April 6, 2023

Integrations between chatbots and CRMs: why should you combine both tools?

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It is not news that a CRM is one of the most complete tools for managing important information from customers and leads.

In addition to allowing contact data registration, the platform combines the best in terms of data analysis and automation of routine tasks for salespeople and marketing professionals.

What if this powerful platform joined forces with another tool to significantly increase sales volume?

Because the integration between CRM and chatbots is already a reality in the business world.

Software that allows communication between people and systems through IA can be a great ally for your company when used correctly.

Do you want to know how the integration between the two tools works? Keep reading the article and find out!

What is a CRM?

Collecting, traversing, and storing data are some of the software functionalities related to the data collection software: CRM –Customer Relationship Management

The tool is a benchmark when it comes to managing a large volume of company contact data, allowing personalized actions based on the leads segmentation.

In addition, the software makes it possible to optimize the activities carried out by marketing and sales professionals, such as sending emails, and cadences, and creating automated flows for different purposes.

For sales professionals, this tool is essential, as it allows greater control of sales and leads, as well as providing quick access to customer and prospect data, which makes interactions more assertive.

Data collection is an important function of the tool, as it allows for the analysis of essential business metrics.

In addition to allowing the creation of strategies for different profiles, it is also possible to understand which actions are not giving the expected result and, based on this, adjust them when necessary.

Benefits of integrating chatbot and CRM

Especially when dealing with a large potential customer base, the challenge of reaching out to these contacts becomes even greater.

In this sense, the integration of the CRM with a chatbot allows personalized action, further improving the results.

As automated as a CRM is, it still relies on the human factor in some way, such as data analysis and planning the actions to be carried out.

In addition, the interaction is also a factor of attention, since the communication is usually carried out with a large base of contacts, which ends up having an impact on the personalization of the messages.

Obviously, only reaching out to these contacts is not an option, which brings us to the topic that brought us here.

With chatbots, the level of customization is high, and it can still be done at scale. Look at other benefits:

Higher qualification of the database.

More and more forms have been replaced by more intuitive ways to capture lead data.

The chatbot is one of these alternatives, which allows companies to collect contact information from conversations in exchange for some enriched material, for example.

The integration allows the data to be collected and stored immediately in the CRM, facilitating the use of this information for possible actions with the contact base.

Data capture on social networks and other platforms

With a growing audience, social networks have become the preferred place for consumers to buy and access information from different types of companies.

However, it does not make sense to create specific actions for these channels if there is no real-time data capture.

After all, nobody likes being transferred to another page and still having to enter their details in exchange for some material, right?

Chatbots allow just the opposite: capture data in the source tool, from automated conversations.

The result is a significant increase in audience engagement, allowing for more streamlined and direct interactions.

Streamlines the interaction between companies and consumers.

Waiting a long time for an answer is not pleasant, especially if the client needs to solve a problem or has an urgent question.

Once again, a human assistant may not be able to handle the volume of demands that arise on a daily basis.

A chatbot, on the other hand, can answer many types of questions quickly and automatically, which increases customer satisfaction with the company.

Related article: 5 Benefits of Using Chatbots for Customer Experience

How can the integration of chatbot and CRM bring more results?

According to a Gartner survey, by 2024, smart products will generate 100 million customer service requests.

This means that the use of autoresponder technology will be increasingly used by businesses.

In this sense, both parties win, since the client will have a more efficient customer service and the companies will gain in productivity and will be more profitable.

But what does this have to do with integrating with a CRM?

In practice, this means a personalized level of communication, ensuring the effectiveness of the actions carried out for a specific target audience.

In addition to a more personalized service, this integration can also reduce costs, reducing investment in human resources and increasing team productivity.

When it comes to driving sales, a personalized message will certainly be a differentiator for people who are looking for a specific solution to solve a certain problem.

