Chatbots are often seen as tools to quickly answer user questions on websites, but smart companies know they can do much more. In fact, chatbots are becoming key players in driving sales.
“Do chatbots increase sales?” you might wonder. The answer is a resounding yes, and it’s not just about answering customer queries. It’s about engaging visitors, guiding them through the buying process, and even closing deals.
All without a single coffee break.
In this article, we’re going to explore how chatbots can do more than just talk. They can sell.
Keep reading to find out 12 proven ways these smart bots are helping businesses, big and small, to increase their sales and keep customers coming back for more.
12 Ways Chatbots Increase Sales
Recent statistics show that 74% of online businesses that use chatbots are satisfied with them.
With satisfaction levels this high, it’s clear why many are turning to these digital assistants to see how chatbots increase sales conversions.
Here are 12 ways chatbots can increase sales:
1. Chatbots close sales 24/7
Your customers don’t stick to business hours, so why should your sales strategy?
Most customers will jump ship to a competitor if they feel like you’re not paying attention to them. And one surefire way to give that impression? Leaving their messages unanswered.
Being available 24/7 shows your customers you care and are ready to meet their needs whenever they’re ready to buy. Plus, if you’re selling internationally, it’s a must to factor in different time zones.
In today’s market, the businesses that stay open 24/7 are the ones that come out on top.
But let’s be real – hiring agents to cover every hour of the day is expensive and not always practical. Even if you could do it, why not save those extra costs and invest them where they really count?
That’s where chatbots come in. They let you stay connected with your customers around the clock, handling the routine tasks while passing the tricky questions to your sales team.
This way, your business remains accessible, your customers stay satisfied, and you achieve significant cost savings. It’s a smart strategy for success.
2. Chatbots close sales in every language
As businesses expand their reach across borders, the ability to communicate in multiple languages becomes crucial to engage customers.
That’s where multilingual chatbots come into the picture.
These advanced chatbots can interact with customers in their preferred language, instantly adapting to the user’s choice. If a website visitor selects Italian as their website language, the chatbot will converse in Italian. If the site is in English but the user prefers Spanish, the chatbot can switch to Spanish.
With multilingual chatbots, language barriers no longer stand in the way of closing sales. These bots make sure every customer feels understood and valued, regardless of their location or language.
This is a great way to increase customer satisfaction but also significantly boost your chances of converting interactions into sales.
3. Chatbots generate more leads
Chatbots are great for building a solid sales pipeline and increasing call-back requests by collecting key info from potential customers.
For instance, when someone asks about your return policy, you shouldn’t just give a quick answer. Instead, you should take the opportunity to learn more about their interests and offer extra help. Being proactive shows you’re genuinely interested in their needs.
By personalizing these interactions, especially for returning website visitors, you can boost your lead generation efforts on your site or app.
Live chat is already effective for generating leads, but with 24/7 availability, sales chatbots take proactive chat up a notch.
Response time is crucial – leads are 8 times more likely to convert if you follow up within 5 minutes. With chatbots, you can respond instantly and around the clock, so you’re not just generating leads, you’re closing them too.
4. Chatbots pre-qualify leads
“Hi there! Let me know if you have any questions.”
How many times have you seen this pop up while browsing a website, and even though you knew it was from a bot, it still felt inviting? Chances are, it’s happened to you more than once.
The best sales chatbots should have this proactive chat feature as part of their plan.
Proactive chat can turn casual visitors into qualified leads by having chatbots reach out and offer help before they even ask for it. The trick is to use your visitor analytics to send the right message at the right time:
- Timing is everything: Give your website visitors enough time to explore before jumping in. To find the perfect moment, check your average page visit duration using Google Analytics or similar tools. Aim to engage them at that sweet spot when they’re still interested but before they click away.
- Target the right pages: Focus on high-impact pages like landing and pricing pages. But remember, the approach should vary depending on the page. For example, someone on your landing page might have a technical question, while someone on the pricing page might be close to making a purchase. Tailor your messaging accordingly.
- Personalize the experience: Avoid sounding too generic. Use visitor data, like their location or browser language, to make the conversation more relevant and engaging.
By taking advantage of these analytics, you can craft smart chatbot conversations that align with the customer journey, helping to pre-qualify leads and grow your business.
