conversational-commerce

What Does it Mean for Commerce to be Conversational?

By Shai Berger on September 18, 2018

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I just returned from the excellent Conversational Commerce Conference. It’s not a big event (just one track over two days), but it is very focused. I heard two excellent success stories on recent bot deployments. I think I need to revise downward my bot-skepticism a bit.

The highlight for me was a fireside chat with Dan Miller, Mitch Lieberman and Chris Messina over what exactly is meant by saying something is “conversational”. It’s a term with multiple meanings, all of which are central to the future of commerce, customer service and, more broadly, how people and companies are going to interact in the future.

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Buzzwords, De-buzzed: 7 Other Ways to (Not) Say Chatbot

By Lindsey Patterson on January 17, 2018

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Buzzwords, De-buzzed: 7 Other Ways to (Not) Say Chatbot Chatbots have earned a number of pseudonyms over the last few years. Some are accurate representations of the technology; others are just downright wrong. I mean, you wouldn’t call your customer service agent by a different name other than the one they gave you, right?

It’s important to understand that not everything that comes under the umbrella of artificial intelligence is considered a “chatbot”. Let’s explore the most frequently used inferences of “chatbot” and dispel some of the confusion around the terms. You might have been calling “chatbots” by the wrong name all along (not that they’ll really mind).

Here are 7 terms that are often used as an alternative to “chatbot”, and what they actually infer: Continue reading →

The Next Big Thing in Social Customer Service

By Lindsey Patterson on January 11, 2018

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The weight social media has on brand affinity and customer satisfaction is constantly growing. Today 84% of consumers expect companies to respond within 24 hours after posting on social media, while 72% of Twitter complaints expect a response within an hour. But what does this mean for the future of customer service? Well, it’s been said that social customer care is actually the new business marketing. We are in an age where customer service has the potential to go viral, which means there is a lot more at stake for brands. Therefore, businesses must remain on the pulse of new innovations to ensure consistency and quality. Continue reading →

3 Takeaways from Our Google Hangout on Conversational Commerce [Video]

By Nicolina Savelli on July 25, 2017

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Last week, Fonolo hosted a very insightful and engaging Google Hangout discussing the future of chat-for-commerce and if Apple is a legitimate threat. This expert panel discussed how messaging platforms are shaping the way we interact, and how businesses and consumers can embrace this new wave of communications. To save you some time, we’ve extracted video snippets showcasing highlights from the discussion.

First, let’s take a quick look at the panel of speakers: Tobias Goebel from Aspect, Dan Miller from Opus Research, Max Ball from RingCentral, Thomas Howe from Ten Digit Communications, and Shai Berger from Fonolo. Continue reading →

Why Everyone Is Talking About Conversational Commerce?

By Nicolina Savelli on July 13, 2017

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Why is Everyone Talking About Conversational Commerce Messaging platforms are fast becoming the most desired method of communication among consumers and businesses thanks to rising comfort levels with virtual assistants and chatbots. In the last year alone, the amount of time spent on mobile messaging apps (Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp) grew by a whopping 394%, surpassing social networks (Facebook page, Twitter). However, as the chat-for-commerce space matures, the unwritten partnership between businesses and messaging platforms raises some serious questions.

In our Google Hangout on Thursday, July 20^th at 2PM ET/11AM PT, we ask chat experts Tobias Goebel (Aspect), Max Ball (RingCentral), Dan Miller (OpusResearch), Thomas Howe (Ten Digit Communications), and our very own Shai Berger, about the impact messaging platforms will have on the future of communications in the call center. We’ll also discuss the newcomer, Apple, and if they will dominate the space.

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Companies Want a Chat Platform. Apple and Facebook Are Happy to Oblige. What’s the Catch?

By Shai Berger on July 11, 2017

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The “chat” style of communication, where two parties type text back-and-forth, is wildly popular with consumers. Companies are eager to embrace this popularity because A) it’s smart to communicate in a way your customers like and B) it’s less costly than call center agents.

Facebook, Twitter and, as of last month, Apple are all happy to provide a platform for that kind of business-to-consumer chat to take place. (We’re going to talk about Apple’s new offering in our live panel discussion next week. Be sure to tune in and direct questions to our panel of industry experts.)

These platforms are free for any company to use. But is there a catch? More precisely: Is the agenda of these for-profit platforms perfectly aligned with a company that wants to use them as a channel to talk to customers? Read on for discussion of that question and two related ones.

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Can Apple Dominate the Chat-for-Commerce Space? [Google Hangout]

By Daniela Puzzo on June 22, 2017

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Facebook, Twitter and other messaging platforms have been battling fiercely to become the de facto channel for business-to-consumer chat. Capturing that title brings with it a powerful position that can be used to influence buying patterns, collect key data, and serve targeted ads.

Earlier this month, Apple jumped into the fray by announcing that iMessage will become a business communication platform. This is possibly the most significant development of the year in “conversational commerce”. As a customer service channel, chat has distinct advantages: it lowers cost for companies by allowing agents to juggle multiple conversations, it makes automated responses easy to blend in (aka bots), and, perhaps most importantly, it is the preferred style of communication for younger consumers. Continue reading →

4 Takeaways: Google Hangout on 2017 CX Trends

By Daniela Puzzo on November 22, 2016

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4 Takeaways: Google Hangout on 2017 CX Trends Last week, Fonolo hosted yet another insightful Google Hangout discussing the biggest customer experience trends for 2017. This fabulous panel of experts discussed why the customer experience deserves even more attention and investment in the New Year. To save you some time, we’ve extracted video snippets showcasing highlights from the discussion.

First, let’s take a quick look at the panel of speakers: Dave Michels from TalkingPointz, Mike Aoki from Reflective Keynotes, Jeannie Walters from 360Connext, and Shai Berger from Fonolo.

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Google Hangout: 4 Must-Know Customer Experience Trends for 2017

By Daniela Puzzo on November 3, 2016

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2017 is quickly approaching and with that comes a new set of predictions! Since customer expectations are changing just as rapidly as the advances in technology, enhancing the customer experience is an ongoing goal for most companies. Gartner says that this year alone, 89% of organizations competed solely on the customer experience.

We’re in the middle of what many people are calling the ‘Age of the Customer’, where customers expect consistent experiences across multiple channels (including in-person and digital). They don’t care if providing these experiences is difficult, or if it requires a complex approach using multiple departments. Customers simply want to be catered to, and will go elsewhere if you can’t do that. Continue reading →

4 Clips from Salesforce’s Call Center Keynote Reveal Their Strategy

By Shai Berger on November 1, 2016

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4 Clips from Salesforce’s Call Center Keynote Reveal Their Strategy It’s been clear for a while that Salesforce has strong aspirations in the contact center space. A few months ago, I wrote Salesforce Has Many Fingers in the Call Center Pie which talked about the introduction of Salesforce Lightning Voice and the many indirect ways that the company was getting involved in the call center.

The recent acquisition of Heywire, and further enhancements of Lightning Voice were logical steps along this path. At their recent Dreamforce event, the “Salesforce for Service” keynote showed examples of what customers are doing today as well as a few hints of where Salesforce is heading. You can watch the full hour here. But if you’re short on time, I’ve extracted 4 segments (2 minutes each) that were the most enlightening. If you’re interested in Salesforce’s collision course with the contact center industry these clips are well worth watching.

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