customer’s personal assistant. Gartner predicts that by 2022, approximately 70 percent of all customer interactions will be via chatbots, machine learning and mobile messaging. In addition, consumers are increasingly open to purchasing via chatbots. There are also almost 1 billion voice assistants in use. They provide information and offer opportunities to sell products directly. These virtual assistants have access to a lot of data, have access to customer history and know purchasing preferences.
Sephora, the French beauty and cosmetics brand, combines Google Home with the Virtual Artist app, allowing customers to virtually test makeup. A coffee at Starbucks is easy to order via the ' My Starbucks Barista Voice App '. And via ' Kik Bot ' you can chat directly with fashion chain H&M.
What is striking about Kik Bot is that this solution understands the intention of the customer. If the consumer special lead asks a question about a certain piece of clothing, the bot looks up the purchase history, sends it to a stylist (of flesh and blood) and informs the marketing department. In this way, everything is done for a personalized follow-up campaign for this customer.
No more need for a crystal ball
More and more companies are looking to expand their company’s messaging options. A smart move, because Zendesk’s Benchmark report shows that many e-commerce companies use support via messaging. In the first months of the corona outbreak, the number of direct messages via Facebook and Twitter alone increased by almost 550 percent. You don’t have to have a crystal ball to see that messaging is the future. Especially now that we are in contact with brands more from home and online due to the pandemic, developments will follow in rapid succession.