TIP: Optimize the chat experience further with clickable answer buttons to make interactions faster and more efficient.
5. Chatbots enhance customer engagement
First impressions are everything, and even though welcome messages might seem like a cliché, they work. They engage website visitors by mimicking the warmth of a real-world greeting, just like when you walk into a physical store.
When someone pops up to say hello on a website, it makes the site feel active and inviting. In a world full of passive business websites, a site that actually talks to you stands out. And if you can get creative with it, even better!
A quiz bot is a great way to make your chatbot engage customers.
These chatbots engage shoppers in a conversational style. Instead of just filling out a standard form, visitors interact with the quiz as if they’re having a chat, giving lead generation and engagement a fresh twist.
While traditional forms might stick to plain text, a quiz bot can make things more exciting by using images, GIFs, videos, and real-time user data. For example, you can start the quiz by asking for the user’s name and then use it throughout the quiz, making the experience feel personal and engaging. At the end, you can even ask for their email to send the results – and chances are, they’ll be happy to give it to you.
By making these interactions more personalized, chatbots don’t just increase engagement, they make it fun and memorable, keeping visitors interested and more likely to stick around.
6. Chatbots sell like a pro
How do you feel when your favorite shopping platform sends you personalized recommendations that perfectly match your taste and previous purchases? Pretty great, right?
It’s like having your own personal shopping assistant who knows exactly what you like and saves you the hassle of scrolling through endless product pages.
Chatbots excel at this. They can easily increase sales by delivering tailored product recommendations to customers.
Take Lego’s chatbot, ‘Ralph,’ for example. Ralph engages users by asking a few simple questions – like the age of the recipient and preferred price range – and then suggests the perfect products for a quicker and smoother purchase. It even sweetens the deal by offering a free shipping code, making the whole experience feel like a breeze.
But the benefits don’t stop there. While Ralph is busy helping customers find the perfect Lego set, it’s also gathering valuable insights about consumer preferences and behaviors.
This data is gold for businesses, helping them fine-tune their offerings and evolve their strategies to better meet customer needs.
This kind of personalized shopping experience not only drives sales but also fosters customer loyalty. When customers feel understood and valued, they’re more likely to return and recommend your brand to others.
7. Chatbots maximize revenue by upselling
Upselling not only boosts revenue and profit but also increases customer satisfaction. When done right, upselling feels less like a sales pitch and more like personalized advice, making customers feel valued and understood.
Chatbots are perfect for this task. They can be programmed to upsell by asking targeted questions and tracking customers’ purchasing patterns. For instance, if a customer frequently buys certain products, the chatbot can suggest complementary items or premium versions that align with their preferences.
The key to successful upselling lies in creating the right dialog flow.
Your chatbot should lead with product knowledge and be tactful in its approach. By using the information provided by the customer, it can offer suggestions that feel personalized rather than pushy. This not only increases the chances of making an additional sale but also enhances the overall customer experience.
8. Chatbots improve order efficiency
For businesses like restaurants, hotels, or any service-based industry, improving order efficiency is key to keeping things running smoothly and keeping customers happy.
Whether it’s managing appointments, bookings, or real-time orders, making these processes quicker and easier can really pay off.
Take a restaurant in a busy neighborhood as an example. During the weekend rush, the staff might struggle to keep up with the flood of customers. Long wait times slow everything down and can even turn potential customers away – nobody wants to start their weekend stuck in a line.
This is where chatbots can make a big difference.
With a chatbot, customers can place their orders before they even step foot in the restaurant. So, by the time they arrive, their meal is ready, and they can dig in right away. This not only makes for happier customers but also helps the restaurant serve more people in less time, which means more revenue.
And it’s not just restaurants. Chatbots can streamline everything from scheduling appointments to handling real-time orders, making sure everything runs like clockwork. By automating these tasks, businesses can focus on what really matters: delivering great service, while customers enjoy a smooth, hassle-free experience.
9. Chatbots minimize shopping cart abandonment
Have you ever left items in your online shopping cart, only to get a push notification offering you a discount to complete the purchase? It’s a common tactic, but there’s more to it than just discounts.
People abandon their carts for all sorts of reasons – concerns about security, unexpected costs, or simply second thoughts.
