If you’re not incorporating a chatbot into your website design, then you are already behind. The age of robots is now and the more people interact with them, the more they will realise the value of humanless interaction. What exactly is a ‘bot’? A bot is a computer program that automatically automates certain tasks, typically by chatting with a human through an interface. Bots plug into messaging and networking apps, and can play into larger strategies of tracking trends and consumer behaviour. People shop and buy in a world of immediacy. Messaging is how they communicate. Having an app simply doesn’t cut it anymore because half of smartphone users download a whopping 0 apps per month. Chatbots don’t require app downloads and people don’t have to pick up their phone to talk to an ill-informed service rep. By chatting in a familiar conversational interface, bots know they need to solve a problem and do nothing more or nothing less. When chatbots are linked with a CRM, they get even smarter by leveraging past conversations to personalise their responses to a person’s unique situation and preferences. At a time where app usage and email efficacy are decreasing, chatbots offer businesses the opportunity to have one-to-one conversations at scale and customers a better way to interact with brands. Do you need help with your website design or development? Then http://www.wsioms.co.za/contact-us contact WSI OMS today. Please follow and like...

Today’s socially networked consumer is demanding more from the companies they do business with. They are expecting higher levels of service and enhanced communications provided through ever increasing virtual channels, and outlets using Social Technology for voicing opinions and more importantly communicating with each other about YOUR product or service and about their experiences with YOUR company than ever before. Engaging in proactive conversations with those consumers to manage and deliver on their expectations will become critical to a company’s ability to succeed. Planning for a next-generation customer communication centre will help to address these requirements while enhancing the overall customer experience. Unified communications and collaboration technologies provide the foundation for the next-generation communication centre, by connecting not only the contact centre and the rest of the enterprise, but also the enterprise and the customer in new ways. These technologies bring vital capabilities to customer company communications, including voice/telephony, unified messaging, contextual presence, multimedia conferencing, desktop and data sharing, web portals, social computing, content and knowledge management using ever increasing data and information about how your customers interact with your organisation. Communication channels are expanding beyond more familiar choices like voice, chat and email to include SMS/text messaging modes, customer communities using social networking, and access to content-rich, user-directed, self-service experiences through the Internet. And as these channels are expanding, so are consumers’ expectations. At a minimum, they’ll expect a rich experience tailored to each channel that identifies their needs and provides what they expect. As social media continues to ‘democratise’ the customer experience, they will increasingly want to interact with both fellow consumers and decision-makers within the company to gain a larger voice in the brands they champion. Take heed that if you are not listening to what is being said about your company through the ever increasing Social Media channels. If you are not using technology to ‘listen’ then you are operating in unknown depths where ever dangerous reefs can tear the bottom out of your ship. Ultimately, consumers are looking to participate in the reinvention of customer-company communications and the creation of products and services. These trends bring either risk or opportunity to companies looking to build relationships that cultivate loyalty. The outcome depends on whether or not businesses take action and look to embracing a ‘one to one’ strategy or stick to the old tried and tested ways of doing business and provide what you ’think’ your customers want. Customer-centric companies that choose to adapt to this new norm will need to move from traditional customer interactions confined to the contact centre to enterprise-wide customer-company collaboration. To keep pace with evolving customer needs and to take full advantage of emerging technologies, companies should understand the...

Customer satisfaction is not always a differentiator, it’s a lagging indicator. Customers expect to be delighted and cosseted these days. So instead of focusing on satisfying customers, companies need to look at new ways to build true loyalty and advocacy. Recently I picked up on an interesting article by Mark Johnson CEO of Loyalty 360 who highlighted seven trends he sees in customer loyalty. Most of these trends take the idea of loyalty beyond just a tactical points program or campaign, and look to drive loyalty across the organisation using the common elements of a customer-centric approach. Using deep analysis of data A prolonged shift from acquisition to engagement, customer experience, CRM, retention, and ultimately loyalty Operations play a larger role in loyalty strategy. They are responsible for getting things done, after marketers design programs. New models make data actionable and sustainable. It’s not a one-and-done approach Enterprise loyalty, which encompass the total touch points with which you interact with a customer. If you make a mistake in any touch point, it can threaten overall loyalty which is why Social Media programs are becoming increasingly important Customers want genuine experiences, not slick advertising or empty promises Loyalty must be a priority of the entire C-suite, not just the CMO The biggest challenges, Johnson added, come from understanding who your best customers are, differentiating service based on needs and value, and building loyal customers into brand advocates. It’s much easier said than done, but it can be achieved. Looking at these comments it brings me back to the basics of using customer data and history to understand your customers purchase history by segmenting them by Recency, Frequency and Monitory value to the organisation as this quickly illustrates where you should be focusing your efforts in up selling, rewarding and even incentivised attrition if you have a segment that is actually costing you money. How prepared are you to make the most of these trends? Are your loyalty efforts aligned to this new customer reality and are you taking into account the rapid advances in Social Technology? Please follow and like...