We’re all here because we think conversational marketing and chatbots are amazing, right?
I hope you agree with me when I say that it’s not the chatbot, the technical thing we’re building is amazing, but WHAT DO WE PUT IN IT? – the conversation.
And if you agree with that, let’s take it a step further, in order for what we put in the chatbot, the copy, to convert at a high level, we need to have a strong, successful strategy. A CHANGE of the other in the conversation, not of us and our business.
You’ve heard this quote before, I’m sure…
You will get everything you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want. Zig Ziglar
This is the essence of chatbot success with conversational marketing.
Unfortunately, most chatbot conversations go something like this:
- Greetings
- Ask an email
- Ask for SMS
- Sell
Due to the naturally high engagement of all instant messaging programs, these chatbots bring some success to the agencies and businesses that create them. However, there is much more you can do to improve that success, not to mention caring enough about the subscriber to get to know them before asking them to open their wallet.
So how do we create that ONE conversation that shows how we can help our customers create success? And then, how do we monetize and automate that conversation to continue to drive success for more customers and therefore our own business?
Here are the 7 stages of that ONE conversation you need to create, automate in a chatbot and monetize for success:
- Greetings
- ChitChat:
- A conversation
- Invitation
- Telling
- Agreement
- Transformation
These stages can be covered in just a few messages or a longer exchange. Either way, the goal is to get you thinking about what your prospect needs—the conversion—not just what your business needs—the $$$. Many of us in business already think this way and may even build our chatbots with this in mind, but most chatbots go straight to sales. We’ve all seen them yell at us to convert now before it’s too late and the cart closes in 3 seconds. 😱
Yes, all of our chatbot conversations are trying to convert our subscribers in one way or another, but let me ask you this….
If you don’t have a deeper conversation in your bot with your subscribers when it comes time to evaluate the data and repeat the flow, how are you going to do that if you just collected an email address and a phone number and asked your subscriber to buy? There’s nothing to repeat and retarget except sales, and the only way to do that is to keep hitting the subscriber with high-priced ads. Be in it for the long haul, think outside the box and talk.
So if you want to find the gold mine in ONE conversation you should have with your subscribers, be prepared to unlock each stage and see how you can build and/or edit your chatbot to mine that gold.
Let’s imagine you’re hosting a dinner party (or a backyard barbecue, if you’re casual like me).
What’s the first thing you do when people arrive at your door for a party or barbecue?
1. Hello
Okay, so this first step in your conversation with prospects is actually your lead generation subscription message.
Your invitation to the party. your lead magnet gets subscribers to exchange their email, sms, or bot subscription for entry into your world (or BBQ house), so welcome them when they show up.
If you look at those 7 steps, you’ll see that each step leads prospects deeper into knowing, liking, and trusting you and your brand.
This first step is “let’s shake hands” (or touch elbows in this new COVID era).
Let’s use an example quiz that leads to a webinar chatbot conversation.
The greeting can be similar.
hey [FIRST NAME], Thanks for joining me and welcome. I can’t wait to see your results on the XYZ quiz.
Mention why they were chosen, keep it short, simple and to the point and this greeting leads nicely into stage 2…
2. ChitChat
When you greet someone at your door, you don’t usually immediately dive into a deep conversation about the meaning of life, do you?
No, you start with basic conversations about the weather or the latest news and gossip, and you can offer them something to drink.
This is what this stage is. NOT gossip, but general, safe conversation and direction for what happens next.
So the chat for our quiz example might look like this:
Ok, before we get into the meat of our quiz, let me ask if you are new to this online business game? Y/N:
That’s great because we’ve covered this stuff from A to Z, so let’s get down to it, shall we?
Now we are a little more ready for the quiz, which is in its third round…
3. Conversation
This is the meat of your chatbot. Quiz in this case.
This is where you deepen your relationship with your prospects.
This is where you take a moment, ask questions, and lead the conversation.
The quiz should consist of 3 to 7 questions, so that will be where you continue the fuller conversation.
If you don’t take a quiz, this is the nurturing adventure you take your prospects on with your chatbot.
