The following article is part of a new series presented by Jewish Content Network which will discuss business ideas, marketing advice, and feature new business technologies, in an effort to help small business and organizations thrive and succeed. 

At the Jewish Content Network, we’re always looking for creative ways to generate more leads. One thing we’ve been experimenting with is chatbots.

A chatbot is an intelligent chat experience that clients can have as a means of contacting you, allowing you to automate a lot of the initial interactions or information intake that is part of your initial contact with clients. This allows you to systematize the experience, automate your process, and deliver a more dynamic and human first touch with your clients.

For an example of a chat bot, check out the chat experience we created at the bottom of this article, simulating a conversation with me, Chaim Chernoff. It’s a good way to see just how powerful chatbots are and what they are capable of.

Here are some specific benefits we have found from creating chatbots:

Better information capture

Normally, when people contact you via a contact form, you don’t get any information until they hit “submit”. If they change their mind halfway through, that lead is lost. A chatbot, meanwhile, collects each piece of information individually. That way, even if the conversation is interrupted, that fragment can often be enough to reconnect and manually continue the conversation with that lead.

More personal

An intake form is passive and formal. It requires a higher level of motivation for someone to fill out all the fields you’re asking for. A chatbot, on the other hand, is dynamic, and if built right, feels like you’re having a conversation with a human. This allows the extraction of information to occur in a much more organic way – one piece at a time, with some conversation in between – just like in real life.

More effective upsells

Because of this more organic experience, and beacause each piece of information is stored separately, you can dare to create longer chatbots that collect more information than you ever thought possible, or further prime clients for additional needs and services.

When you create an intake form, you need to be careful not tire the lead out or they won’t hit “submit” at all. With a chatbot, you can ask as many questions as you want, from potential budget to past attempts to solve the problem. If not all your clients answer these questions, that’s fine, you’ll still have the basic answers; and if even a smaller percentage does, that’s just more powerful information to you.

If you want more information on how to set up a chatbot, email [email protected]. I turned myself into a chatbot, chat with me below to see what I can do!

Chaim Chernoff is the Chief Marketing Officer at the Jewish Content Network. Always on the lookout for latest digital marketing trends, Chaim aims to help businesses expand their presence and grow their business in the digital world.  Do you have marketing questions? Send an email to: [email protected]