Use Chatbots to Improve Conversion Rates for Local Customers

Do you want to connect with your local audience and grow your business in your area? Do you want to offer personalized and relevant services to your local customers and prospects? Do you want to stand out from your competitors and build trust and loyalty with your local market?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need a chatbot.

Chatbots, automated conversational tools that interact with your customers via text, can boost your customer service, sales, and brand image. They can also connect with your local audience, which often carries more trust and is more likely to recommend your business than non-local ones. Local customers usually have unique needs, preferences, and expectations that your chatbot can address specifically.

This article will guide small business owners on leveraging a chatbot to engage their local audience. Read on!

Table of Contents

• Target and Segment Your Local Audience with Geolocation
• Use Local Keywords and Phrases to Optimize for Local Search
• Use Social Media Platforms and Channels
• Use Chatbot Contests and Giveaways 
• Use Chatbot Referrals and Loyalty Programs
• Use Chatbot Stories and Testimonials
• Conclusion

Target and Segment Your Local Audience with Geolocation

A crucial first step in connecting with your local audience involves identifying and segmenting them according to their geographic location. Utilize geolocation features to gather data on the locations of your website or messenger visitors. Tools such as Google Maps API or IP Geolocation API can provide details like the city, state, or country of your visitors, which you can then use to personalize your chatbot's messages and offers.

Want to build the best bot possible? You can completely customize your chatbot's language, script, and features with TruVISIBILITY's Chat application. Add surveys, answer common questions, help customers pay for products through the chatbot - there are endless possibilities! And you can build this entirely customized chatbot for free. Deploy it for free, and use it - for free! Chat also can help you target local audiences. Check it out today.

Have your chatbot greet visitors using local vocabulary, like "Hello, fellow New Yorker!" or "Bonjour, Parisien!" Such greetings render your chatbot more approachable and relatable to your local audience. Additionally, your chatbot can display local deals, events, or news relevant to your customers' locations.

Imagine how impressed your visitors would be if they saw such a message:

"Hi there! Welcome to our website. We are so glad you are here. Did you know that we have a special offer for our Chicago customers? For a limited time only, you can get 20% off on any of our products. Just use the code CHICAGO20 at checkout. Don't miss this opportunity!"

Use Local Keywords and Phrases to Optimize for Local Search

By incorporating local keywords and phrases that your audience uses to search for your products or services, you can make your chatbot more relevant and accessible. Researching popular and pertinent keywords in your local market allows you to craft chatbot content that aligns with your local audience's search intent and queries.

Let's say your chatbot could answer frequent questions from your local audience, such as "Where is your store located?" or "What are your opening hours?" This makes your chatbot more responsive and informative. Let it provide directions, maps, or contact details of your local store or office.

Impress your visitors with something like this:

"Hi there! Thanks for visiting our website. We are happy to answer any questions you may have. Are you looking for our store location? No problem! We are located at 123 Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90001. Here is a map to help you find us. You can also call us at (213) 555-1234 or email us at info@ourwebsite.com. We are open from Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. We hope to see you soon!"

Use Social Media Platforms and Channels

Utilize apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp Business, or Telegram to deploy chatbots, enabling interaction with your customers and prospects on their preferred platforms.

Let your chatbot send personalized, timely messages to your local audience on Facebook Messenger, such as birthday greetings, product suggestions, or discount codes, making it more engaging and persuasive. Additionally, your chatbot could provide customer service and support to your local audience on WhatsApp Business and Telegram, offering services like order confirmation, delivery status updates, or feedback requests.

Make your customers feel appreciated and valued:

"Hi there! Happy birthday! We hope you have a wonderful day. To celebrate your special day, we have a surprise for you. We have a gift card for you worth $50 that you can use on any of our products. Just use the code BDAY50 at checkout. This offer is valid for today only. Don't miss this chance!"

The example below is from Vanity Table's Facebook Messenger, giving a tempting offer on some of their products.

Use Chatbot Contests and Giveaways

Chatbots can be used to manage these contests and giveaways, where visitors perform specific actions or tasks for a chance to win valuable or desirable prizes. Chatbots can efficiently handle entry collection, eligibility verification, winner announcements, and reward delivery.

Use a chatbot to host a photo contest, asking your local audience to share images of them using your product or service in their area. This not only makes your chatbot more entertaining and interactive for your local audience but also generates user-generated content and social proof for your business. A chatbot can display entries, collect votes, and notify winners, making it an integral part of the contest management.

Encourage your customers this way:

"Hi there! Do you love our product or service? Do you want to win a gift from us? Then join our photo contest! All you have to do is take a picture of yourself using our product or service in your area and share it with us. The picture with the most votes will win a gift basket worth $100. The contest ends on Friday, so hurry up and enter now!"

Use Chatbot Referrals and Loyalty Programs

Referral and loyalty programs incentivize your local audience to recommend your business to their network or to become repeat customers. Chatbots can be instrumental in tracking referrals, managing reward points, redeeming offers, and sending reminders.

Use a chatbot to establish a referral program that provides your local audience with a discount code for every new customer they refer. This makes your chatbot more rewarding and motivating and generates word-of-mouth marketing and new leads for your business. The chatbot can send the code, verify the referral, and apply the discount, making it an essential part of your referral program.

Let your chatbot greet customers like this:

"Hi there! Thank you for being our loyal customer. We appreciate your support. Do you know anyone who might be interested in our product or service? If so, why not refer them to us? For every new customer you refer, you will get a 10% off coupon that you can use on your next purchase. Just share this link with them and ask them to enter your name at checkout. It's that easy!"

Use Chatbot Stories and Testimonials

Yet another strategy to connect with your local audience involves creating and sharing stories and testimonials that highlight the success and satisfaction of your local customers. Chatbots can be utilized to gather stories, reviews, ratings, or feedback from your local clientele. They can also be employed to showcase these stories, testimonials, and social proof on your website or social media platforms.

Use a chatbot to craft a story featuring a local customer who achieved their goals or resolved their issues using your product or service. This makes your chatbot more inspiring and persuasive, plus fosters trust and credibility for your business. The chatbot can then share this story on your website or social media platforms, effectively disseminating the positive narrative.

Conclusion

Chatbots are powerful tools that can enhance your connection with your local audience in many ways. They can target and segment your local audience based on location, fine-tune your chatbot for local search, increase your chatbot across social media platforms and channels, manage contests and giveaways, develop referral and loyalty programs, and display stories and testimonials. Leveraging chatbots to engage with your local audience can significantly boost your brand visibility, customer loyalty, and sales within your local market.

If you want to create and deploy your own chatbot for your local audience, use our TruVISIBILITY Chat application. It allows you to assemble chatbots of any complexity without a single line of code — even AI-driven ones! And completely free of cost!