It might be challenging to automate the communication when you have a strong connection with your customers. Especially when your business isn’t all about money, you have engaged customers who know the people are standing behind the company. In this case, the customers often buy not only because of the products but to support people with the same values.

It seems that you’ll lose everything you’ve been building if a chatbot does all your work, especially when your primary channel is social media.

But TheCultt’s co-owners disproved it: in three months, they increased sales, decreased response time by 2 hours, and raised customers’ loyalty. So here we’ll show you how it’s possible and what features to implement in your business.

## TheCultt: a resale platform for sellers and customers

TheCultt is a resale platform. It helps buy premium secondhand accessories from luxury brands such as Celine, Gucci, and Fendi and niche brands like Danse Lente, Yuzefi, and Wandler. The brand owners stand for reuse and support sustainable consumption, but select only valuable accessories which are still fashionable.

Brand’s clients are divided into two groups:

-   sellers who shape the brand’s collection;
-   customers who come for an excellent consuming experience.

> “That’s why it’s equally important to accommodate the interests and requests of both client categories. Thought-of client service helps to reach this goal. And in our opinion, it’s directly connected with automation and fast request handling. A user has written to us and showed the interest — we aim to save and multiply this interest” — says co-owner Anna Avtaykina.

## Routine took all time for creation and development

TheCultt is a small and enthusiastic team, so they had two main problems:

1.  Communication with clients took too much time;
2.  They had no resources to launch new activities but a lot of great ideas that could bring more leads.

> “We have a well-developed Instagram account (35k+ followers) and mainly communicate with clients in DM. It takes a lot of resources, so we’ve been searching for possible growth points and discovered automation. Chatfuel offers many marketing solutions and allows testing the hypotheses even with a limited budget” — says co-owner Anna Avtaykina.

## Welcome Messages and Autoreplies decreased response time and increased loyalty

However, the brand owners were afraid to lose a personal touch in every message, so they decided to try it. We offered two solutions for routine automation:

-   **Welcome Message.** The team created a welcome message using a ready-made template with the company’s story. So, the customers didn’t have time to lose interest while waiting for a long answer.
-   **Comments Autoreplies.** TheCultt set up answers for comments about price, availability, and goods condition.

This is what client service manager Yana Kurapova says about the automation:

> “That’s great that I can build a chatbot, so it sends a message that it’s our work-off time, and we’ll respond later. It helps our customers to know that we’re having a day-off, not ignoring them. It increases our customers’ loyalty and is seen in sellers’ and customers’ feedback.
>
> Our clients ask the same questions every day: “How to make an order?”, “How to sell my bag?”. And a chatbot made my life easier — our response time decreased by 2 hours. It helped to increase loyalty and concentrate on more complicated tasks.”

The company automated all routines and decided to test something engaging and unique to generate more leads and purchases.

## It’s time to check the first creative and engaging solution

The team launched a game in their Stories to engage the customers and encourage them for new purchases. First, they made a video of two bags: one of them was original, the second one was fake. And users were to identify the original bag and leave a comment below. After the answer they received a promo code for the next purchase.

By this, the brand’s owners tested their hypothesis that their keen on fashion audience is always interested in demonstrating their knowledge.

<figure><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_resale_platform_story_0_bedc3f9a05/original_resale_platform_story_0_bedc3f9a05.webp" loading="lazy" alt="" height="1624" width="1532" blurdataurl="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAAECAIAAAAmkwkpAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAPUlEQVR4nGP49vXL92+/Xr18CSQZnj1/cfTI+Tt37u/fe5JBTJg3LztJTUWhtqKAQV/fICkx3tHRMS83CwCcMBxLZozYowAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_resale_platform_story_0_bedc3f9a05/xs_resale_platform_story_0_bedc3f9a05.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_resale_platform_story_0_bedc3f9a05/sm_resale_platform_story_0_bedc3f9a05.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_resale_platform_story_0_bedc3f9a05/md_resale_platform_story_0_bedc3f9a05.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_resale_platform_story_0_bedc3f9a05/lg_resale_platform_story_0_bedc3f9a05.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_resale_platform_story_0_bedc3f9a05/xl_resale_platform_story_0_bedc3f9a05.webp 1532w"><figcaption>This is how TheCultt's chatbot interacted with users<br></figcaption></figure>

The game teased the audience for the next step — TheCultt posted an analysis of the bags showing the details that prove the bag is or isn’t real.

It’s impossible to process all comments by hand, so TheCultt automated the comments too:

1.  They thought of the possible ways of interaction and understood that a person could leave two comments with different answers, making the process more difficult.
2.  So their chatbot automaticcaly responded to every comment in DM. All participants got the results and had to confirm the answer using the buttons.
3.  The chatbot gave a promo code if the answer was correct and sent a website link where the winners could use the promo.

> “And all of that without our effort! Our team put the idea into action, and bot handles the activity on its own. Happy clients, no burnout team members — wow!” — co-owner Tatyana Ermakova shares her impressions.

## The results: increased conversion, low client cost and engaged customers

In the beginning, the team launched this contest without advertising. It brought almost 1000 conversations per month and about 300 participants. After that theCultt decided to run ads and got exciting results:

-   450 people received a promo code;
-   170 of them made a purchase in the 3,5 months after the launch;
-   +47% to the existing number of conversations;
-   <$2 is a client cost, considering marketing costs.

> “Chatfuel helped us to optimize our marketing a lot. So, we want to continue our collaboration to solve new communication and marketing tasks. We find Chatfuel effective and a perfect solution for ad integrations. With the right approach, you get a chatbot helping to solve problems in a moment, not an irritative tool.
>
> Users today are too overwhelmed. They react fast to something new and get tired very soon. So, such an innovative way of interaction and customer attraction seem an excellent idea for us, ” — co-owner Tatyana Ermakova says.

You can automate the routine and engage your customers in a new way with Chatfuel. [Sign up](https://dashboard.chatfuel.com/sign-up) and get your first 50 conversations for free. After signing up, you can set up auto-replies for all your FAQs in a few minutes and test the automation today.

TheCultt shares how to increased sales, decreased response time, and raised customers’ loyalty. It might be challenging to automate the communication when you.

Resale platform raised conversion by 37% using a chatbot

My name is Mary, I’m a Product Manager at Art&Fact. Personally, I care about my health and my skin in particular. I would even call myself a full-time beauty enthusiast. I usually spend a lot of time reading about different skincare products and take my time to choose a good fit for myself. Now, working at one of the largest beauty brands in Russia — I can help our customers build their skincare routine easily.