Businesses are always looking for new ways to reduce shopping cart abandonment because converting a customer who’s already made it through most of the sales funnel should be easier than starting from scratch.
And it is with the right approach. The key is to make them an offer they can’t resist at just the right moment.
Chatbots excel at this. Here’s how they do it:
- Answering customer questions: Chatbots can instantly respond to any last-minute doubts or concerns, helping to reassure the customer and encourage them to complete their purchase.
- Offering discounts: A well-timed discount can be the final nudge a customer needs to go from “maybe” to “yes.” Chatbots can automatically offer these incentives when they detect hesitation.
- Proactively assisting hesitant visitors: Sometimes, customers just need a little guidance or reassurance. Chatbots can step in at critical moments, offering help before the customer decides to leave.
In the end, it’s all about preventing potential customers from slipping away. With chatbots, you have a powerful tool that can engage customers at the right time, answer their questions, and offer just the right incentives to close the deal.
10. Chatbots support sales that haven’t happened yet
Consumer reviews are more influential than ever when it comes to making sales. But let’s be honest – how many people actually take the time to leave a review on their own? Not many.
Here’s the good news: most customers will leave a review if you simply ask them. And that’s where chatbots come in handy.
Right after a purchase, a chatbot can prompt the customer to leave feedback. You can program the chatbot to collect customer feedback in different ways, making it easy and quick for customers to share their thoughts:
- Clickable buttons for star ratings: A simple and fast way to gather basic feedback.
- Pre-written responses: Clickable options for quick, no-fuss feedback.
- Free-flow text boxes: For those who prefer to share more detailed, subjective feedback.
- Incentives: Offering discounts or vouchers can encourage more customers to leave a review.
You can even set up your chatbot to send follow-up emails asking for feedback, giving customers the flexibility to respond at their convenience. This approach might work better for some people than providing immediate feedback.
By using chatbots to gather reviews, you’re not just supporting future sales. You’re building trust and encouraging more customers to make that all-important purchase.
TIP: Connect your chatbot to email and let it send emails to clients asking for feedback. This gives them time to respond at their own convenience and might suit some people better than giving feedback instantly.
11. Chatbots can respond to human emotion
Advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning have led to AI chatbots that can truly understand the context and sentiment of customer interactions.
Powered by natural language processing technology, these chatbots can detect a customer’s mood – whether frustrated or excited – and adjust their responses accordingly, making interactions feel more personal and empathetic.
This ability to understand context and sentiment isn’t just about improving the customer experience. It directly impacts sales.
For example, by recognizing when a customer is hesitant, the chatbot can proactively offer personalized recommendations or special discounts, effectively nudging them toward completing a purchase. On the flip side, when the chatbot senses excitement or interest, it can suggest complementary products, increasing the overall transaction value.
This level of sophistication means that in many cases, chatbots replace human agents, providing round-the-clock support with a human-like touch.
12. Chatbots can share helpful resources
One of the key ways chatbots can drive sales is by offering important resources right when customers need them most.
Imagine a customer browsing your site, feeling a bit unsure about a product. A chatbot can step in with a how-to guide, a demo, or a quick tutorial, giving them the information they need to feel confident about their purchase.
It’s more than just answering questions. It’s about building trust. When customers get the right info at the right time, they’re more likely to feel secure in their decision to buy.
Chatbots can also personalize these interactions, tailoring the content to what the customer is looking at, which makes the experience feel more relevant and helpful.
By delivering this kind of helpful information, chatbots do more than just assist. They actively guide customers toward making a purchase. And when customers feel informed and supported, they’re not only more likely to buy but also to return in the future, boosting your overall sales in the long run.
Do Chatbots Increase Sales? You Be the Judge
After exploring all the ways chatbots can supercharge your sales efforts, it is clear that they do.
From keeping your business available 24/7 to offering personalized recommendations, chatbots are proving to be powerful tools for boosting revenue.
However, the effectiveness of these digital assistants greatly depends on the platform you choose.
Social Intents offers AI-powered chatbots that can seamlessly integrate with tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack, letting you engage with customers directly from platforms you already use.
These bots are not only customizable to fit your brand but also smart enough to handle multiple languages, automate lead capture, and escalate complex queries to human agents when necessary.
Get started with a 14-day free trial today and discover how easy it is to boost your sales with chatbots.