The keys to growing small and medium businesses is efficiency and automation. Any businesses that can automate and increase their efficiency will quickly scale up.
No technological tool does this better than chatbots. Many small and medium businesses are implementing chatbots into their businesses but for those who have not, the question remains: how much do chatbots cost?
Chatbots from companies like Convertobot can typically range from $0 to $1,000 per month. However, the cost may be higher if you want your chatbot to perform many complex functions.
To better understand chatbot pricing, it would be better to get a general picture of how chatbots are priced and developed. You can get a free chatbot if you set it up yourself and only use it to respond to customer questions and inquiries.
The second category involves the purchase of chatbot software and setting it up yourself. The chatbot can interact with site visitors and generate leads.
The most expensive category of chatbots involve hiring a chatbot agency which can create the chatbot and do the maintenance. Such a chatbot can be used to perform customer care, perform sales funneling, generate leads and remarketing.
Factors Influencing Chatbot Pricing
Chatbot pricing is mainly dependent on your business goals. You need to clearly define what you want your site’s chatbot to do before you go asking for chatbot prices. Once you have established the purpose and functionality of your chatbot, you can proceed.
There are several options that small and medium businesses have when it comes to chatbots.
The first are customer service chatbots. As the name suggests, these are chatbots specifically designed to perform customer service. They typically include services, sitemaps and FAQs. They will usually function like a phone menu with more interesting features for example GIFs.
Website chatbots are another type of chatbot. They mainly provide user support and visitors with directions. All you need is a chatbot and a plug in for a website chatbot.
Scheduling chatbots do just that. They are chatbots that take care of your scheduling needs such as setting appointments and other administrative functions. Such a chatbot will free up time for you and your employees to do more creative tasks.
Transaction chatbots are bots meant to perform online business transactions. They perform functions such as invoicing, discounting, shipping and providing receipts among others.
There are also market centric chatbots specifically designed for lead generation. They usually prospect and capture leads through strategies like drip campaigns.
Categories of Chatbot Pricing
When it comes to chatbot pricing, there are really two main categories: in house chatbots or agency chatbots. The former is cheaper and less complicated than the latter.
With a good knowledge and experience of using computers, you can easily build a chatbot. In-house chatbots only require a chatbot builder. An in-house chat bot will typically cost you $50 to $500 a month. Works best if you have an in-house IT specialist.
For medium businesses that would like their chatbot to handle some complex functions, a chatbot agency is probably the best option. However, you should expect to pay between $50 and $5,000 a month depending on your needs.
