needs to understand the customer and solve his problem completely. Only those who win the trust of users, will succeed in a successful customer loyalty through Chatbot!
Bots are not really new. For decades, bots have been ransacking the Internet and secretly running standalone applications to generate data. But since smartphones with messenger apps have arrived in the masses, bots gain in importance. Connected to your own robot engine or ready-made platforms, for example the messenger from Facebook becomes a communication interface with the customer. The combination of chat tool and robot becomes a chatbot that can do a lot of tasks.
The user interface is already familiar to the user, as the various messenger services are part of everyday life. No software has to be installed and a user login can be done via the user account of the respective messenger. A chatbot is thus user-friendly “out of the box” ready for use.
It looks quite different on the developer side. Although customer communication bots are not difficult to program, they must be well thought out. A chatbot that only refers to help pages or other offers is not taken seriously by the user. A chatbot needs to understand the customer and solve his problem completely. Only those who win the trust of users will succeed in successful customer retention via Chatbot.
Whether bot, app, or web, this is a strategic decision that depends heavily on the intended use. The considerations given here provide only a basic overview, to get started in bots.
Originally published in German at medium.com on December 28, 2017.
