Brand Acquisitions
Study finds brand acquisitions may not work out as planned, as consumer perceptions of the brand become tainted. But this can be mitigated.
CUSTOMER SELF-SERVICE
Simply throwing a ‘dumb’ bot at the customer may not be the answer
By our News Team | 2022
To provide chat self-service effectively, businesses must spend time designing an exceptional user experience.
As consumers increasingly prefer digital communication with businesses instead of calls, more and more SA companies are trying out WhatsApp messaging. But just throwing a chatbot at it is not the answer.
A poor user experience will not only frustrate customers, but can stop them from ever engaging with a business in the channel again, says Joe de Wet, Product Director at Clickatell, the international chat commerce specialist.
“Helping customers achieve what they need through self-service options is a dream come true for organisations looking to drive efficiencies, but to provide chat self-service effectively, businesses must spend time designing an exceptional user experience,” he states.
De Wet lists a few best-practice tips that he believes will help companies get off to the right start.
Photo by Anton from Pexels
Know where your customers are
Firstly, a company needs to know where their users are. This means understanding which messaging or chat app they prefer to use – for example, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Apple Business Chat, or other chat apps. Not all customers are on the same chat channels.
What do you want to achieve?
Businesses need to identify what they want clients to do via a chat channel. Do they only want clients to authenticate in the chat channel, or do they want to provide chat commerce offerings? Understanding what customers want is key, and businesses need to determine what they hope to achieve through the channel.
Understand the technical constraints
Businesses must understand their technical constraints and back-end integration capabilities before they begin the process of integrating a chat ecosystem.
Optimise the user experience
Businesses need to ensure they have thought through an aligned, proven, conversation user experience. One of the first principles of creating a great chat experience is to break down the user journey into bitesize steps with the aim of gently guiding users.
Ensure there will be an outcome
Always ensure a customer outcome. If customers get stuck, they must have the option to be passed on to a human agent who can meet them in the chat channel.
Beware of the ‘dumb’ bot
Don’t settle for a ‘dumb’ bot. There are excellent technologies out there like Natural Language Understanding (NLU) and AI that can be used to build a digital assistant rather than a bot.
Supply Chain
Consumer-packaged goods industry in Africa is being ‘systematically transformed’ by Ramani’s ‘huge ambition’, investor says.
Executive Appointments
Zayd Abrahams joins from banking group FNB, where he currently leads marketing for the Personal Banking and Private Banking segments.
Marketing ROI
Despite evidence that shows it’s a bad idea, marketing budgets are often the first to be scrutinised and tightened in times of uncertainty.
Consumer Engagement
Strategies needed to optimise digital commitment from consumers have shifted as the global business and geopolitical landscape changes.
Traditional Media
Traditional media remains stronger on the continent than in developed markets, with relatively high cost of digital access being a factor.
Online Shopping
As retailers struggle, they may need to rein in their returns procedures, particularly for ‘serial returners’ and ‘retail borrowers’.
Sports Sponsorship
While Budweiser was caught off-guard by a surprise alcohol ban in stadiums, the company is taking a philosophical stance.
Advertising
High-profile names from TV, movies, music and social media feature in global ad that has 10 languages and four dialects.
Public Relations
‘Potential reach’ is a manipulative metric, while ‘actual reach’ is difficult to ascertain without a media outlet’s internal metrics.
Media Trends
Video-on-demand (VOD) models predicted to mark a new chapter for the global TV and video market in the year ahead.