Chatbots on every digital touchpoint to make customers happy!
The first Chatbot DAY took place in Zurich on July 23. The aim of the day was for all guests to take a day to work on their chatbot projects and benefit from each other’s experiences at the same time. Despite the vacation season, 20 chatbot enthusiasts (experts and beginners) came together, including colleagues from Swiss banks and insurance companies, railroad companies, chatbot tool providers, agencies, start-ups and Swiss SMEs. And these are the learnings.
A vision: Chatbots on every digital touchpoint to make customers happy!
The day started with a mini-input from Frederic Monard (CEO Polydata Group). He reported on how he already saw chatbots as an important tool in customer service in 2016. He then showed why chatbots should not only be used in customer service, but should actually be present at every digital touchpoint. However, it is important that every chatbot provides a clear benefit and pursues a defined goal. It’s not about developing a chatbot so that you have a bot. Rather, the chatbot must be used to solve a problem or create new potential.
Convincing management with simple prototypes
In larger organizations, it is sometimes not so easy to get budget for a chatbot project. Sometimes it helps to develop a small, simple prototype first. The project team then takes this prototype to management and can clearly demonstrate what a chatbot can actually do. Such a prototype can easily be implemented during a chatbot day. My guests had used the Swiss tool aiaibot.com for this.
Start with a simple clickbot, then add AI
Many companies always think that they need an AI-based chatbot right away. Chatbot DAY showed once again that it is worth starting with a rule-based chatbot, especially for start-ups or SMEs. This can always be made more intelligent at a later date using AI components.
Exchange helps
There were 20 chatbot enthusiasts with different experiences at Chatbot DAY. Some of them even came from the same industry. The discussions among the participants showed how important it is to exchange ideas with others. It often helps to talk to chatbot enthusiasts from other companies. I deliberately organize exchange rounds and other (digital) events where the focus is on exchanging ideas on the topic. You can find all my events here.
Chatbots can replace the pop-up
The challenge: A widely read blog post without a call-to-action. Two Chatbot DAY participants were faced with the challenge that their blog posts were performing extremely well, but still no one was buying their product. Instead of placing an annoying pop-up on the page, they implemented a chatbot for their blog posts that day. This use case was so simple and could even be realized in the morning with aiaibot.com.
The personality of the chatbot is important
After the lunch break, Oliver Oest from Berlin provided digital input.
He showed all participants how important it is for bots to be given a personality. He even demonstrated his personality design tools. For those who missed it – the presentation can be downloaded free of charge. Simply fill out the following form.
This was not the last Chatbot DAY
The feedback on Chatbot DAY was so positive that the next one will follow soon… It’s best to check back here regularly. Or contact me directly (sophie@hundertmark.ch)
