Telegram bots for business

Telegram bot for business is not an "autoresponder in the messenger", but a separate sales channel that works around the clock and does not lose contact. The bot accepts the application, guides the person through the questions, shows the free time, calculates the approximate cost, answers typical questions and transfers the dialogue to the manager along with the context. For service businesses, this is often a cheaper and faster channel than a separate site: a person is already in Telegram, he does not need to go anywhere or install anything.

We build a bot from a script, not from a set of buttons. First, we describe which appeals come most often, what the manager asks in each case, and what action is considered the result: application, record, payment, conversation with a person. Next, we build a dialogue tree in which each branch leads to one of these results, and not to a dead end with three "back" buttons.

Separately, we look at how the bot looks from the team's point of view. A bot that creates chaos in managers' chats is worse than not having one: that's why we immediately project where applications go, who is responsible, what to do if a person hasn't responded, and what the daily report looks like.

What the Telegram bot can do

Basic set: application receipt with data verification, quiz with estimated price calculation, registration for the service with display of free slots, answers to frequently asked questions, catalog or price list, reminders and mailing to the subscriber base with their consent.

Technically, the bot can do everything that your infrastructure allows: write applications in CRM or a table, create tasks, send notifications to the person in charge, accept files and photos, connect payment, issue documents or links to them. It can also work as an internal tool: accept applications from employees, record departures, collect shift reports.

An important detail is error handling. A person will write "hello" at the moment when the bot is waiting for a phone number, will send a voice instead of a text, will ask an off-topic question. Each such case must be foreseen, otherwise the scenario breaks down exactly where the client was ready to leave the application.

• Application, quiz, recording and cost calculation scenarios.
• Transfer to the manager along with the history of the dialogue.
• Integration with CRM, Google Sheets, payments and notifications.
• Newsletters and reminders based on the subscriber base.
• Analytics of appeals: how many, from where, at what step people drop out.

To whom the bot gives the most

Service companies with a record — salons, clinics, auto repair shops, cleaning. Educational projects and experts, where there are many similar questions about the program, price and format. Delivery and local retail, where a quick response is important. B2B companies, where the bot collects a brief instead of a long correspondence.

If there are few requests and they are atypical, a bot is not needed - it is more profitable to invest in the site and the quick response of the manager. We say this at the stage of analyzing the task, not after payment.

Bot vs live manager: where is the line

The bot wins where the questions are repeated and the answer is the same: price, schedule, address, conditions, order status, free time. A person wins when it is necessary to agree, to calm down, to find a non-standard solution or to sell expensively.

Therefore, in each scenario, there is an outlet for the manager, and when it is transferred, he immediately sees: who wrote, what he chose, what answers he gave, from which source it came. The client does not have to repeat everything from the beginning - this is the most common reason why people abandon the dialogue and go to a competitor.

Integrations and data

A bot is rarely useful in isolation. We connect it to CRM or a table, calendar, payment service, mailing service, website. The request immediately receives the source, time and all responses of the client, so analytics works without manual summarization.

If there is no system yet, let's start with a simple one: Google Sheets or Airtable plus a notification in the work chat. This is enough for the first months and does not force you to buy a CRM before it is clear what exactly you want from it.

Launch and fine-tuning

First, we make a minimal working version with one or two main scripts, run it on live calls and see where people stop. Then we add: we add branches, change the wording, shorten the steps.

This approach is cheaper than spending a month drawing a perfect dialogue tree, which will still have to be rewritten after launch. Real customers always behave differently than the document expects.

What to look for in statistics

The number of dialogue starts, the proportion of leads to an application, the step at which the most exits are made, the time to the manager's first response after the transfer, and repeated appeals. These five numbers are enough to understand whether the bot is working or just exists.

Most often, the problem is not in the bot, but in one extra step: for example, a question about the budget on the second screen, when the person has not yet understood what you offer.

Support after launch

The bot needs support: updating the price, scripts, texts, reacting to changes in the messenger API, adding new services. These are small but regular works that are better to start immediately.

Without accompaniment, a typical story is this: six months later, the old price is in the bot, and the manager explains to customers every day that "it is not relevant."

How much it costs and what affects the price

The cost depends on the number of scenarios, the depth of the dialogue tree, the required integrations and whether there is already a CRM. A simple application and FAQ bot costs significantly less than a bot with registration, payment and two-way synchronization with CRM.

We always give a reference point after a brief analysis of the problem — without it, any figure will be a fiction. One conversation and access to typical customer questions are enough for analysis.