From prospecting to selling: how to build a chatbot

Once the chatbot has been integrated with the CRM, it is time to create the right strategy to improve your sales strategy with the help of this feature.

The good news is that there are several options for chatbots, and you just need to choose which one best suits your business goals.

Consult the structure that we set up for you to create your chatbot and improve the sales results of your company.

Related article: Best practices for setting up a chatbot with conversational AI

Set a goal for the bot

The best way to think about a goal for a chatbot is to understand what user problem you are trying to solve.

It is important to remember that this functionality does not replace human interactions, so it is essential to think about actions that intersperse the two modalities.

Currently, there are two types of chatbots: informational and practical. while the former has the function of reporting, the latter is used specifically for interactions.

Appointment booking and online shopping are some examples that can be used.

Choose in which messaging applications the chatbot will be available

While some consumers prefer to be served directly through WhatsApp, others faithfully use Instagram to search for products and shop online.

In this case, it's important to understand which platform your ideal customer is on, understanding that communication doesn't always have to happen across all messaging channels.

The most important thing, though, is to create a unique identity for your bot, regardless of the app it's in.

Remember that the consumer needs to feel confident in your business, and this will only happen if the communication is consistent with the brand.

Choose the platform to create the chatbot

Although the market offers numerous platforms for creating chatbots, it is essential to do a thorough research.

That's because there are options for all tastes and with different levels of complexity: from the most robust to the simplest.

If you are a professional who wants to activate the chatbot strategy in a simple way, choosing tools that do not require programming is the best alternative.

Another fundamental point is to make sure that the platform operates in the communication channels in which your audience is present.

And if data analysis is an important factor for you, remember to check if the tool offers reports and graphs with the performance of the flows created.

This will allow you to understand what actions are generating the expected result and what needs to be reviewed.

Think of a personality for the bot.

It is very likely that you have already come across several assistants created especially to attend automatically.

But anyone who thinks that just choosing a name is enough to bring the bot to life is wrong. To carry out good interactions, it needs to reflect the personality of your brand: from the image chosen for the profile to the tone of voice.

It is important to note that a user can come from different channels, and it is exactly this consistency that generates the perfect engagement with your brand.

As much as some companies choose a more informal tone to communicate, it is necessary to understand if your persona would like to be treated that way.

The truth is that there is no pre-established formula, the key is to maintain consistency in all the channels that the company uses, creating a healthy and lasting relationship with customers.

Create the flow for the chatbot

The way to put your chatbot live will depend on the tool used. In general, the structure follows the same on the main platforms, requiring predefined options with conversation models to choose from.

Typically, a series of questions is created that will depend on the user's input criteria. Thus, the response will arrive according to the initial interaction.

A positive point is that most chatbots provide elements to make the conversation more fluid, such as buttons, cards or images.

In addition, it is essential to pay attention to the terms chosen to compose the interaction. This means that you should go for commonly used words in people's routine for better natural language processing.

Test and spread the chatbot

No matter how great the desire to share a new project with the world, testing it beforehand can prevent mistakes and rework.

A good way to do this is to promote your bot to an internal audience, which could be your team.

In addition to checking for bottlenecks, this process will check the usability of the chatbot, understanding what can be improved or if there are gaps in communication.

Once you've tried it out, it's time to go public by adding it to chatbot directories and catalogues, creating dedicated landing pages for the action, and adding buttons to your email.

Conclusion

After understanding how to unite the two tools to sell more, how about finding the CRM that will put into practice all the integration we have seen so far?

Ploomes is software created to make business processes more efficient, allowing you to create an automatic flow of information so that all your work is centralized on a single platform, eliminating the decentralization of data, files, and activities.

The platform also allows for integration with software your business already uses, including systems for building chatbots.

Meet Ploomes!

Are you looking for new ways to improve your CX?

Our customer service solutions powered by conversational AI can help you deliver an efficient, 24/7 experience  to your customers. Get in touch with one of our specialists to further discuss how they can help your business.