By Stellamaris Ashinze
Lagos – Zoho Corporation on Monday said that consumer behaviour and expectations were constantly evolving and highlighted five ways chatbots could improve workflows.
A chatbot is a software application used to conduct an on-line chat conversation via text or text-to-speech, in lieu of providing direct contact with a live human agent.
Andrew Bourne, Regional Manager, Africa, Zoho Corporation, said in a statement that people expected a high level of interactivity with the brands they deal with.
He said either the interaction was a compliment, concern, complaint or question via social media or the ability to quickly reach out to a member of the customer support team.
Açcording to him, this phenomenon is partly responsible for the rise of chatbots.
Bourne said that in the case of increased workflow, they can deliver a personalised content experience, answer common customer service Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and streamline product purchases.
“A look at the numbers indicates the chatbot sector is poised for remarkable growth.
“According to one market research company, the global chatbot market was valued at 1.17billion dollars in 2018 and will skyrocket more than 800 per cent to 10.08 billion dollars in 2026.
“Chatbots are particularly valuable under this new paradigm of ultra-high consumer expectations, as they are a way for organisations to significantly improve their overall customer experience,’’ he said.
Bourne said that the chatbot offered a number of workflow-related benefits to organisations that deploy them as well, such as they increase conversational rates.
He said that chatbot would eliminate time-consuming search strings, help organisations gather and maintain customer insights, automatically push out valuable notifications and automate everyday workflows.
(NAN)
