In an article published by Computerworld (www.computerworld.com), Berkeley scientists built a robot that could someday be used by military as a first responder. The scientists were studying the agility, and ability of inversion performed by animals and insects; in particular, the cockroach.
Scientists watched as a cockroach vanished from sight; using its back legs, the cockroach (and other subjects like a gecko) was able to flip itself under a ledge. By studying this behavior, scientists hope to create robots that can potentially be used for the military to act as first responders and avert the enemy.
Robert Full, a Berkeley professor of integrative biology, said new knowledge about cockroaches definitely can help make better robots.
"Today, some robots are good at running, some at climbing, but very few are good at both or transitioning from one behavior to the other," added Full. "That's really the challenge now in robotics, to produce robots that can transition on complex surfaces and get into dangerous areas that first responders can't get into."
For the full story click here
Robert Full was right. Even with web self-service, leading companies aim to create an experience {for their customers} that can act as a first responder, transition during complex interactions and get into areas that other technologies can't get into. Though companies are not studying cockroach behavior, the ultimate goal is the same: Agility.
Agility is characterized by quickness, lightness, and ease of movement. To have an agile mind is to be mentally quick or alert.
Once, websites were flat, brochure-like properties used to advertise a company. Today, websites have become interactive and diagnostic, with 2 way communication between the end user and your company. In fact, according to analysts and much research, most users would prefer to use your website to interact and self-serve.
When it comes to your own self service initiatives, do you have a first responder strategy that can right- channel your customers? Do you envision agility and the ability to transition in complex situations? Or do you prefer the flat, brochure-like experience? In this case, I think I will have to side with the cockroach.
Enjoy your weekend.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Download the Presentation: Motorola Modem Virtual Assistant
The Motorola Modem Virtual Assistant: Is it Part of Your Support Bundle?
If you missed our last webinar, you can now access the presentation below. Please contact noHold if you are interested in the recorded version, or if you would like to learn more about a one month free trial.
If you missed our last webinar, you can now access the presentation below. Please contact noHold if you are interested in the recorded version, or if you would like to learn more about a one month free trial.
Motorola Modem Virtual Assistant: Is it Part of Your Support Bundle?
View more presentations from noHold, Inc..
Friday, June 15, 2012
Customer Feedback Fridays - Be Proactive.
When you walk into a brick and mortar business, and the company is known for providing excellent service, what does that mean to you? For me, a store providing great service does a few of the following:
1) The clerk smiles at me and says hello when I enter
2) After saying hello, the clerk does not "pounce" on me, he/she allows me to browse, and confronts me to provide help after giving me some time to look.
3) When it's time to approach me, and I tell the clerk I'm just looking, he/she will simply say "OK, if you need any help my name is Martha and I will be happy to assist you."
Three simple steps. Being too intrusive makes me feel rushed and overwhelmed. By offering help only if I need it, I am happy. I trust that the store cares about my business and wants me to be comfortable.
On the web, don't we all want the same thing? Invite me into your site with a welcome message. Make it easy for me to navigate, so I can find what I'm looking for. Offer to help, but don't push me away. Most companies will say that they strive to re-create the brick and mortar experience for online shoppers.
Proactive chat is a good way to provide guidance through all steps of the sales cycle. Beginning with educate, advise, and up-sell to fulfill, support and maintaining a happy customer.
One noHold customer has recently transformed the traditional Virtual Agent experience into a proactive 'guided' conversation. The proactive agent comes in two forms:
1) A proactive pop-up will appear after 3 seconds on the page.
2) On another page, a proactive pop-up will appear the 3rd time you visit the page (click a link, then click back to see it in action). In this version, you can type in a question to start the virtual chat interaction.
The beauty of this experience is that the Virtual Agent will present itself, but the end user can decide to say yes or no, or simply close the window. The pop-up is a small window that does not intrude on the visitors navigation or block the view of the page.
What's that you say? Pop-ups have a bad wrap? It's true, but keep in mind that if it's done the right way most users prefer proactive chat. In fact, a leading analyst firm says, "Implementing proactive chat can be a complex process that requires aligning multiple business areas. However, a successful proactive chat implementation doesn't end with a check mark next to the word "done"; savvy eBusiness professionals understand that proactive chat success requires ongoing refinement of the business rules that will trigger chat invitations, staffing, and customer experience." Forrester, 2010, Diane Clarkson.
And with any business, online or brick and mortar, your customers and prospects are going to have questions. Choosing the tried and true method of the most successful retail stores in the nation, and recreating that experience online is what we all aim for. If you want to learn more about proactive chat and how leading brands do it today, my name is Sarah, and I will be right here if you need my assistance.