- FAQ:
- Webinar feed
- A lead magnet facilitates the conversion
- Ryan Levesque’s ASK Method survey
- Donation
- etc.
Having a deeper conversation in your chatbot will allow you to gather specific data about your subscribers, to better understand their pain points and desires, so that they are perfectly positioned to say YES. to the invitation you will extend to them next.
4. Invitation
If your subscriber is still engaging in these conversations, now is the time to invite them to learn more about your paid solution for their needs.
Indeed, this chatbot tool is designed to be an adventure for your subscribers.
Think of it this way…
You build the road and the car they drive to transform, but the customer decides where and at what speed to drive, or when to exit.
So I suggest you invite your subscriber to action and conversion. Invite, you ask? Yes! Ask them if you can share with them what you want them to do.
Here’s what it might look like from our sample quiz that goes to a webinar:
hey [FIRST NAME], congratulations on your XYZ quiz result! I bet that wasn’t a surprise, was it? So if you thought that was fun, I have more fun coming your way. You are ready: Y/N:
YAY! I am so glad you are willing to continue this journey with me. If you agree with your XYZ quiz result, you’ll love the short free tutorial I have for you where I share how to get an ABC allowance. Are you ready for more? Y/N:
Again, we build the road and the car like this, but we let the customer drive. We respect that they are in control of this adventure and we invite them to the next steps.
5. Say
Now we tell them what we do. We show how and why we have a solution for them.
In our example, this is the webinar we invited the subscriber to view. When the webinar is over, we bring them back to the chatbot conversation to provide them with testimonials, bonuses, and additional information that tells them how amazing our solution is for their needs. This can be your bot that tells subscribers how your products and services will meet the needs that subscribers share with you during the Conversation phase. something like
We’re so glad you’re looking for life coaching to help you increase productivity and balance in your life. This is our jam [FIRST NAME], and we do this with our XYZ Mastermind, private FB group, and live events to support you in achieving these goals. Here is Jane Doe and she will show you how our program changed her life. Are you ready to watch? Y/N:
This is the type of email/landing page/sales page that tells the story of your business in response to your subscribers’ needs, translated into chatbot copy. Of course, this is all designed to get subscribers to the final two rounds.
6. Agree
When we “say,” we can now ask if our subscribers agree with our recommendations. This is where we seek the subscriber’s agreement that our conversation with them, the adventure we provide, has reached the destination they want to reach with us.
something like
Well, I had to drink a lot of water after that workout and it was a blast, right? [FIRST NAME]? If you agree that this is the best solution you’ve seen, then I hope you’re ready to take action and join us. Ready to find out how? Y/N:
Now, you fill your chatbot with your webinar marketing push and help subscribers reach the final stage. They can now…
7. Convert
We’re ready for the latest CTAs, my friend! This step is very simple: CLICK BUY. Or maybe a JOIN button?
Really, what you’re trying to get the subscriber to do is make a decision and convert, whatever that conversion means for your business. And we can offer this decision to our subscribers as many times as needed.
- We can target this decision stream with FB ads
- We can make this stream live on FB with the comments tool, provided that the subscriber passes all the other stages, and the decision remains.
- We may send an SMS reminder that this decision is pending
- We can use any social channels and posts to redirect to this feed under the above conditions
- We may send sponsored messages that place subscribers in the decision flow
If we really took the subscriber on an adventure with our brand and bot, they have everything they need to convert. All we need to do is give them that nudge, either with timing or content or an offer that pushes them over the edge and gets them to the other side of the buy button.
So the next time you write a chatbot stream, try this. I know it sounds simple, and it is, but it’s not easy to create. You have to think about the prospect and their needs first, and the sale comes as a result of the short, interactive conversational adventure you create for them.
When you create these kinds of adventures and see the results you can get, real gold is ready to be mined… Iteration is a true chatbot gold mine for your business. And you’re not trying to spam your subscribers, so you’re less likely to get banned from FB if you decide to use that platform.
If you are ready to create such a precise flow with my help, Click here and see how we do it at Bot Academy. Then you can decide if we’re a good fit to work together to achieve your chatbot conversion goals.
Happy talking my friend.
Mary Catherine Johnson
ChatBotMom: