Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Why Bots Fail (Part 3 of 5)

Today, we reach the half way point on this series on why bots fail.

[5] Place an email address in the welcome message.

Last time, I had hinted that the more professional you present yourself to your customers via the bot experience, the better your bot will do.  Having an email address is just another step towards that end.

Before you start thinking the worst, that you’ll suddenly get hundreds of spam messages or dozens of complaints in your mail email address, note that the address you supply does not have to be your primary email address.  You can simply create a free address using one of the dozens of free email providers and supply that address. 

My experience has been positive.  Yes, I’ve had a few customers complain about the bot ripping them off but all in all, I’m sure I had completed more sales because I had a contact email and I know in one case where the customer had a legitimate complaint, I was able to resolve the issue and I’m sure the customer was glad to know that a person was able to deal with their situation.

[6] Have a website dedicated to the bot.

This expands on the previous tip.  By having a website, your bot looks more professional.

Again, before you start thinking the worst that somehow you have to constantly create and maintain a website, realize that even a static website is sufficient for the bot.  You also do not need to shell out a lot of money for a website.  Even a single page website would be sufficient and there are plenty of companies which offer free websites.

You can use the site to advertise upcoming sales, more detail than what can be placed in a few lines of the trading window and make any announcements you wish to make.  Again, it does not sound like much, but every little bit helps.

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