Item: ManyChat
Rating: 8
Author: Ayo Bamgbose, Assoc CIPD, MSc

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

ManyChat is primarily known as a messenger bot that can be found on Facebook Messenger and that helps businesses to improve it's customer service and support. For myself, ManyChat is the ultimate social media marketing tool that has helped me to generate new leads via ourFacebook business page, communicate more effectively with potential clients at any time of the day no matter where they are in the world. Essentially, ManyChat helps my business deliver and share the content my audience needs.

Pros and Cons

ManyChat has a Facebook comment feature that when your audience comments on a particular post on your Facebook page then send them the information you have promised them. Once set up, is all on autopilot.
We have the ManyChat plugin on our website to act as a customer service chat feature for those looking for help and engage with us.
Have some great integrations on the pro account with payment gateways such as Stripe that allows you to charge your clients and receive money.

Although it is only used via Facebook at the moment it would be great to be able to use it via Instagram direct messaging.
I find when setting up the automated flow, which allows you to create communication sequences, is still a little complicated to get my head around.
They provide free training, which is great but very overwhelming and doesn't help in getting to understand how to use the features in a step-by-step way.

Return on Investment

ManyChat features have helped my business to generate leads and communicate more efficiently without breaking the bank.
When I first started using ManyChat 2 years ago I didn't have a budget but I loved that it provided a free plan and a ridiculously cost-effective paid plan for all types of businesses.
ManyChat, once all set up, is the ultimate social media marketing automation tool that helps you to truly connect your audience to your products and services.

Usability

ManyChat is a great tool, provides loads of features, integrations and just saves you a whole load of time once all set up. If you aren't tech-savvy or used to how digital marketing tools work, it can appear complicated. That's how I felt initially 2 years ago, and after watching tutorials online I had a better understanding of it. This is why I rated it a 7, as it's not a tool that you can just play around with and guess how it works. There's definitely a learning curve with it so I recommend doing the free training and watching video tutorials.

Support Rating

ManyChat provides a few ways of helping to provide support fo with their customers online. From an online chat feature to a really supportive Facebook community filled with other users just like yourselves who have experienced the same frustrations and can share their solutions. The Facebook group is also the place to find out about the latest news, features, tips, and advice on how to get started. I really value ManyChat more because of the Facebook group community where you can also find their team helping out.

Alternatives Considered

There are a few alternatives to Manychat such as Mobile Monkey and even Facebook's very own Messenger chatbot. I initially tried Mobile Monkey but found myself going back to Manychat as they had a lot more online presence, training, engagement with users that kept me excited and interested. The Facebook chatbot is very limited and doesn't offer anywhere near to all the features and capabilities that ManyChat provides.

Other Software Used

Dropbox, QuickBooks Self-Employed, Buffer

Likelihood to Recommend

ManyChat is suited for those who are at the stage where they're ready to focus on generating leads, grow their email list, drive traffic to their content and ready sell their goods and services. If your clients are on Facebook and looking for your products and services, then ManyChat is the tool you need to spend some time learning to use and implementing. ManyChat is not for those who have zero interest in using Facebook to market their business or new businesses with zero interest in digital marketing.

Products Replaced

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Features
Product Usability
Third-party Reviews

When I first started using ManyChat 2 years ago, to me the whole messenger chatbot was new. I didn't understand the benefits and how it would help my business so I was very reluctant to initially invest in it. The free plan helped put my mind at ease and once I started seeing results with generating more leads the very cost-effective paid plan was worth it.

Evaluation Lessons Learned

If I had to do it again and evaluate Manychat against their competitors I would have carried out a 14-30 day trial on both to see which one was easier to get started with and implement. I would have also read a lot more user reviews and watched their training tutorials to learn about all the features and functionalities to access which my business needed at the time.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Well integrated Consistent Feel confident using	Difficult to use Requires technical support Cumbersome Lots to learn

Easy Tasks

Setting up your account was easy.
The Facebook comments feature - connect a particular post to the function.
Uploading and linking digital content that gets sent to leads on Facebook Messenger.

Difficult Tasks

Creating a flow sequence can be complicated.
Connecting it to work with your email service provider and other third-party tools.

Generate Leads on Facebook with the Ultimate Social Media Marketing Automation Tool

Overall Satisfaction with ManyChat