Not too long ago our social media pages were flooded with store sales, digital marketing ads, and news articles varying from acts of kindness to sports stats to political platforms.
Incredibly, in just under 2 weeks, all of that has changed. It is important to keep communication alive and well within your business whether it’s commercial, government or an educational facility.
Chatbots have become one of the most effective ways to connect businesses with their clients/residents.
If you think about it, one of the greatest platforms for communication of our time has been Facebook which alone has reported over 300,000 active chatbots within, and over 8 billion conversations via chatbots per month.
There are many business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) communications conducted through a chatbot on a daily basis. Chatbot Magazine’s 2019 State of Chatbots Report indicates that 27% of the US adult population is already making their online purchases through some form of AI technology.
With all of the features of a chatbot, there is one thing they offer that is often overlooked and that is their benefit during a crisis situation.
(Chatbots ease workloads for many employees, in fact, we have a great article that covers the 5 Benefits of Chatbots here.)
During times of crisis, organizations can be absolutely bombarded with emails, phone calls, and Facebook messenger queries.
When an AI chatbot is implemented as part of crisis protocol, the result is impressive because of its ability to carry on multiple conversations at once in the language of the querent’s choice.
Government Facilities and Chatbots
Chatbots can be used to help provide answers to crisis protocol, find emergency contact numbers, and keep constituents informed with status updates on a per territory basis.
Education and Chatbots
Online courses are starting to emerge as the new norm. Chatbots can help students find their classroom, log into their courses, and in times of crisis such as school shutdowns and/or strikes, AI technology can help answer questions regarding curriculum, assist with password resets, and provide important status updates.
Commercial Businesses and Chatbots
During a time of crisis, commercial businesses can use chatbots to assist customers with FAQs, help customers with their purchases and keep them up to date with any changes to the operations of the business including; service disruption, changes to shipment dates, and more.
What kind of chatbot do you need to help manage a crisis?
A multi-platform chatbot is a great solution for crisis communication management. This type of chatbot (or AI) can plug into social media pages, websites, and more. It can be deployed on both website and mobile applications.
The multi-platform deployment can help relieve the workload of your staff and act as a buffer to time-consuming administrative duties so the team can focus on the more critical tasks and priorities.
Another beneficial feature of a chatbot is its ability to send push notifications to those who have interacted with it. This helps to bring everyone up to speed with any important changes to the community.
Chatbot Maintenance
Chatbots can alleviate workloads but they also need a certain level of maintenance to ensure they are running smoothly. One important step to maintaining a chatbot is having an up-to-date message bank. In doing so, you can make regular updates presenting the most accurate and time-sensitive information at all times.
Are chatbots worth it?
The non-crisis benefits alone make chatbots worth investing in but during times of state of emergency, they play an imperative role in delivering a clear and consistent message to anyone who requires assistance.
Chatbots can help alleviate stress, ease any anxiety surrounding the situation at hand and assist at a level no single human being ever could.
Are chatbots a good fit for you? Join us in a 30-minute no-obligation consultation. Request a call here.
