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How to Use and Make Lead Generation Chatbots? [7 Ways]

Technology has evolved into becoming an integral part of our everyday lives. And as consumers, we have come to expect certain tech elements whenever we interact with a business (new or beloved).

No one wants to send an email and wait 24 hours for a response from the customer support team or make a call and wait to get connected to the right person. Everyone is looking for instant gratification, and the quicker you can help the customers connect with your brand, the greater your chances of retaining them.

But how can you achieve this? Let’s see!

One of the most popular tools that let you establish instant communication with the customer is a lead generation chatbot. Chatbots have evolved from an experimental piece of technology into an integral part of any modern business.

They have gained popularity among businesses, and the following graph is indicative of the scope and potential of this valuable piece of software for businesses.

chatbot market revenue

Chatbots have many applications, from automating customer service to collecting customer feedback, tracking orders to handling refunds, lead generation to lead nurturing, booking appointments to online item ordering, and conducting surveys to boosting customer engagement. In fact, chatbots have strong use cases across all the top industries

However, for the purpose of this blog, we are going to talk about the most important use of chatbots – lead generation

What Is a Lead Generation Chatbot?

As the name suggests, a lead generation chatbot is a chatbot designed mainly to identify potential customers. It could be AI/NLP-based or rule-based bots.

These chatbots create interest or curiosity about your business or build a relationship with them. In fact, they are best used for a conversational approach to collect customer data and offer information about your business and its offerings.

Advantages of Using Chatbots for Lead Generation

Now that you know what a lead generation chatbot is let’s see how it can boost your marketing efforts. So, if you are not yet convinced about making a lead generation bot for your business, it is time to talk about the advantages of this excellent gift of technology.

1. Provides Personalized Experiences

Traditionally websites would add a boring form to capture leads, which, let’s face it, is pointless since not many people go for it. A chatbot, on the other hand, has a conversational quality to it, where there is a back-and-forth information exchange.

Moreover, as the visitor gets the desired information by using a chatbot, they are more likely to give out their info. Hence, a lead generation chatbot gives a personalized experience compared to a generic form that visitors most likely skip.

2. Improves Overall Customer Engagement

The most challenging aspect of converting a visitor into a qualified lead is to engage them enough to discover your value. Well, easier said than done.

No one wants a text block. They want crisp, quick, and to-the-point answers, and chatbots are just perfect for that. Moreover, according to a recent study, about 90% of customer queries can be resolved in 10 or fewer messages through a chatbot.

3. Increases Conversion Rates

One of the most important conversions in B2B websites is a lead form submission. The average conversion rate on a website is a little over 2%. Yes, it sounds bleak, but there is something you can do about it.

Add a chatbot to demand the whole focus of your site visitors and prevent them from getting distracted. As a result, you will see how quickly your conversion rates start soaring. In fact, for some industries, chatbots can increase sales conversions by about 70%.

4. Round-the-clock Availability

Chatbots cannot replace humans. That is a fact. However, humans cannot be available around the clock to respond to all the inquiries and queries of the leads and clients.

This is where chatbots enter the picture. A chatbot can respond to your site visitors and solve their issues or respond to their queries in real time.

5. Saves Money and Easy-to-build

Creating a chatbot is easy, especially when you choose no-code technology. A no-code chatbot builder like Outgrow’s chatbot builder lets you make a chatbot in minutes for a fraction of the cost of traditional customer support and sales setup.

Besides, chatbots have the potential to save more than 2.5 billion hours and about $8 billion for businesses in the future.

How to Use Chatbots for Lead Generation?

We have been building up to this moment, and it is time we got into the details. Making a lead generation chatbot is one thing, but knowing how to use it for your specific goals (lead generation in this case) is an entirely different ballgame. So, let’s see how you can utilize a chatbot to up your lead generation game.

1. Greet Visitors With a Short & Interesting Welcome Message

The most significant plus point of using a chatbot for lead generation is that you can personalize the entire experience.

The first step is to go beyond the mundane pleasantries and create an exciting yet personalized greeting that would get the visitors hooked. So, the first message you send should be drafted to get your site visitor’s attention and put them at ease immediately.

To demonstrate this point further, let’s take a look at the example of Impulse Creative.

lead generation chatbots

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The chatbot on the website gives the visitors some interesting options along with greetings. The visitors are elated by the fact that they get an array of options to choose from. Their journey ahead depends on the choice they make. It is much like a ‘choose your own adventure’ model where the customers get customized experiences as per the options they choose.

2. Ask Conversational Questions to Collect Data Naturally

Data is one of the most powerful assets to possess, especially if you’re a marketer.

Using lead generation chatbots, you can collect personal data ethically through a natural conversation. This information can then help you improve your services and products while keeping your site visitors informed about how their data is being utilized.

The image below is a good example of how you can collect data without spooking the site visitor.

lead generation chatbots

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This is one of the simplest ways to collect the data you need. Not only is this screenshot demonstrating an effective way to personalize the conversation, but also a natural way to collect valuable details like the name and a valid email address.