## How to make it nice and easy?

[Art&Fact](https://www.art-fact-products.com) is a Russian beauty brand that manufactures cosmetics and skincare products. Since April 2020, the company has brought out more than 35 face, skin, and hair products to the market. I think we’re growing pretty fast for a young company. Our brand has its own philosophy regarding the production process: using only effective and clinically-tested formulas.

We develop these formulas in collaboration with leading labs in Europe and the US. And then manufacture them in Russia under stringent standards (quality control). No artificial fragrances, dyes, or flashy ingredients, nothing like that. And, of course — no animal testing. At the same time, the company successfully keeps the products at affordable prices, so most of our customers can purchase high-quality products for each stage of their skincare routine. There are different customer needs, even though there are only a few skin types. So we realized that choosing a right fit might be challenging for some of our customers.

Art&Fact has a nice Instagram account, and many customers prefer purchasing products right there. So we get lots of very similar questions in our DMs: ‘Is it better to buy serum or cream? ’, ‘What products are a good to use in the winter? ’, ‘Are your products safe for my skin? ’

My team and I decided to run a test promo: free Zoom consultations with skin care professionals to help our customers choose suitable products. Initially, we wanted to see if it will simplify selecting and purchasing process for our clients. We kept it simple: 100 video consultations on Zoom, 30 minutes each.

## Please, try again

<figure><img alt="Art' Fact Chatfuel bot" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_0_44af5447d7/original_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_0_44af5447d7.webp" height="1280" width="1280" blurdataurl="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAAECAIAAAAmkwkpAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAP0lEQVR4nAE0AMv/AOP//4BifFVoZrnFnQClhnxyYUEACS5gZWMAOhQkhGZMMEtVWISPALLH2pWcrGNygavI1FzxF0g7lvj7AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" placeholder="blur" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_0_44af5447d7/xs_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_0_44af5447d7.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_0_44af5447d7/sm_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_0_44af5447d7.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_0_44af5447d7/md_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_0_44af5447d7.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_0_44af5447d7/lg_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_0_44af5447d7.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_0_44af5447d7/xl_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_0_44af5447d7.webp 1280w"></figure>

I went through several important steps. First, I hired 5 skincare professionals and prepared info cards for each of them. I added qualification and experience details, so clients could learn more about each professional and choose one to consult with. Next, I created a short survey about the skin type and other details to make each consultation more productive and personalized. Finally, I had to find a platform to put everything together.

Like most beauty professionals, I’ve already heard about YClients. So, I decided to go with them. They can schedule Zoom meetings, which was very important for my project. My initial plan was to make an Instagram post with promo details. Then send a Typeform link to people who replied to the post. They would complete a pre-consultation survey and receive a link to YClients. Finally, they would book a meeting with a skincare professional.

I spent several hours setting everything up: profiles, schedules, small pre-consultation survey, then I tried to launch the whole thing. Bam, error message: please try again. It just wouldn’t work. I was bombarding support and nervously explaining the delay to my manager. It was late in the evening when I left the office feeling really hopeless. I spent two weeks trying to get this ship sailing and still didn’t depart.

## Why don’t we make a chatbot?

When I got back home that night, my husband Nick noticed that something was off. He asked me what happened and told him the whole story. Why don’t we make a chatbot? — he said. Nick works at [Chatfuel](https://chatfuel.com), and at first, I thought he was joking. I couldn’t manage a platform made for beginner users, and he was suggesting I make a bot. Why not try? — I thought. So I grabbed a laptop and started building my first bot.

It was important for me to make it so that clients wouldn’t leave Instagram. My bot would DM users who commented on the post with the keyword ‘I want consultation’ and offer them the survey. Clients then can answer the key questions before the consultation. Their answers would be saved to Google Sheets. After this, our customers would choose skincare professionals right in Instagram DMs.

I updated the profile cards with pictures and descriptions. After the survey, clients would receive a link to Calendly and schedule a Zoom meeting. Calendly supports sending follow-ups for both email and SMS. That allowed me to solve another problem. The skin care professionals could now recommend products after the consultation with a couple of clicks. 40 minutes later my bot was ready.

## Here we go

Our marketing team launched an ad campaign and published a post the very next day. And a few days later we got measurable results of my project. Feeling confident, I went to show metrics to our CEO:

-   We raised our outreach and engagement rate. 100 applications made within 2 hours.
-   We tested a hypothesis with relatively low costs and resources involved.
-   86 out of 100 applicants made a purchase right after the consultation.
-   Another 200 users got a discount code.

Participants who didn’t make it on time got a discount code and most likely will use it to make a purchase. After the promo was done, we received tons of messages from people asking when is the next one, which indicates a high engagement rate.

And the setting up process wasn’t as difficult as I thought. You just need to get the main idea of building a bot — add one block after another, connect them, add attractive content, and use the integrations that are useful for you. If you want to see an example before building a brand new one, check out [my bot](https://chatfuel.com/share/?flow=61c2f9c231fd7715e0b4b33b). Feel free to use it as a template.

## Against the odds

When I look back at the path I went through, I feel so proud. I didn’t give up, even though I was so close to doing it. I learned a lot of new things, and I realized that walking a beaten path is not as easy as it seems, and it’s good to venture out. Nowadays it’s very important to think outside the box and try new useful tools.

And a cherry on the top — I got a bonus for my successful project. And I know exactly who’s going to help me celebrate it.

<figure><img alt="" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_1_5669f65ab8/original_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_1_5669f65ab8.webp" height="1280" width="945" blurdataurl="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAMAAAAECAIAAADETxJQAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAMUlEQVR4nGNoLyutaJ5ZEBnKkJ/iEepoaiMnydAyoWNqS83tozsZfvz+w8vO++3bewA+KhHzBkHU+wAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_1_5669f65ab8/xs_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_1_5669f65ab8.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_1_5669f65ab8/sm_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_1_5669f65ab8.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_1_5669f65ab8/md_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_1_5669f65ab8.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_1_5669f65ab8/lg_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_1_5669f65ab8.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_1_5669f65ab8/xl_low_cost_hypothesis_testing_1_5669f65ab8.webp 945w"></figure>

Cheers, Mary 🙌

[Sign up with Chatfuel](https://dashboard.chatfuel.com) for free today — no coding skills, previous experience, or credit card required. You can also [use the template](https://chatfuel.com/share/?flow=61c2f9c231fd7715e0b4b33b) Mary used for her bot as your starting ground.

Beauty brand Art & Fact creates an Instagram bot with Chatfuel. It helped them test a hypothesis easily and at a low cost.

