First mover advantage during the pandemic
First mover advantage during the pandemic
Here we discuss how you can gain the first-mover advantage during the pandemic by building a chatbot before your competitors.
The term “the new normal” has seen a lot of searches on google and has instilled the idea to revamp several companies’ selling approach.
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While taking precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus, we have been forced to drift away from our usual routine.
Going to catch a new movie before everyone else, picking your next holiday destination, or going door-door in search of your new home. All of this was pre-COVID. Since then, a lot has changed.
The inability to perform the usual activities regularly has left millions of people disheartened.
And this is where a few companies saw the opportunity to make something out of it. They embarked on the journey of innovation, which was three-fold:
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To get their business to adjust to the “new normal”, increase the retention rate of its customers, and to attract an ocean of customers to try their product.
Eg: NoBroker launched video walkthroughs in April and soon noticed a spike in interest from owners, tenants. Thus, gaining the first-mover advantage during the pandemic.
Wondering how you can gain a competitive-edge too?
You can easily achieve the first-mover advantage, by building a bot before everyone else does.
By deploying a bot, you can tick all the boxes for innovation during the pandemic, as mentioned above. And reap the benefits of the same for the future too.
Let’s discuss this in detail.
From bricks to clicks
More than 50% of consumers have ordered products online that they would normally purchase at the store.
The fear of catching the virus and maintaining the social distancing guidelines has made people hesitant to step out of their homes.
Hence, a lot of people are inching toward online platforms. Where they can perform various activities, with one tap, while sitting at home.
A theory on Mckinsey suggests how people would still opt for online channels even after the pandemic. As this is also a climb towards digitization, which is massive.
The COVID-19 world would require every business to spread its wings and fly towards adopting a digital approach as well.
But, the product/service must be an impactful and effective alternative for the customers.
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First-mover advantage during the pandemic to the rescue
It is important to note that the first-mover advantage refers to the first significant company to move into a market, not merely the first company.
Here are a few of the advantages of the same:
- Can build a reputation in the marketplace.
- Tap into the consumers first, which can lead to brand recognition and brand loyalty.
- Discourage potential new entrants from entering into your sector with a similar idea.
So, a company pivoting to an online platform or introducing an idea to combat the challenges due to COVID-19 must make a tangible difference.
Like how an Indian company Practo started conducting COVID-19 tests at home, or how a virtual events platform called 6Connex has excelled at conducting virtual conferences and events.
By making a concrete difference and being the early adopters they are the exact examples of gaining the first-mover advantage during the pandemic.
But guess what? You can make a substantial difference too and gain the first-mover advantage within your own niche.
Build a bot before everyone else does
Like we discussed earlier, to get a competitive advantage, you must introduce something tangible.
An innovation that opens up an umbrella of features, something that is very easy to set-up and you can scale mountains with.
I’m talking about building a bot, before everyone else. Using a chatbot increases loyalty, and attracts the attention of technology-loving customers.
Instead of focussing on launching only one innovation that’ll help you during the pandemic, it makes more sense to invest in a project that’ll be a one-stop platform to house a variety of features/innovations and will not lose its purpose post-pandemic.
And since chatbots are known for their multi-purpose specialty, you can use it to achieve a lot of your goals or tasks in one go.
Moreover, you can tap into the segment that none of your competitors have explored so far.
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The need to invest in one, now more than ever
- With the move towards digitization, it’s important to be present on platforms that your customers use more and optimize those channels. Like, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, etc. Chatbots are here to help you with just that.
- You can perform industry-specific activities on the bot. Example: perform document collection, qualify prospects, send timely alerts, etc. if you’re in the banking space. The idea is to reduce the number of face-to-face touchpoints.
- Chatbots’ functionality of being available 24/7 will help reduce the huge influx of support queries that companies are receiving since the pandemic.
- Investing and building a friendly chatbot now will help you engage with your site visitors and increase the conversion rate. Thus, see an increase in your revenue generation, and a decrease in losses.
- Increase the NPS, CSAT scores by equipping the bot to help and assist the customers, which will in turn enhance the resolution rate and leave everyone happy and relaxed.
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One of the biggest plus points of incorporating a chatbot is the rise of ‘Self-service touchless technologies’ (SSTT).
They have become more relevant, given the pandemic. As these interfaces allow customers to complete a task on their own, without taking assistance from the company representatives which usually takes up a lot of time.
This increases speed, accuracy, and makes it super convenient for the customers and the company.
Chatbots are one such example. They help minimize the number of unnecessary touchpoints and give the customers the satisfaction of resolving a query/complete an action in minutes.
Thus, through a chatbot, you can continue your business, maintain the social distancing norms, and gain a first-mover advantage during the pandemic.
How can I build a bot to gain a first-mover advantage during the pandemic
While the idea of chatbots has been constant for the longest time, the set of tasks that you can perform with it has always been on the rise.
And even now, there are plenty of use cases that you can leverage the bot for. You’ll need help from a third-party provider like us to dig deeper and understand the need.
And we’ll help you out with the innovations that you can take up within the bot, how you can scale and get a competitive advantage.
Suggested Reading: Build A Bot
