I recently viewed an ad from someone looking to promote a workshop on chatbots and how they are going to be an email marketing killer. I signed up because I wanted to see how this person was using chatbots.
First, I needed to provide my email address to sign up for the workshop. That shows you that email marketing is still powerful. Next, I started to receive a lot of bot messages and at times, I felt like it was interrupting my day. I needed to keep going back to Facebook Messenger to interact with the bot.
For me, I do not think that chatbots are ready for prime time. Messenger is really meant for friends and family and at times, to speak with businesses, if you initiate a conversation. What I experienced was different. I received messages every couple of days.
You can use a chatbot on your site or on your Facebook Business Page to help answer FAQs, but I would hold off on using it to nurture prospects until it is ready for prime time. I have been using ChatFuel for a while and also know Larry Kim, CEO of MobileMonkey, through my work at iContact. You should check them out!
Email Marketing is still the best channel for marketing.
iContact discount code: HMBT for $30 off
Book: The ABCs of the Customer Journey: A Beginner’s Guide to Automation, Branding, and Customer Service
[youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ch47rWyxO4[/youtube]
*Edited to include MobileMonkey
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