In terms of helpful technologies for your business, chatbots are one of the best tools out there. Especially in the multifamily space, chatbots can help connect your team with people and drive leasing conversions like nothing else. Over the past few years, we’ve seen the real estate world absolutely become enamored with chatbots and their potential to drive better business outcomes. More property management teams than ever are leveraging the power of bot technology, and many more have questions about what a chatbot could do for their team. Today, we’re going to tackle some of the most common chatbot misconceptions to make sure we’re all on the same page about what chatbots can – and can’t do.
Common chatbot misconceptions
1. All chatbots are powered by AI
Bots come in a variety of flavors, and not all of them use artificial intelligence. In fact, most chatbots you’re likely to come across today don’t use AI at all, but are what we like to call, guided conversation bots. Take BetterBot for example; instead of using natural language processing (NLP) to interpret and respond to inquiries, our bot guides users through a scripted path, allowing people to get immediate responses to commonly asked questions and access resources like virtual apartment tours.
While there are some bots out there that are built within an AI framework, they’re often very complex and expensive to create and maintain (and oftentimes don’t work as they’re intended).
2. Bots take away human jobs
This common chatbot misconception gets it half right. Bots definitely affect human jobs, but instead of replacing them, they make those jobs easier to do. If you’re a part of a property management team, you know how difficult it can be to respond in a timely manner to the dozens of questions and requests you get each day. Instead of having to manually answer each of them, bots can take care of the vast majority of them, leaving you more time to focus on higher-value tasks like marketing your properties.
Instead of looking at chatbots as a threat, smart businesses see them as an opportunity.
3. Small businesses can’t take advantage of bot tech
If your team is on the smaller side, you may think that you don’t have the time or funds to tap into bot tech. The good news is, the ability to create a great chatbot has become much more democratized in the past few years. Now more than ever, it’s easy to utilize an affordable bot solution that’s uniquely tailored to your business’s needs.
4. Chatbots lack personality
No longer are bots dry, humorless software that lacks a personality. Nowadays, companies understand the importance of infusing their brand’s unique personality and communication style into their bot solution. That’s why you’ll see chatbots cracking jokes, offering helpful advice, and engaging with users in a friendly, conversational way.
The great thing about bots is, is that you can customize their ‘personality’ however you’d like. Think of your bot as an extension of your customer service team. You can program them to take and answer requests in whatever way you think will best reflect your brand.
5. Bots are too technically complicated for the average team
While your team may have a lot of initial questions when it comes to implementing a chatbot solution for the first time, there are a variety of easy-to-follow resources to help you understand what your bot does and how it should be integrated into your customer experience strategy.
Any property team can benefit from a great chatbot. At BetterBot, 97% of property management teams that use our bot keep our bot!
6. All bots do is customer service
A great bot is like a blank slate. You can use it for a variety of functions – not just for resolving customer service requests. For example, if you want to level up your digital marketing strategy, bots can be a great conversational marketing tool. Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment!
7. People don’t like talking to bots
Here it is – one of the biggest chatbot misconceptions ever. Consumer’s wants and needs are changing, and not many people want to spend time calling and emailing customer service reps. People crave simplicity, and chatbots provide that. Instead of having to go back and forth with a real person, bots can get people the resources and answers they need at a fraction of the time, whenever they want. A chatbot is the 24/7, 365 customer service team member you never knew you needed.
