Best Practices For Asking For Personal Information on the Chat/Chatbot
SOLVE
Hi everyone,
Hope you all are having a great day!
Right now, our chat asks for someone's first name, last name and email address, and records that contact information within their profile. I wanted to check to see if anyone had a list of best practices for setting up chat and asking for personal information.
Also, does anyone have any metrics on how many chatters provide their personal information upfront? And which personal information is more likely to be provided than others?
Best Practices For Asking For Personal Information on the Chat/Chatbot
SOLVE
Hey @sam_sottosanto, thanks for reaching out! This is a great question.
I think that it partially depends on what information you're asking from them and what you're giving them in return (similar to how a form would function).
If the process of going through your chatbot is pretty much identical to filling out a form, you probably won't see the greatest response unless you're offering a ton of immediate value.
Here are some pro tips for capturing additional data though:
Be upfront about the information you're going to capture and how it will be used — an initial message like "Thanks for your interest! We need 5 quick pieces of information from you in order to get you in touch with the right person" can help set the tone and give the user a sense for what you'll be asking of them
Show the value in providing additional information — if you want to grab more specific data (i.e., product/service of interest, timeline, company info), you can ask for it with the promise of an expedited response. "If you're able to share some additional information, our service team will be able to get back to you quicker/generate your proposal quicker/etc.")
Leverage branching logic/page-optimized chatbots — different chatbot branches and website pages could warrant different data capture. If you know someone is engaging with the chatbot on a specific product page, start asking questions relative to that product! You can eliminate initial routing questions and collect more specific information while keeping the same number of questions. You can also request different information depending on the branch (i.e., keeping it light for someone who says they have a general question but making it heavier for someone who wants to request a quote)
Allow for self-service options — consider adding some self-service branches within the chatbot that share relevant info, pages, and content. If you can provide the user with what they're looking for without needing to share their info and wait for a response, they'll be more likely to reach out directly when they're ready to do so (potentially from the assets that you share)
Put yourself in the user's shoes — always think about the type of experience that your user will have. Is it easy to provide information? Does it seem worth it? Is it clear why they need to engage with the chatbot and what they'll get out of it? Is the information you're capturing absolutely essential in order to initially qualify the lead?
Best Practices For Asking For Personal Information on the Chat/Chatbot
SOLVE
Hey @sam_sottosanto, thanks for reaching out! This is a great question.
I think that it partially depends on what information you're asking from them and what you're giving them in return (similar to how a form would function).
If the process of going through your chatbot is pretty much identical to filling out a form, you probably won't see the greatest response unless you're offering a ton of immediate value.
Here are some pro tips for capturing additional data though:
Be upfront about the information you're going to capture and how it will be used — an initial message like "Thanks for your interest! We need 5 quick pieces of information from you in order to get you in touch with the right person" can help set the tone and give the user a sense for what you'll be asking of them
Show the value in providing additional information — if you want to grab more specific data (i.e., product/service of interest, timeline, company info), you can ask for it with the promise of an expedited response. "If you're able to share some additional information, our service team will be able to get back to you quicker/generate your proposal quicker/etc.")
Leverage branching logic/page-optimized chatbots — different chatbot branches and website pages could warrant different data capture. If you know someone is engaging with the chatbot on a specific product page, start asking questions relative to that product! You can eliminate initial routing questions and collect more specific information while keeping the same number of questions. You can also request different information depending on the branch (i.e., keeping it light for someone who says they have a general question but making it heavier for someone who wants to request a quote)
Allow for self-service options — consider adding some self-service branches within the chatbot that share relevant info, pages, and content. If you can provide the user with what they're looking for without needing to share their info and wait for a response, they'll be more likely to reach out directly when they're ready to do so (potentially from the assets that you share)
Put yourself in the user's shoes — always think about the type of experience that your user will have. Is it easy to provide information? Does it seem worth it? Is it clear why they need to engage with the chatbot and what they'll get out of it? Is the information you're capturing absolutely essential in order to initially qualify the lead?