This week my guest is Chrys Tan, an expert in using Facebook Messenger Bots.
Stats show high engagement rates for companies using “chatbots” compared to email. We chat about how to set up a Facebook Messenger Bot and how to use it for relationship building, marketing and customer service.
Welcome to episode 216 of the Marketing and Finance Podcast.
What you’ll hear about in this episode
- How to use Messenger Bots the right way
- Why businesses should focus on conversations
- What Facebook Messenger Bots are
- How financial services can use Bots
- How bots work with human customer support
- Using bots in smaller businesses
- Customer services and relationship-building
Who Chrys Tan?
Chrys is originally from Singapore, and her background has always been in marketing. She worked for the largest ad agency in Singapore for seven years but felt more like an entrepreneur. Even as a child, she’d earn pocket money from selling printed T-shirts.
Leaving the agency, Chrys first set up a health and fitness company, then another start-up, both of which failed quite early on. Already convinced that traditional forms of marketing weren’t working anymore, she started to use her skills as a freelance marketer. Seeing success from using Facebook Messenger Bots, she decided to focus on them in her new business, Chrys Media.
Summary of our chat
Platforms like Facebook are ripe for conversations. Users are already talking to their friends on Messenger, and it’s quick to use. Unfortunately, businesses end up spamming people when using bots for marketing, rather than focusing on building relationships. And unlike emails, you only have a few lines to persuade the readers to engage.
Chrys says businesses are keen to use Bots because they have high open and engagement rates. Eventually, users will get used to these messages and rates will start to drop. However, it’s currently the only channel that allows you to have a one-on-one conversation with subscribers at scale and speed.
Chatbots are an automated messaging system with pre-entered messages which answer the questions visitors ask. Some use AI to answer more complicated questions, but it depends on the need. The bot lives inside Facebook Messenger on your business page and interacts with visitors. Sites such as Weibo also offer chatbots.
Banks use chatbots for customer service. They can answer basic questions quickly and 24/7 simply by pre-populating responses. For more involved queries, such as losing a bank card, human advisors are available. Insurance companies can use bots to give instant quotes, rather than using the slower system of emailing the results to customers.
Online chat facilities usually rely on each team member speaking to several people at the same time. Bots can save time by collecting basic customer information first. For more complex queries, the bot can pass the chat to a human advisor, and each business can set up their own handover process.
Small business owners can benefit from bots too. You don’t need to know how to code, as tools like ManyChat build the bots. Be clear on why you’re using bots. Chrys has a 4-step plan: Build your list to get subscribers. Next, get to know your users better. Pitch your services, then constantly reengage.
The key is to put people first. Bots can be used for better and faster customer service, to give visitors the answers they need. They shouldn’t be used to bombard people with sales messages, but to engage with them and build relationships.
One thing Chrys would like listeners to take away
Chrys’ big tip is to market where your audience is hanging out. Make sure you’re in the right place. If your followers are older, concentrate on LinkedIn for lead generation and leave Instagram for now. Don’t choose the platform you like; go where your potential customers are.
An Example of Simple Marketing
Chrys used to work with Volkswagen when she was at the ad agency. She says that on all channels they’re on-brand, their messages are exactly right and they’re really clear on their target audience. They create beautiful ads in a traditional style, and their branding is really clear.
An Example of Marketing Madness
Chrys isn’t a fan of “bro marketing.” This is where people sell their products with messages such as: “the one tip that helped me make seven figures’ or including flashy cars in their adverts. She says it screams fake because people are hiring helicopters and cars just for photoshoots.
They’re also misleading people because they’re pretending someone can become a millionaire just from buying their product. It can’t happen, so they’re selling false dreams.
Links
- Follow Chrys on Twitter
- Connect with Chrys on LinkedIn
- Check out Chrys’s Facebook page
- Visit Chrys’ website where you can learn more about Facebook Messenger Bots and sign up for her free training course
- Listen to Chrys’s podcast, “Hack Your Online Business”, where she interviews successful business owners who run their companies entirely online
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