Beauty Brand Tests Hypothesis at Almost No Cost

‍**The challenge:** A clothing brand from Cleveland wanted to acquire new customers ‍ ‍**The outcome:** They increased the conversion rate by 22% in one campaign and generated $1,075 in another one in 15 hours

## ILTHY brand

Cleveland natives Kumar Arora and Glen Infante teamed up in 2011 to create ILTHY (I love the hype). In the last ten years the duo launched distinctive products and joined forces with a wide range of collaborators including Lebron James, Nike, Machine Gun Kelly, Cleveland Cavaliers, and more.

The company sells various apparel including shirts, bottoms, hats and accessories.

<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_0_040a5bb835/xs_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_0_040a5bb835.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_0_040a5bb835/sm_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_0_040a5bb835.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_0_040a5bb835/md_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_0_040a5bb835.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_0_040a5bb835/lg_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_0_040a5bb835.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_0_040a5bb835/xl_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_0_040a5bb835.webp 2840w" width="4160" height="2336" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_0_040a5bb835/original_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_0_040a5bb835.webp" alt="ILTHY Chatbot example"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

ILTHY was looking to expand their reach and promote their creative venture, ultimately getting more customers. Kumar set a goal of driving sales to see how much time he can actually save with Instagram automation. They decided to try to engage new customers by giving them a 10% off gift card.

> “The idea was, if we could get 50-100 people to use the discount code on Instagram, it would clearly demonstrate that there is a demand. The next thing for us then would be to spend more time experimenting with the possibilities that chatbot automation provides.”, says Kumar.

The company had no previous experience with the no-code approach, but was open enough to embrace it.

The ILTHY team settled down on launching two campaigns. A one month campaign to see how much client engagement and sales they could generate long term. The second, Memorial Day campaign aimed to show just what they could do with a chatbot solution in under 24 hours.

After going through several ideas, Kumar decided to keep it simple. One word. DMs. Well, two words. Direct messages are one of the top ways customers contact stores and business owners. Add a no-code bot to your Instagram store and you’ve got yourself instant replies to customers 24/7.

> “I was initially concerned that I’d be too confused with chatbot building. JSON, integrations and other technical stuff kind of scared me for a second. I quickly went through the basics like collecting user emails or phones and right off the bat was able to build my first chatbot.”, says Kumar.

## How it works

A customer DMs the company’s Instagram page after seeing a promocode in their bio. Then they send a direct message with a specific keyword to the company’s Instagram. For their first campaign ILTHY used a promocode 'TRYME'. A customer then enters their name, email and phone number and instantly gets a unique 10% off gift card.

On ILTHY’s side, they had to make sure they could set up a system to check if a person sending their data is not already in their Shopify customer list. Here’s how it happens. The bot receives the customer name, email and number then “asks” Shopify using API if such customer is already in its database. Only if the answer is no, the customer gets a unique 10% gift card.

## Results

<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_1_4ea1356ee5/xs_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_1_4ea1356ee5.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_1_4ea1356ee5/sm_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_1_4ea1356ee5.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_1_4ea1356ee5/md_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_1_4ea1356ee5.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_1_4ea1356ee5/lg_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_1_4ea1356ee5.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_1_4ea1356ee5/xl_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_1_4ea1356ee5.webp 2840w" width="4160" height="816" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_1_4ea1356ee5/original_fashion_brand_ilthy_ai_chatbot_instagram_automation_1_4ea1356ee5.webp" alt="Results with a chatbot"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

For their first monthly campaign ILTHY was able to **increase the conversion rate by 22%**, **generating $2,303 in total sales**. 197 customers engaged with their bot resulting in **43 completed orders** with an average order value of $53.

Their second Memorial Day campaign was even more impressive. In just **15 hours**, they were able to generate **$1,075 in sales** after 60 people engaged with the bot.

## Conclusion

Launching an Instagram campaign might look like a daunting task, but with the clear plan and the right tools it has never been easier. Staying ahead of competition is a top priority in a modern business environment. ILTHY saw value in utilizing chatbots which in turn increased their sales and expanded their customer base.

If you liked this, read about how a customer service automation [slashed HelloFresh response time](https://chatfuel.com/blog/hellofresh-reduces-support-wait-times-with-chatfuel-messenger-bot) by 76%. Or see how you can increase sales by improving customer journey with a bot.

Looking for even more advice and inspiration? Join our [Facebook community](https://www.facebook.com/groups/chatfuel).

The art and apparel company ILTHY increases revenue by using Instagram Automation. ‍The challenge: A clothing brand from Cleveland wanted to acquire new.

Fashion Brand Boosts Conversions 22% on Instagram

## The brand

Yash Bhansali and Vikram Kanodia met in high school. Now, they’ve founded a chatbot agency together called Talkative.AI. Their chat agency’s mission is “to use conversational AI to power ecommerce, create unique customer experiences, and empower brands.” And when the coronavirus pandemic hit in early 2020, they saw opportunities to help their customers weather the storm using AI chat bots. This is the story of one such consumer marketing client, a Mumbai bakery called Essange that specializes in stunning cakes and cupcakes.

<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_0_b023920213/xs_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_0_b023920213.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_0_b023920213/sm_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_0_b023920213.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_0_b023920213/md_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_0_b023920213.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_0_b023920213/lg_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_0_b023920213.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_0_b023920213/xl_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_0_b023920213.webp 1618w" width="1618" height="1194" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_0_b023920213/original_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_0_b023920213.webp" alt=""><figcaption>Essange is known for their beautiful desserts.</figcaption></figure>

## The problem

When the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, lockdowns went into effect all around the world. Since gatherings and parties were prohibited, Essange experienced a sudden, major drop in business. “Regular orders slowed down,” explains Yash, “and many people started baking at home for themselves instead by following online video tutorials on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.” To stay in business, the bakery’s owner knew she needed to pivot—and fast.

## The solution

Yash and Vikram knew that a robust AI chatbot would be the perfect solution to help this client keep her business afloat. Their Facebook chatbot agency had already built her a bot for [FAQ automation](https://chatfuel.com/blog/chatbot-for-customer-service), but they knew that now was the time to turn that into something even more powerful and engaging. “We decided to use this opportunity to create a unique, memorable experience for all her customers while generating a new source of income at the same time,” Vikram and Yash tell us.

Here’s how the Bake at Home bot works:

1.  Customers buy a DIY “bake at home” kit from the bakery, which includes everything they need to make their dessert of choice except for milk and eggs.

2.  The customer uses their phone to scan the QR code on the kit, and they’re directed to the Facebook chatbot that Yash and Vikram built.

3.  The AI bot acts as a virtual baking assistant, guiding the customer through each step of the baking process with instructions and GIFs.


<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_1_e0d2c2c906/xs_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_1_e0d2c2c906.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_1_e0d2c2c906/sm_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_1_e0d2c2c906.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_1_e0d2c2c906/md_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_1_e0d2c2c906.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_1_e0d2c2c906/lg_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_1_e0d2c2c906.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_1_e0d2c2c906/xl_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_1_e0d2c2c906.webp 940w" width="940" height="788" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_1_e0d2c2c906/original_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_1_e0d2c2c906.webp" alt=""><figcaption>The AI&nbsp;chatbot for the bakery guides customers through instructions for baking their dessert.</figcaption></figure>

“Not only does the chatbot make the baking experience super easy and fun,” Vikram explains, “but it also retargets the customer a few hours later to upsell other DIY baking kits.” The Messenger bot also invites users to tag the bakery in a photo of their completed creation on social media, which helps the business generate social proof.

<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_2_0f580235d5/xs_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_2_0f580235d5.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_2_0f580235d5/sm_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_2_0f580235d5.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_2_0f580235d5/md_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_2_0f580235d5.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_2_0f580235d5/lg_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_2_0f580235d5.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_2_0f580235d5/xl_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_2_0f580235d5.webp 940w" width="940" height="788" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_2_0f580235d5/original_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_2_0f580235d5.webp" alt=""><figcaption>The bakery chatbot invites customers to share a photo of their creation on social media once they've finished it.</figcaption></figure>

Yash and Vikram explain that they wanted to use a chatbot for something more than a marketing channel or a [customer service experience](https://chatfuel.com/blog/chatbot-for-customer-service). “The client said, *Can we make the bot part of the business?* And that’s when we figured out that there’s a tandem opportunity to actually make the bot part of the product she’s selling,” they share.

## The recipe

“We’ve found that good chatbots don’t need to be complex chatbots,” says Yash. “Some of the most effective bots are those that use only simple or basic features, but are designed to focus on business goals and providing the best customer service experience through smooth interactions.”

That’s why Chatfuel was the right fit for their project. “We feel that the Chatfuel team keeps the end-user in mind while designing the platform,” shares Vikram. “The end-user experience is our relentless focus with every chatbot, so using Chatfuel helps us create more value for our clients.”

Here are a few of the Chatfuel tools and features the Talkative team used to build this baking bot:

-   **Artificial intelligence (AI)**. “We leveraged Google’s NLP to understand user input and respond intelligently. This ensures a seamless, unrestricted, and natural user experience,” says Yash. To apply AI in the simplest way, you can [set up AI rules](https://docs.chatfuel.com/en/articles/828883-keywords), which are pre-set messages your bot will send  in response to certain text inputs from users. An AI chatbot can significantly improve the user experience, as it did for the Bake at Home Bot.

-   **Customer Chat Entry Point.** Yash and Vikram used this plugin so that the chatbot would pop up and offer help to anyone who visits the bakery’s website. [Adding a chatbot to a website](https://chatfuel.com/blog/add-a-messenger-chatbot-to-your-website) is an easy way for any brand to get new users.


<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_3_0cc4bc2a65/xs_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_3_0cc4bc2a65.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_3_0cc4bc2a65/sm_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_3_0cc4bc2a65.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_3_0cc4bc2a65/md_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_3_0cc4bc2a65.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_3_0cc4bc2a65/lg_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_3_0cc4bc2a65.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_3_0cc4bc2a65/xl_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_3_0cc4bc2a65.webp 2588w" width="2588" height="1390" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_3_0cc4bc2a65/original_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_3_0cc4bc2a65.webp" alt=""><figcaption>The chatbot is ready to engage anyone who visits the bakery's website.</figcaption></figure>

-   **Facebook Ads Entry Points.** This feature lets you easily set up [sponsored messages](https://chatfuel.com/blog/sponsored-messages-guide-to-reengaging-chatbot-subscribers) and [click-to-Messenger ads](https://chatfuel.com/blog/create-click-to-messenger-ads-to-drive-traffic-to-your-bot) for your bot, and Yash and Vikram took advantage. “Sponsored messages and click-to-Messenger ads on Facebook [and Instagram](https://chatfuel.com/blog/use-instagram-ads-to-bring-users-to-your-dms-or-your-messenger-bot) were ‘baked’ into the branding and marketing strategy,” they tell us.


Vikram and Yash shared that they also made use of [gallery cards](https://docs.chatfuel.com/en/articles/925465-media-assets), images, GIFs, and sequences in the recipe tutorials. User attributes and [Zapier CRM integrations](https://chatfuel.com/blog/a-marketing-automation-love-story-chatfuel-zapier) helped them with personalization and retargeting. All these features combined helped improve the customer experience for the bakery bot’s users.

## The results

The Bake at Home Bot performed extremely well, according to Yash and Vikram. “The chatbot achieved its design goals beyond expectation in terms of lead conversion, increased sales, brand building, and customer engagement,” they tell us.

“Our experience-oriented design **acquired 250% more users in a month** than the automated FAQs version was able to acquire in over a year,” shares Vikram. “User activity spiked to **50x Active Users** and 13x Reengaged Users. Plus, online-to-offline sales conversions also increased significantly, which helped our client jump-start her business amidst the COVID slowdown!”

<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_4_e361b59274/xs_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_4_e361b59274.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_4_e361b59274/sm_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_4_e361b59274.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_4_e361b59274/md_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_4_e361b59274.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_4_e361b59274/lg_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_4_e361b59274.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_4_e361b59274/xl_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_4_e361b59274.webp 1600w" width="1600" height="707" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_4_e361b59274/original_ai_chatbot_helps_bakery_during_covid_4_e361b59274.webp" alt=""><figcaption>The virtual assistant version of the bakery's chatbot acquired 250% more users in a month than the FAQ&nbsp;version did in over a year.</figcaption></figure>

## A chatbot can get your business sweet results

The digital customer experience the Bake at Home Bot offers was a game changer for Essange Bakery, as it helped them expand their customer base, increase sales, and stand out from the competition. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level with a free AI chatbot, [get started with Chatfuel](https://dashboard.chatfuel.com) today.

A marketing agency built an AI chatbot for this bakery to help them stay afloat and even grow during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bakery Creates New Revenue with AI Chatbot in COVID

We talked to 8 Messenger experts to get their take on chatbot trends and the future of chatbots for marketing in 2021 and beyond.

8 experts predict the future of chatbots in 2021 and beyond

## The brand

Direct Relief is an international [nonprofit organization](https://chatfuel.com/blog/9-reasons-your-nonprofit-needs-a-chatbot) that was founded by William Zimdin, a US immigrant from Estonia. In 1945, Zimdin was starting a nonprofit by sending thousands of relief parcels with food, clothes, and medicine from the US to relatives and friends in Europe, who were rebuilding their lives in the aftermath of World War II. In 1948 he made his project official, registering it as a California-based non profit organization.

Since then, Direct Relief has worked to help people around the world recover from everything from disease outbreaks to natural disasters. They continue to follow Zimdin’s tradition of “direct and targeted assistance provided in a manner that respects and involves all people served” to this day.

<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_0_d464b731eb/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_0_d464b731eb.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_0_d464b731eb/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_0_d464b731eb.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_0_d464b731eb/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_0_d464b731eb.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_0_d464b731eb/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_0_d464b731eb.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_0_d464b731eb/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_0_d464b731eb.webp 1280w" width="1280" height="720" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_0_d464b731eb/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_0_d464b731eb.webp" alt="History of Direct Relief"><figcaption>Direct Relief's operations in their early days</figcaption></figure>

## The problem

When people need assistance from nonprofits like Direct Relief, they usually need it immediately—whether it’s food and water after a hurricane or crucial healthcare after an earthquake. Fast response times are absolutely critical to this nonprofit business’s operations as human lives are often on the line. But when disasters struck in the past, the volume of these messages was often more than Direct Relief’s small social media team could handle in a timely manner.

Over the course of the 2017 hurricane season, for example, they received hundreds of messages on Facebook Messenger from people around the globe. Some were wondering how they could rally support for those in impacted communities. Others needed urgent information on how to receive medical assistance. At first, the only solution the Direct Relief team could come up with to handle all the messages was bringing on more people—either temporary staff or training volunteers. And then they discovered chatbots.

<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_1_ca0808fe51/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_1_ca0808fe51.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_1_ca0808fe51/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_1_ca0808fe51.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_1_ca0808fe51/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_1_ca0808fe51.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_1_ca0808fe51/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_1_ca0808fe51.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_1_ca0808fe51/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_1_ca0808fe51.webp 1280w" width="1280" height="720" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_1_ca0808fe51/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_1_ca0808fe51.webp" alt="Nonprofit chatbot of Direct Relief"><figcaption>Direct Relief volunteers aid a community heavily impacted by a hurricane.</figcaption></figure>

## The solution

The Direct Relief team started looking for solutions to the problem of their overflowing Messenger inbox. “As we were weighing options,” explains Tony Morain, Direct Relief’s VP of Communications, “we reached out to our contacts at Facebook for recommendations. They told us about Chatfuel. We signed up and saw how easy it was to create a working chatbot,” he continues, “one that was smart enough to respond to people’s needs and guide them to the resources they requested.” In just a few hours, a team of two people at the Direct Relief non profit organization built a Facebook Messenger chatbot that was ready for launch.

<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_2_3178715aa0/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_2_3178715aa0.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_2_3178715aa0/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_2_3178715aa0.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_2_3178715aa0/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_2_3178715aa0.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_2_3178715aa0/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_2_3178715aa0.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_2_3178715aa0/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_2_3178715aa0.webp 940w" width="940" height="788" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_2_3178715aa0/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_2_3178715aa0.webp" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

At first, the chatbot for this non profit organization focused on [answering FAQs](https://chatfuel.com/blog/chatbot-for-customer-service) about their emergency response efforts, and providing information about volunteering, receiving help, and donating. But “the bot has evolved since then,” Tony says. “It now converses in [a number of languages](https://chatfuel.com/blog/create-a-multilingual-chatbot) and routes inquiries to the right internal teams for follow up.”

Though the team has made improvements over time, the Facebook chatbot’s core purpose remains the same: “to help people at scale,” confirms Tony. To make sure the bot is achieving this goal, he explains that its conversations are regularly reviewed by staff members, and that users are also given a [live chat](https://docs.chatfuel.com/en/articles/849315-live-chat) option if they prefer. Tony adds that, when it comes to how to market a nonprofit, Direct Relief doesn’t spend much on advertising. “That makes it all the more important to maintain relationships with the people who do support the organization, and the chatbot is critical in that regard.”

> “It’s important to maintain relationships with the people who do support the organization, and the chatbot is critical in that regard.” — Tony Morain, VP of Communications at Direct Relief

<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_3_5b6e5edb09/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_3_5b6e5edb09.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_3_5b6e5edb09/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_3_5b6e5edb09.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_3_5b6e5edb09/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_3_5b6e5edb09.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_3_5b6e5edb09/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_3_5b6e5edb09.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_3_5b6e5edb09/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_3_5b6e5edb09.webp 1283w" width="1283" height="281" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_3_5b6e5edb09/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_3_5b6e5edb09.webp" alt="nonprofit chatbot for nonprofit organizations "><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## The recipe

The Direct Relief team focused on these Chatfuel tools and features to build their nonprofit chatbot:

### Templates

Before they sat down to actually build their Facebook chatbot, the Direct Relief team explored Chatfuel’s bot templates “to understand the platform and learn about what’s possible,” says Tony. Templates are a great way to get familiar with the structure of a well-built chatbot before you dive into the actual building process yourself. *Find templates for Automation → Blocks-tab bots by clicking the* ***Choose from templates button*** *when you first log in to Chatfuel. Templates for Automation→Flows-tab bots take the form of links. A collection of these is coming soon. (*[*Join our Facebook community*](https://www.facebook.com/groups/chatfuel) *for updates.)*

<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_4_2b4545fccd/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_4_2b4545fccd.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_4_2b4545fccd/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_4_2b4545fccd.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_4_2b4545fccd/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_4_2b4545fccd.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_4_2b4545fccd/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_4_2b4545fccd.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_4_2b4545fccd/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_4_2b4545fccd.webp 1202w" width="1202" height="562" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_4_2b4545fccd/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_4_2b4545fccd.webp" alt="Nonprofit template for nonprofit organizations "><figcaption>Templates and shared flows can help you get familiar with the basic structure of a well-built chatbot. The one shown here is for bots built in the <em>Automation → Blocks</em> tab.</figcaption></figure>

### Artificial intelligence (AI)

If a user sends the bot a custom text message (instead of choosing a button or quick reply), artificial intelligence allows it to still respond accurately. To build their AI chatbot, the Direct Relief team used the [JSON API](https://chatfuel.com/blog/json-api-examples) to integrate Dialogflow (a conversational AI). As Tony explains, the artificial intelligence helps “expand the bot’s contextual understanding and responsiveness.”

### Live chat

Users who interact with this charity’s Facebook chatbot have the option to pause the bot’s responses and connect with a live agent instead. This functionality is helpful if the chatbot isn’t able to answer the user’s question, or if the user simply prefers speaking with a human agent.

<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_5_ca1b9040d1/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_5_ca1b9040d1.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_5_ca1b9040d1/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_5_ca1b9040d1.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_5_ca1b9040d1/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_5_ca1b9040d1.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_5_ca1b9040d1/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_5_ca1b9040d1.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_5_ca1b9040d1/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_5_ca1b9040d1.webp 1616w" width="1616" height="1068" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_5_ca1b9040d1/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_5_ca1b9040d1.webp" alt="Live chat in chatbot "><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Google Site Search plugin and RSS Import plugin

These plugins allow Messenger chatbots to pull information from websites and instantly display it in Messenger for users. The Direct Relief bot gets information from the Direct Relief website and others to share emergency updates with users as needed.

## The results

Thanks to their Facebook Messenger chatbot, Direct Relief is now able to receive and respond to requests for help more quickly than ever before. **Their response time went from several days to under a minute.** As a result, the people they serve are able to get the resources and aid they need as quickly as possible. To date, the Direct Relief nonprofit chatbot has responded to **over 10,000 user messages.**

<figure><img srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_6_e404ce2abf/xs_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_6_e404ce2abf.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_6_e404ce2abf/sm_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_6_e404ce2abf.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_6_e404ce2abf/md_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_6_e404ce2abf.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_6_e404ce2abf/lg_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_6_e404ce2abf.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_6_e404ce2abf/xl_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_6_e404ce2abf.webp 2080w" width="2080" height="1168" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_6_e404ce2abf/original_emergency_chatbot_helps_nonprofit_6_e404ce2abf.webp" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The chatbot also assists Direct Relief with their nonprofit marketing. For one, the bot helps facilitate nonprofit fundraising by engaging those who want to donate and directing them to the right place. Plus, the chatbot saves the Direct Relief team “**dozens of hours each week**—time that can be reinvested in our mission to serve those in need,” says Tony.

Tony shares a specific example of how the chatbot for Direct Relief helped an organization quickly get the supplies they needed to provide aid to others.

<figure><img><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Changing the world one chatbot at a time

The Direct Relief chatbot can get users the often crucial and even life-saving information they need immediately. As a result, it empowers the organization to accomplish their mission even more effectively.

Could your nonprofit also benefit from quicker response times, more donations and volunteers, and the other perks of a Messenger bot? Check out [this video tutorial](https://youtu.be/D4n6VLQHE5U) to see just how easy it is to build a no-code chatbot with Chatfuel. (After all, the function of Chatfuel is to make bot-building accessible to all!)

Then, [sign up for your free account](https://dashboard.chatfuel.com) — no credit card, contracts, or previous experience required.

The Messenger chatbot for this non profit organization helps get life-saving aid to people in need. Direct Relief is an international nonprofit organization.

Chatbot Helps Nonprofit Handle Emergencies Fast

## The brand

The Famous Grouse is a Scottish whisky brand founded in 1896. Their blend is one of the most popular in the world, and they’ve been the best-selling whisky in Scotland for over 40 years. This year, they released a new product: a limited-edition gift box featuring three of their hard-to-get blends (Ruby Cask, Wine Cask, and Bourbon Cask). They hired The Leith Agency, a full-service marketing agency, to help them market and sell their new offering as a Father’s Day gift.

<figure><iframe allowfullscreen="" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DAlWAujLjlQ"></iframe></figure>

## The problem

The team at [The Leith Marketing Agency](https://leith.co.uk) knew that selling the gift box would require a different approach than [The Famous Grouse](https://www.thefamousgrouse.com/en)’s typical campaigns. Normally, they target and speak to whisky drinkers with their marketing. This time, “we also needed to think about people who would be buying gifts for whisky drinkers,” explains Leith’s Head of Social Jamie McAdam. “This meant that they perhaps had less knowledge about whisky itself, the brand, or what we had to offer.”

So the team knew that product education had to be a key component of their strategy. But they also knew it had to take a more engaging form than “extra-long Facebook statuses,” in Jamie’s words. So instead, they created a series of [Facebook ads](https://chatfuel.com/blog/facebook-ads) for the gift box using [sequential retargeting](https://www.shopify.com/blog/facebook-ads-sequential-retargeting). “This allowed us to tell a longer story, building in more information about the product with each ad,” Jamie says.

While the ads worked well to tease the product to shoppers, “we wanted an opportunity for a more in-depth customer experience,” explains Jamie. “We wanted a place where people could learn specific product details and strengthen their affinity with the brand.”

> “We wanted a place where people could learn specific product details and strengthen their affinity with the brand.” — Jamie McAdam, The Leith Marketing Agency’s Head of Social

‍

## The solution

The Leith team knew that this was the chance they had been waiting for. They’d been interested in trying out [conversational marketing for their clients](https://chatfuel.com/blog/6-reasons-marketing-agencies-should-offer-chatbot-services) for a while, and this opportunity “ticked all the right boxes” for their first go. “Both the client and our team were keen to explore how [a chatbot could act as a new and innovative solution](https://chatfuel.com/blog/9-reasons-your-ecommerce-business-needs-a-chatbot),” Jamie tells us.

“After some initial research,” he continues, “Chatfuel stood out as [the best option for this project.](https://docs.chatfuel.com/en/articles/3882031-chatfuel-for-agencies-and-creators) The platform itself is easy to manage, no code skills required, and the level of support offered was just what we needed to take this project to the next level.”

The team ended up crafting a version of a gift-recommendation chatbot to lead people who were shopping for Father’s Day gifts towards the new product. “By being more conversational \[with the ecommerce chatbot\],” Jamie explains, “we could guide people through what the offering was and help them make a purchase decision.”

Here’s how the bot works:

1.  **The bot welcomes the user.** The chatbot [greets the user](https://chatfuel.com/blog/welcome-message-best-practices) and introduces itself as the Grouse, the whisky brand’s well-known and beloved icon. Its [friendly, charming persona](https://chatfuel.com/blog/chatbot-names) makes users feel both comfortable and intrigued. (The Leith team also made sure to break up the text, add pauses, and include visuals to make for a more natural, streamlined conversational design.)
2.  **The bot confirms the user’s interest.** It asks if they need help finding the perfect Father’s Day gift.
3.  **The bot begins a [product-recommendation flow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfmQvqtJN9Q).** When the user confirms that they’re looking for a Father’s Day gift, the chatbot guides them through a series of questions. “Although the ultimate goal is always the same—to sell the gift box,” Jamie explains, “the questions helped make a clearer case for why it would be a good gift for that user’s dad in particular.”
4.  **The user makes a purchase.** Once the user is convinced that the gift box is the right choice for their Father’s Day gift, the Facebook Messenger chatbot sends them to the website to buy. Or, if they’re still unsure, they can choose to live chat with a human support agent instead. Either way, they’ll have traveled along the ecommerce sales funnel and will be likely to make a purchase from there.

<figure><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_0_3c6d3fe4cf/original_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_0_3c6d3fe4cf.webp" loading="lazy" alt="" height="788" width="940" blurdataurl="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAIAAAA7ljmRAAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAMklEQVR4nAEnANj/AP/7+J+amV9cXIKIjQDgsZRNPjYABQs1NzoA//v2oaGjc3Z5jo+PgZoS8nOwmqsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_0_3c6d3fe4cf/xs_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_0_3c6d3fe4cf.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_0_3c6d3fe4cf/sm_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_0_3c6d3fe4cf.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_0_3c6d3fe4cf/md_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_0_3c6d3fe4cf.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_0_3c6d3fe4cf/lg_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_0_3c6d3fe4cf.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_0_3c6d3fe4cf/xl_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_0_3c6d3fe4cf.webp 940w"><figcaption>The Famous Grouse ad led to their product recommendation chatbot.</figcaption></figure>

> “Chatfuel is incredibly easy to manage, no code skills required. And the level of support offered was just what we needed to take this project to the next level.” — Jamie McAdam

‍

## The recipe

The Leith team focused on these key tools and features to build the Messenger chatbot for The Famous Grouse:

### AI rules

([https://docs.chatfuel.com/en/articles/828883-keywords)AI](https://docs.chatfuel.com/en/articles/828883-keywords\)AI), or artificial intelligence, was key to the success of this Facebook chatbot. First, the Leith team created a few basic AI rules, including an option to return users to the start of the chat experience if anything “went wrong.” Then, they brainstormed other questions or comments users might send during the chat, like mentioning other whisky brands, “swearing/being cheeky,” and questions about the box itself or about shipping. They added AI rules so the bot could properly respond to all of these scenarios. After launch, they continued to watch out for where users were getting stuck and added more rules to remove those friction points.

<figure><iframe allowfullscreen="" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F-lO4dAujjg"></iframe></figure>

### Live chat

The Leith team used the [live chat](https://docs.chatfuel.com/en/articles/849315-live-chat) feature as a sort of net to catch any users who may have otherwise fallen through the cracks. If a user completed the product-recommendation flow but had other questions or still wasn’t sure about buying, they had the option to then initiate a live chat session. From there, a human would take over to resolve their queries, so no sales opportunity would be lost and no user would be abandoned.

<figure><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_1_da7a43496d/original_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_1_da7a43496d.webp" loading="lazy" alt="" height="371" width="645" blurdataurl="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAJUlEQVR4nAEaAOX/AOnn5dvb2/Py8tva2gAABBXMzM3k5OXQztD23RJGAueZNgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" placeholder="blur" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_1_da7a43496d/xs_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_1_da7a43496d.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_1_da7a43496d/sm_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_1_da7a43496d.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_1_da7a43496d/md_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_1_da7a43496d.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_1_da7a43496d/lg_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_1_da7a43496d.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_1_da7a43496d/xl_whisky_brand_triples_conversion_rates_with_gift_recommendation_chatbot_1_da7a43496d.webp 645w"></figure>

### Click-to-Messenger ads

The team ran [**Click-to-Messenger ads**](https://chatfuel.com/blog/create-click-to-messenger-ads-to-drive-traffic-to-your-bot) to attract prospects to the Facebook chatbot. (This ad type appears in a user’s feed and directs them immediately to a conversation with the bot in Messenger.) “These ads meant less effort for users to take part, and they proved to be a much more effective way of acquiring new prospects on the media budget we had available,” says Jamie.

<figure><iframe allowfullscreen="" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tjKqCie3IsA"></iframe></figure>

Another tool that was crucial to the success of The Famous Grouse’s chatbot: [excellent copy](https://youtu.be/ZIUTFnRyJZI). First, the Leith team’s copywriters made sure all the bot’s content [matched the voice and tone](https://chatfuel.com/blog/craft-a-brand-voice-that-converts) of the brand’s mascot, the Grouse itself. They created a user experience that was consistently warm, welcoming, and on-brand throughout.

Finally, the team also made sure to closely monitor the Facebook chatbot’s performance stats so they could iterate and optimize. Shortly after launch, “we could see where \[in the flow\] certain users were stopping,” Jamie explains. “So we implemented a flow that provided them with three new areas of information: price, shipping, and the box itself.” Following these edits, the conversion rate increased.

## The results

The detailed work the Leith team put into The Famous Grouse’s Messenger chatbot and its conversational commerce campaign paid off in a big way. It earned their client an **on-site conversion rate of 24%**. That means virtually a quarter of users who chatted with the bot ended up purchasing the gift box. (The shoppers who went from the bot to the website also spent the longest average time on the page.) Before the chatbot, the Facebook video ads the team created were earning 8% conversions at their peak. So when the chatbot marketing campaign **tripled the client’s conversion rates**compared to the ads, the Leith team knew they’d hit the jackpot.

These results “showed us that people who came to the website from the chatbot were much more informed about the product, what it offered, and how it worked, and were therefore more likely to purchase,” explains Jamie. The goal of using the chatbot for ecommerce product education was a definite success.

Lastly, we asked Jamie what his team has planned for future campaigns with the bot. “We’re very pleased with how it performed,” he tells us, “and we’re now looking at ways it can play an additional role alongside our social advertising campaigns.”

## Chatbot marketing success—on the rocks

The conversational marketing campaign for The Famous Grouse shows just how impactful online ecommerce chatbots can be for businesses. They’re an incredibly engaging way to educate shoppers about your products so they’re primed and ready to buy. The result: more sales for you (or your client)!

Whether you’re an ecommerce business owner or an agency with ecommerce clients, the key function of Chatfuel is to help you earn results like these.

A marketing agency helped The Famous Grouse to market and sell their new offering as a Father's Day gift. The Famous Grouse is a Scottish whisky brand founded.

Chatbot Triples Conversion for Whisky Brand

Here’s the story of MyDreamChat — a startup that created a Facebook Messenger mental health chatbot for dream analysis. It grew to over 12,000 users in the first five months with under $5,000 in marketing spend. It brings powerful therapy experience as part of a larger project to create a separate app for this purpose. Tackling the minimum viable product creation, they ended up using the Messenger chatbot practically and creatively.

## The brand helps to start your mental health improving journey

Sansan Fibri, the founder of the startup, has always believed that our dreams have the power to help us uncover and deal with emotional challenges. However, most of us need the proper guidance to start this mental-health journey. That’s where Sansan’s AI chatbot MyDreamChat comes in.

