According to a study by Infobip, one in four people have already used chatbots for customer service in banking apps, stores, or e-commerce. Of these, 69% stated that their experience was excellent or very good.

In other words, customer service bots have become popular with customers, as well as with companies, who have realized benefits such as cost reduction, increased service speed, and higher customer satisfaction.

As a result, organizations of all sizes and from various sectors are turning to the market in search of bot providers.

However, this search is not easy, given the number of companies specializing in the development of customer service bots, each with a different pricing model.

For example, if a provider claims a high retention rate, you need to evaluate whether it is actually a case of false retention. In other words, it may be that the user is getting tired of the bot’s incorrect responses and, in fact, is abandoning the conversation, switching to another channel, and resolving the issue with a human agent. Thus, false retention leads to double payments: (a) for the bot with false retention; (b) for the agent who actually resolves the user’s problem.

Read more: Customer service bots: What is the ideal outsourcing business model?

In the article above, we discussed the main business models and emphasized that payment per resolved service is, perhaps, the option that offers the best cost-benefit for companies when hiring an outsourced bot.

Payment for services completed without a callback within 24 hours, on any channel, is a model that encourages good resolution, i.e., it “motivates” the bot provider to continuously improve their service delivery.

But how do you account for when:

– One bot provider promises an NPS of 50% and another promises 20%?

– One provider promises 80% retention and another promises 50%?

– One provider promises delivery in 6 months and another in 12?

The answer is simple: ask for proof of these claims. And more, ask the provider to send, if possible, success stories from some of their clients.

Some companies may offer aggressive pricing for resolved service, but not all guarantee high resolution rates or a high NPS…

Tip: A bot provider with a high NPS, for example, is likely a good provider because this score is given by the end-users of the customer service bot.

To make the best decision, you need to do a more detailed and thorough analysis to avoid falling into traps.

Therefore, the answer to our title’s question is no! Comparing the unit price for resolved service is not enough.

When it comes to the delivery time of the bot, it is ideal for the provider to show success stories from their clients, i.e., projects where the bot development had a reduced time to market.

And of course, it’s not enough to evaluate only the delivery time, but also the quality of the final product. Was the bot delivered ready for launch? Was the bot delivered without flaws? In the first few months, what was the customer’s experience with the bot?

Behind a serious project, there is always a supporting business case. Perhaps the best way to gain confidence that the business case will be respected is to conduct a relevant, limited pilot lasting 30 days with the best-qualified provider from the RFP of the bot… If expectations are not met, then simply call the second-best provider after the 30-day chance with the first one…

To learn more about conversational bots and success stories from BlueLab, send an email to [email protected] or call (21) 99661-4800 to verify these numbers and find out more about our chatbot.

Thank you for reading. See you next time!

Also read: Customer service bots: How to coexist and collaborate with human agents?