Whitelabel Chatbot Partnership — How to invest in automation?
Chatbots are fast becoming consumer friendly. They are being used to provide easy and quick access to information, integrate with services and perform tasks for users. Their viral use has caught the attention of investors across the world with many even saying that chatbots will be the next app market boom. Now this is another thing altogether but what I am interested in is how you can invest in chatbots without having to become a techie or owning one.
The truth of the matter is that their widespread use has not only caught the attention of consumers but also investors who are looking for the next big thing after Facebook, AirBnB and Uber. Investment bank GP Bullhound predicts that investment in the 20 biggest chatbot start-ups will more than double in 2016 to $38 million.
It is therefore not surprising that investors and investors advisers like myself, find themselves looking for ways to explore the chatbots market and identify opportunities for investment. One great way of doing this is by identifying companies who are looking at leveraging chatbot technology via whitelabel chatbot partnerships.
So what are whitelabel chatbots?
Whitelabels are the licensing of a product to another company for them to rebrand and market as their own. Companies who have already developed their chatbots have now started looking at ways in which they can leverage it so that it has maximum user reach and demand.
One of the ways in which they can do this is by entering into a whitelabeled chatbot partnership with companies who have customer bases that match their target audience. In exchange for a fee, companies will be allowed to rebrand and market their chatbots as their own product thus allowing them the advantage of having a chatbot without having to go through the trouble and expense of developing it.
Well, if this is such a good idea, why haven’t I heard about these companies?
That’s because many of them are still in their earliest stages and have yet to market themselves to the world. Most of the companies that you will find will be small start-ups that are looking to develop their chatbots to the highest possible standards.
However, this does not mean that there are no companies who have already rebranded and marketed their bots for whitelabel. If you know where to look or what to search for, then I am sure that you will find at least one company who fits the bill.
This takes us to the topic of this article which is how you can invest in chatbots through whitelabel chatbot partnerships by identifying potential partners and negotiating a fee for their product. If interested, then below are 3 tips that will help you find companies for your whitelabel chatbot partnership:
- Look at the chatbot development companies and see if any of them have a bot that you could market.
- Look for companies who already market their products to your target audience and see if they already have a chatbot.
- If you can’t find any, then search online forums such as Reddit’s /r/BotNews, Facebook Groups and Telegram channels for discussions on bots and see if any companies have been mentioned.
After you have identified a company, the next step is to negotiate a fee in exchange for marketing their chatbot as your own product. The initial asking price for a whitelabel chatbot will be extremely high but it’s worth giving them a counter offer because it could be the difference between you investing in a company or not.
If, for example, they are looking at charging you $300 per month to whitelabel their chatbot then offer them $10-$20 which might get them interested. Remember, companies who have already developed their chatbots do it for money and if your offer is attractive enough, then there is a very good chance that they will take it.
The third step is to market their current chatbots to your customer base and see the results. If the company you are planning on whitelabeling with has already invested in marketing themselves, then make sure you get permission from them before using any of their marketing material. After all, it is their marketing spend and they might want to see how well your previous marketing efforts have done before permitting you to use theirs.
If the company has yet to market themselves, then try reaching out to them and asking for permission. If they agree, then ask them about their social media pages and if possible link up with them on Facebook and Telegram to see how you can collaborate.
As always, I hope this article has helped you in some way and if there is anything that you would like to add, then please leave a comment below because I would love to hear what you have to think about it all. Thank You!