It’s a guided self-therapy tool that helps users analyze their dreams in a conversational, quiz-like format. The goal is to lead them towards a resolution at the subconscious level for more sound mental health.

While Sansan started on this concept in 2018, it’s become more relevant than ever in the COVID-19 era. Sansan and her team surveyed over 10,000 MyDreamChat users a few months into the pandemic. They found that 40% of customers used words like “feeling trapped,” “hopeless,” or “powerless” to describe their coronavirus-era dreams. But after dream analysis via this mental health chatbot, 82% of respondents reported gaining new insight, which led to feelings of hope and optimism.

## The iOS app for the MVP proved to be way too pricey

Sansan explains that “effective mindset change and lasting healing occurs when we become conscious of our unconscious patterns and triggers. Those drive 95% of our decision-making and behavior.” Dream analysis is an effective tool on this journey for mental health, which is why she founded a startup called [Wakefully](https://wakefully.io) in 2018.

However, to build the complete product she dreamed of, Sansan needed investors. And to attract investors, she knew she needed to start with a minimum viable product (MVP). The purpose of the MVP would be to validate market interest and cultivate a motivated and engaged core audience.

So she started by commissioning an iOS app for her MVP in 2018. But “it turned out to be an expensive user interface that was not really usable and most definitely not scalable,” Sansan shares, since she was doing all the analysis work behind the scenes.

After that experiment, Sansan knew she needed a cheaper and more automated solution for her true MVP. “That’s when I realized that the conversational nature of the app I envisioned and the Q&A in branching logic lend themselves pretty nicely to a chatbot,” — she says. “It seemed like a more affordable and scalable solution to test market interest. Thought at the time, I had no clue that I, the visionary/non-technical founder, would be able to build it myself!”

## Chatbot has it all

“In the past, I used lead quizzes that would send people to my landing page waitlist. No more! I saw how I could streamline the entire funnel: ad → quiz → landing → dream analysis using a Facebook bot.” She was sold when she learned that she could use chatbot marketing to drive traffic, capture leads, retarget, and deliver value. “Our entire value proposition, all in one chatbot!” says Sansan.

She turned to Chatfuel for this project right away. Sansan tells us: “In my research, Chatfuel kept coming up as the platform that can enable someone like me, lacking any coding skills, to build an awesome Messenger bot. Using just Chatfuel and its [videos](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1_z5c5UnMJ0waRJ8Bx1cFg) and [help docs](https://docs.chatfuel.com/en), I built and launched the first version of MyDreamChat in about two weeks. I continue to learn, grow, analyze, and iterate due to the vast amount of information and tools Chatfuel provides.”

Here’s how MyDreamChat chatbot for mental health works:

1.  The user selects their dream type (being chased, falling, or feeling trapped).
2.  They take a personalized quiz about the details of the dream they can remember and the feelings they associate with it.
3.  The chatbot generates a personalized analysis of the user’s dream. The analysis explains what it “means” or symbolizes in the context of that person’s life experience.

“It delivers this dialogue using positive psychology to help reframe their thinking about this and other dreams in a therapeutic, healthier way,” explains Sansan.

<figure><img alt="dream analysis_chatbot_02_fb.png" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/original_startup_launches_dream_analysis_chatbot_to_improve_peoples_mental_health_0_f726ec73ee/original_startup_launches_dream_analysis_chatbot_to_improve_peoples_mental_health_0_f726ec73ee.webp" height="1168" width="2080" blurdataurl="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAACCAIAAADwyuo0AAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAAAI0lEQVR4nGNgkEtdcOl/zvo7DFqFDAxqhaf//w+asJNBLAwAjrcK7tc9d+IAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" placeholder="blur" srcset="https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xs_startup_launches_dream_analysis_chatbot_to_improve_peoples_mental_health_0_f726ec73ee/xs_startup_launches_dream_analysis_chatbot_to_improve_peoples_mental_health_0_f726ec73ee.webp 300w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/sm_startup_launches_dream_analysis_chatbot_to_improve_peoples_mental_health_0_f726ec73ee/sm_startup_launches_dream_analysis_chatbot_to_improve_peoples_mental_health_0_f726ec73ee.webp 768w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/md_startup_launches_dream_analysis_chatbot_to_improve_peoples_mental_health_0_f726ec73ee/md_startup_launches_dream_analysis_chatbot_to_improve_peoples_mental_health_0_f726ec73ee.webp 1280w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/lg_startup_launches_dream_analysis_chatbot_to_improve_peoples_mental_health_0_f726ec73ee/lg_startup_launches_dream_analysis_chatbot_to_improve_peoples_mental_health_0_f726ec73ee.webp 1920w, https://storage.googleapis.com/chatfuel-cms-staging/pic/xl_startup_launches_dream_analysis_chatbot_to_improve_peoples_mental_health_0_f726ec73ee/xl_startup_launches_dream_analysis_chatbot_to_improve_peoples_mental_health_0_f726ec73ee.webp 2080w"><figcaption>Positive psychology in action</figcaption></figure>

## Satisfied customers and high conversion

Sansan originally built her Messenger chatbot as an MVP for her separate app. She intended the Messenger bot to be a temporary solution but now decided to continue using Chatfuel as the top of the funnel with her own app. “The experience is so optimal for customer acquisition,” she says.

This decision is based on the incredible results she’s seen with her chatbot for mental health and dream analysis so far. Take a look:

-   The chatbot has an 82% user satisfaction rating based on exit polls seamlessly integrated into the chat after an analysis.
-   The average engagement rate for users is 3 times more in the first week.
-   30% of users share the bot, and 25% of page likers share MyDreamChat ads, making for a virality factor potential of 50%.
-   Sansan and her team identify 53% of users as highly likely to convert (to download their separate app) and 33.5% as likely to convert to paid subscribers in the app.

MyDreamChat illustrates how the use cases for Messenger chatbots are practically infinite. Most any scenario that would benefit from a personalized, back-and-forth conversation can be created in Messenger. It’s not just e-commerce retailers or brick-and-mortar businesses. As you can see, chatbots that provide mental health care or guidance work incredibly well in Messenger. They are using no-code technology to help people live better. We love to see it!

Wakefully is currently offering a promotion to their Facebook chatbot subscribers: a pre-order discount on membership once their complete, separate app is released.

If you are ready to build your own project in Chatfuel, [get started for free](https://dashboard.chatfuel.com) to boost your sales.

How e-commerce brand create a Messenger mental health chatbot for dream analysis and increase engagement rate x3. Here’s the story of MyDreamChat — a startup.

Chatbot Analyzes Dreams to Improve Mental Health

Marketing professionals from Budapest-based startup created a customizable Messenger chatbot that helps hotel brands of all sizes.

Customer Stories