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Chatbots are on the rise. Chatbots enable companies to automate a large part of their customer service process. 87% of the marketers believe that chatbots are the key to avoiding long customer service wait times, when they get high amounts of inquiries at the same time (Newsroom, 2018). However, to write the so-called conversational copy of content well, you really have to know what you’re doing. If you don’t, you will only frustrate the users.

Acquia has found that 45 per cent of consumers in the UK think of chatbots as “annoying”, and would prefer it if websites removed them completely or found an alternative (Newsroom, 2018). Thus, where marketeers are confident that chatbots are the solution, half of the consumers disagree and think that they are lacking.

But that must be done properly…  
A chatbot has many advantages, as they can automate a large part of the customer contact therefore reducing the need of personal contact with the helpdesk, and they can be used 24/7. But it only works well if the conversational copy is properly written. If you don’t, you will mainly frustrate your customers. A frustrated customer feels misunderstood and much more likely to go to a competitor that does offer a good listening ear.

Be aware that most customers often only contact us if they are not completely satisfied. Emotions then run high. For example, they did not receive an important order at home that they now really need. Or, they have a very specific question, but after an hour of searching the website, the answer has still not come up. Irritations may then be present. If  at such a moment they contact a chatbot that does not immediately help the customer in their way, it has a reinforcing effect on these negative emotions.

How to use chatbots properly
So what can companies do to prevent killing customer service? The important thing is that they have to keep improving their chatbots. There are, after all, many consumers who still like to use chatbots to get quick answers (Elliott, 2018). For more complex situations, consumers often prefer to talk to a human. The recommendation, therefore, would be go for a blended approach: do not try to replace the human agents but rather improve your customer service by adding chatbots to the current agents. However, if you decide to make use of chatbots, make sure you don’t rush in too quickly to implement it but to design it properly. Chatbots are only as they are trained to be.

After you’ve implemented a chatbot, monitor how it is used and where the potential bottlenecks are. Keep updating your script constantly so that you can continue to help customers well. Next to that, make sure that it is easy to get into conversation with a real person, so that the frustration does not rise too high.

Have you ever experienced a conversation with a chatbot that annoyed you and where you preferred to talk to an employee, or do you think chatbots will be able to replace the employees in the future?    

References  
D’Angelo, M. (2017). ‘Funniest Chatbot Fails’. Accessed on 17 October 2019 on https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10450-funniest-chatbot-fails.html/.

Elliott, C. (2018). ‘Chatbots Are Killing Customer Service. Here’s Why.’. Accessed on 17 October 2019 on https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherelliott/2018/08/27/chatbots-are-killing-customer-service-heres-why/#41e269a013c5.

Newsroom (2018). ‘Consumers think chatbots are “annoying and impersonal”, discovered Acquia research’. Accessed on 17 October 2019 on https://lovelymobile.news/consumers-think-chatbots-are-annoying-and-impersonal-discovered-acquia-research/.

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I procrastinated writing this blog post. A lot. If you would ask me why, I would not have a proper answer. It might have something to do with a lack of inspiration, but perhaps technology also has something do to with it. The other night I was procrastinating preparing a workshop about effective learning I had to give the day after, when I came across a TED talk about procrastinating. After this, I started looking into what technology means for procrastination, and man did I find a good excuse for it.

Procrastination is not an unfamiliar phenomenon, especially for students. After a three-hour lecture, the last thing we want to do when we come home is to continue studying. As a result, we often find ourselves spending time on less useful activities like eating, napping or using some sort of technology to avoid doing the inevitable. Maybe you’re unfamiliar with the issue of procrastinating, and I applaud you for it. I would, however, blame it on the fact that there is some scientific research that proves that the tendency to postpone e.g. studying is somewhat heritable [1]. Just like how some of us are right-handed and some of us are left-handed, and how some of us love cilantro and some of us think it tastes like soap.

In this decade, technology seems to surround us everywhere. The world is moving at a rapid pace, and we expect no less of it. Odds are, you can’t get through a single day without a couple of texts or calls. This has led to an increasing belief that technology is to blame for the increasing procrastinating behavior among students. Oakton High school conducted a study lately, in which they found that 80% of all students identify themselves as ‘procrastinators’ [2]. These students have all mentioned that they have used phones, laptops or watched television to procrastinate.

It is due to the technological advancements that we all end up procrastinating more than ever, even though part of the goal of these advancements is to make certain tasks and activities easier and give us more time to do other things during the day. Professor Gazalley has explained that technology is improving so much that it is challenging our cognitive abilities [3]. These abilities are necessary for focussing on accomplishing certain tasks. The more challenging the task, the more difficult it is to focus on doing the task. And then, when you see your mobile phone lighting up because of a text, an email or a new Facebook message, it gets even more challenging to focus. He recommends that when we do something that requires a lot of attention and focus, we need to reduce the distractions around us. Turn of our notifications, put our phones in flight mode and only use the internet when necessary.

I think it’s safe to conclude that procrastination and the ability to maintain focus are all tied up, but that technology shouldn’t be blamed for all the distractions that they possibly bring to us.  Because in the end, it’s still up to us to make sure we don’t get distracted. What do you think about the effects of technology on procrastinating?

Maybe this will inspire you to switch off your phone and start reading some articles for Information Strategy today. Or well, maybe not today… But soon?