You can then add this email address to your database, lead nurturing drips, or even re-engage at a later, more opportune time.

3. Retarget Site Visitors Who Engaged With Your Brand

Retargeting is one of the most effective ways to increase conversions. However, it is not easy to reach the site visitors if they leave your site without sharing any details. But how do you make sure that this doesn’t happen?

The answer is obvious- a chatbot! A lead generation chatbot will help you collect all the important information like contact details, email addresses, and other ways to reach your site visitors. You can then reach out to these visitors and convince them to give your product or service a try. After all, the visitors only need a little nudge and a reminder to convert.

lead generation chatbots

Here are a couple of simple yet effective ways for businesses to retarget abandoned carts. It could also be visitors who clicked away and even those who visited a particular product page and showed some interest.

You can send them a quick message through a chatbot, and they will be reminded of the product they were interested in.

4. Talk to Visitors in Their Native Language

Communication is foiled when everyone is speaking in different languages. So, if you want to serve customers all across the globe, you need to ensure that you talk to them in a language they are most comfortable using.

Look for a chatbot builder that offers multilingual capabilities to let your customers converse in their preferred language, helping you provide excellent customer service and a more reliable customer experience.

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Above are two different examples of multilingual chatbots. The one on the left is from Kommunicate.io, which directly gives the visitors an option to choose one from a multitude of languages.

On the right, the multilingual bot from Botsify detects the language used by the respondent and quickly switches to the visitor’s preferred language. Both approaches work quite efficiently. But the Botsify version is smoother and will probably get your visitor to like your business more!

5. Integrate Chatbot With Marketing Automation and CRM 

Chatbots work as a great tool for lead generation. Their efficiency and scope can be boosted by integrating your chatbot with marketing automation tools like ActiveCampaign, Sharpspring, etc., and CRM tools like Zoho CRM, Salesforce, etc.

The Outgrow chatbot builder makes it possible.

By integrating your chatbot with a CRM tool, you can organize and appropriately record all your leads, allowing your sales representatives to access them easily. Furthermore, you will be able to add the newly acquired leads to any type of marketing campaign you may be planning to execute.

6. Pick up Where You Left off With Personalized Messaging

Once a customer has engaged with your chatbot and has shown some interest, chances are, they are almost ready to convert.

Set up your chatbot to trigger a personalized sequence using the data you collected earlier. Remind them of you, your services, and your business. Who knows, they might get converted in just a few clicks!

lead generation chatbots

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This banking chatbot Erica is the Siri for banking. It remembers you from your last visit and welcomes you back with a warm greeting. And gives you probable options you may be interested in.

7. Set up Live Agent Handoffs for Special Scenarios

Not every query or issue can be taken care of by a chatbot. It is important to prepare for such scenarios by setting up rules for situations where a chatbot may hit a wall.

Make sure you have a smooth transition mechanism in place from your chatbot to a live agent to resolve more complex or advanced queries.

lead generation chatbot

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For simple issues like the conversation on the right, the chatbot can quickly provide the desired solution by leading the visitor to the required information. However, when the issues are more complex, there has to be a smooth transition or handoff to a live agent.

How to Make a Lead Generation Chatbot in 3 Easy Steps?

We have already discussed all the unique ways in which your website chatbot can help you generate leads and even qualify them for you. Now, let’s talk about how to create a lead generation chatbot

The easiest way to create a chatbot is by using a no-code chatbot builder like Outgrow’s chatbot builder. Using this no-code platform, you can employ an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface to create your chatbot or even choose from multiple well-designed chatbot templates that are entirely customizable.

  • Enter bot details: Add details like your business name, bot name, avatar, the intent of the chatbot, etc.
  • Edit bot template: Next, tweak the template to your specific needs. Edit the flow, and add any new elements in minutes, that too without any coding.
  • Integrate the chatbot on your site: Once you are done, all you need to do is copy and paste the chatbot widget code into your website source code.

That’s it! Your chatbot is ready to greet your customers.

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Conclusion 

A chatbot can do wonders for your lead generation efforts when you know what to do with it. The underlying idea is to make the visitor comfortable. This gives them an experience they will cherish, and hopefully keep them coming back to your website for more.

One of the best ways to ensure that your chatbot fulfills these criteria is to follow these best practices for chatbots mentioned in this informative Outgrow blog.

Now that we’ve discussed everything in detail, it’s time for you to create your own lead generation chatbot. So, sign up for Outgrow’s 7-day free trial and give their chatbot builder a try!

Author Bio

Abhinav Girdhar is a Founder and CEO of Appy Pie, has 12+ years of experience in technology and entrepreneurship. Abhinav has led Appy Pie’s global efforts for the last six years specializing in no-code technology. His areas of expertise are mobile apps, app trends, and innovations in AI and ML. His work has been published in leading publications like Forbes, Business World, The Next Web, and G2, among others.

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