There has been a lot of talk recently about “chat bots” and how they will impact B2B and B2C sales in the near future. A “chat bot” is a computer program designed to simulate conversation with humans. Siri, the personal assistant from Apple, and Alexa from Amazon are early versions of chat bots. Soon you will be able to ask questions such as, “What’s the weather where I am?” while on Facebook, or even better, speak with a chat bot that is similar to live chat on a company’s website.
One challenge for chat bot content developers is programming the chat bot with the common questions and answers that are being asked. This isn’t just a challenge for chat bot developers; it’s a challenge for any company that needs to communicate the answers to questions from their prospects and clients. LeadG2 recommends that clients keep a running catalogue of the questions they receive and answers they give. Here’s why:
Think about it for a minute… How many questions per week are emailed to your sales and marketing team from clients and prospects?
How many hours does your sales and marketing team spend developing responses and researching these questions? How long does it take for your team to respond? How much time do you spend answering repetitive questions?
For most companies, creating responses and communicating them to clients and prospects takes a lot of time each day, each week, and each month. If your company has several individuals crafting new responses each time a question is asked, the chances of maintaining consistency across various team members is slim. What’s the solution?
If you are going to write a response to a commonly-asked question, we recommend that you maintain a database of questions and answers. This database can be a Google doc or as sophisticated as an internal Wiki where you catalogue all of this information online. Another solution, which is what we recommend to clients using the HubSpot CRM, is to use the “templates” area of the CRM to store the answers to commonly asked questions. The benefits of maintaining this question and answer database are: saving time and effort in gathering information, maintaining consistent messaging, and providing timely responses to these important questions.
Creating a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page is another way you can use this information. Put these questions and answers on a web page (or two or three) and allow prospects and clients to search or browse the FAQ. However, if a client or prospect requests information that is sensitive, do not post this information on your website. All information on your website should be considered public information.
Another way to leverage your company’s answers to commonly asked questions is to write and publish blog posts containing the responses. Writing blog posts about the most commonly asked questions your clients and prospects have does more than just provide some great information to those looking for it. It can also provide your blog and website with some great SEO content that makes it valuable for those with similar questions.
Answering commonly-asked questions takes a lot of time and energy from your sales and marketing team. If you follow our recommendations and leverage this knowledge by writing blog posts, creating a FAQ section, and/or setting up templates in your CRM, you are sure to save time and be seen as a thought leader by clients and prospects alike.