Running a business is hard.

That’s the understatement of the year, huh? But the truth is, in some ways, running a business is harder than ever. Customer expectations are higher than they’ve ever been, and with Facebook (now Meta), HomeAdvisor, Angie’s List, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Thumbnail, and the many other platforms out there that allow clients to find and communicate with your business, it can feel like you need to clone yourself a dozen times just to keep up with the messages and questions. And that doesn’t include the phone calls and contact forms coming in through your Google Business Profile (Formerly: GMB) and website. 

But it’s not like you can just leave every platform, turn off your phones, or ignore emails and messages until work calms down enough for you to get to them. Sure, a lot of service businesses do, but it’s a big mistake. That is because the customers and leads you ignore will never become clients — now or in the future. 

You may think, “I don’t need their business right now, anyway,” but you may not always be so busy. And if you don’t treat them right now, you can kiss those leads goodbye for good. Is there anything that can make client communication at least a little more manageable? 

Our suggestion is to give chatbots a try, and we have nine reasons to do just that.

But first: What is a chatbot? 

A chatbot is an AI program that simulates and processes human conversation. It allows humans to interact with digital devices as if they were communicating with a real person. The most important thing is that it’s programmed to work independently from a human operator. That means chatbots allow you to answer questions and engage with clients and leads, without actually stopping what you’re doing. 

Here are nine reasons to give chatbots a try for your business, plus how to get started:

#1 They don’t sleep.

Even if you hired someone to monitor your business’s website and Facebook messages, they wouldn’t be able to do so 24/7. And clients and prospective clients don’t only have questions and problems during business hours.

Keep in mind, they’re busy too, which means researching plumbing and drain cleaning businesses to hire likely happens after 5 p.m. and before 9 a.m.

When you use a chatbot on Facebook or on your website, you can be there to engage with those clients when they need you and answer their questions when they have them — even if it’s after hours.

#2 They can generate more conversations.

Not every potential client or lead will reach out when they have questions. Some people will visit your Facebook page or website, take a look around, and if they don’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll just leave rather than ask for help. 

But if you have chatbots set up, these little helpful heroes can nurture leads and initiate conversations that might not otherwise happen. Ultimately, the more conversations you can have with potential clients, the more likely you are to convert those potential clients into paying clients. 

#3 They can handle multiple conversations at once.

We all want answers and we want them yesterday. And if you think that’s only true for the young people of today, think about how often you skip ads when you’re on YouTube or how many times you’ve cursed while on hold.

Chatbots allow you to meet the expectations and demands of the modern customer in ways you otherwise couldn’t. Even the best multi-taskers can only focus on helping one person at a time, but a chatbot can handle many simultaneously. That means no wait time and no frustrating radio silence for clients and potential clients that reach out via chatbot. 

#4 They’re consistent.

The last couple of years have tested the patience of even the most saintly among us. Let’s face it: Even when everything’s going great, we still all experience bad moods and bad days. 

The trouble is, when you’re representing a business and interacting with clients and potential clients, those bad moods and bad days can easily impact clients and their perception of the business. It’s inevitable because we’re all human.

Chatbots aren’t human, which means they don’t have bad days, bad moods, bad colds, or bad manners. Your clients and potential clients get reliably friendly and helpful assistance every day, every time. 

#5 They can collect and analyze data.

Chatbots are programmed with information, which makes them helpful to customers. But they can also collect and analyze data so that you can learn from the conversations they’re having with your clients.

Not only can this data give you insights into the questions your clients are asking, the problems they’re having, and what they want and need from you, but it can also empower you to address those questions, problems, and needs head on in your content, in your sales conversations, and with your customer service representatives in training.   

Ultimately, you can use the data gathered by chatbots to make your business more attractive to leads and to improve your service offerings.

#6 They can help you personalize conversations with customers.

Chatbots can also use the data from conversations and interactions with customers to improve personalization. For example, they might make note of the specific preferences and past purchases of a specific client so that when they interact with that client in the future, the client is saved the time and frustration of having to explain and communicate those things again. It’s not like starting from scratch each and every time, which, for a client, can be really refreshing.

Not only that, but you can add that data to your systems and personalize your communication with those clients as well. 

#7 Chatbots are multilingual.

We live in a multicultural country, which means not every client you serve will speak impeccable English. But chatbots speak many languages, which means no matter what language your leads speak, they can get the help they need from your chatbot. 

#8 They can automate many processes.

Chatbots can be taught to assist with different things, and they can guide leads through different processes and make things automated and simple. Through a series of questions, something that might once have required you to get on the phone with a potential customer can now be done by a chatbot. 

Easy for your customers. Easy for you.  

#9 They can be deployed across many channels.

Chatbots aren’t only for your website. You can deploy a chatbot on Slack, Facebook Messenger, SMS, and more. You can give your clients and potential clients the personalized, fast answers and assistance they need, wherever they’re reaching out to you. 

It’s the best way of making yourself omnipresent, short of cloning yourself. And it’s certainly more affordable and less tricky to navigate ethically. 

How do you get started? We recommend starting with a chatbot on Facebook Messenger. This will give you a great intro and let you see how a chatbot really works. 

There are several options out there for setting up a chatbot on Facebook Messenger, but one of the easiest and most trusted options is ManyChat.

Good luck. Hopefully you’ll find that running a business with the aid of chatbots is just a little bit easier. We sure did.

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About the authors: Carter Harkins and Taylor Hill are the authors of Blue Collar Proud: 10 Principles for Building a Kickass Business You Love and the owners of Spark Marketer, a "no bull" digital marketing company that’s been getting sh*t done for home service businesses across the nation for a decade. They’re trusted thought leaders in the industries they serve, which is why you’ll find them regularly speaking at service industry trade shows and conferences and writing for trade magazines. Tired of empty promises and ready for focused digital marketing and balls-to-the-wall dedication that gets your business seen? Visit www.sparkmarketer.com.