Cheers to the weekend!
1) The clerk smiles at me and says hello when I enter
2) After saying hello, the clerk does not "pounce" on me, he/she allows me to browse, and confronts me to provide help after giving me some time to look.
3) When it's time to approach me, and I tell the clerk I'm just looking, he/she will simply say "OK, if you need any help my name is Martha and I will be happy to assist you."
Three simple steps. Being too intrusive makes me feel rushed and overwhelmed. By offering help only if I need it, I am happy. I trust that the store cares about my business and wants me to be comfortable.
On the web, don't we all want the same thing? Invite me into your site with a welcome message. Make it easy for me to navigate, so I can find what I'm looking for. Offer to help, but don't push me away. Most companies will say that they strive to re-create the brick and mortar experience for online shoppers.
Proactive chat is a good way to provide guidance through all steps of the sales cycle. Beginning with educate, advise, and up-sell to fulfill, support and maintaining a happy customer.
One noHold customer has recently transformed the traditional Virtual Agent experience into a proactive 'guided' conversation. The proactive agent comes in two forms:
1) A proactive pop-up will appear after 3 seconds on the page.
2) On another page, a proactive pop-up will appear the 3rd time you visit the page (click a link, then click back to see it in action). In this version, you can type in a question to start the virtual chat interaction.
The beauty of this experience is that the Virtual Agent will present itself, but the end user can decide to say yes or no, or simply close the window. The pop-up is a small window that does not intrude on the visitors navigation or block the view of the page.
What's that you say? Pop-ups have a bad wrap? It's true, but keep in mind that if it's done the right way most users prefer proactive chat. In fact, a leading analyst firm says, "Implementing proactive chat can be a complex process that requires aligning multiple business areas. However, a successful proactive chat implementation doesn't end with a check mark next to the word "done"; savvy eBusiness professionals understand that proactive chat success requires ongoing refinement of the business rules that will trigger chat invitations, staffing, and customer experience." Forrester, 2010, Diane Clarkson.
And with any business, online or brick and mortar, your customers and prospects are going to have questions. Choosing the tried and true method of the most successful retail stores in the nation, and recreating that experience online is what we all aim for. If you want to learn more about proactive chat and how leading brands do it today, my name is Sarah, and I will be right here if you need my assistance.
Cheers to the weekend!
Friday, June 8, 2012
Customer Feedback Fridays: BYOC, BYOD, and the Cost for IT
Have you heard about BYOC? How about BYOD? I like to use my own Apple products, but that's just me. *Feel free to dance as you repeat the first three sentences to yourself. I just did*
Bring Your Own Computer or Bring Your Own Device is a popular revolution that is being adopted by large organizations. The consumerisation of IT is gaining momentum as consumers mix work with play. Pretty exciting movement. Essentially, it's the ability for employees to use their own personal or preferred devices for work. I'm a Lenovo and Dell fan by day (work sponsored computer and monitor) and an avid Apple fan on nights and weekends. But sometimes, I like to mix it up. If I telecommute on a Friday, it's nice to take advantage of some of the features on my MacBook Air to complete work related tasks.
Next to security issues, a key component of BYOD is encouraging users to self-support. Many large organizations supporting "Bring Your Own" will pay for all or part of the device, provide the virtual apps/desktop, but are asking users/employees to solve their own support issues. On a high level, if I had an issue retrieving email while working at home, even on my own device, the first option for me would be to contact my company's IT department. But what if it was a simple issue (like troubleshooting my router) that could be handled via self-serve options? What if the IT department could provide employees with a list of approved self-service tools that could be used by non-technical employees as well as the tech savvy?
A few questions to ask yourself when asking employees to support their own device:
1) Am I taking into consideration the different types of users? A problem with a device can lead to lost presentations/documents/work and decrease in productivity. When you ask an employee to self-serve, be sure to give him/her the tools that will help them to be productive. A lost presentation can equate to an unproductive meeting, delays in completing projects, lost time trying to recover the file, as well as a decrease in employee morale.
2) Can the self-serve solution be accessed on any device? Make sure the self-help options can be accessed on a tablet, mobile phone, PC, laptop and on any browser. When you give employees the freedom to select their own device, the self serve options should be equally flexible.
3) Is the self-serve option limited in content? As employees/consumers demand the ability to connect multiple devices to the 'connected home experience' they will expect similar support. Make sure the self serve solution can access related repositories of knowledge. Like the example above, issues retrieving email could be related to the PC, the Router, the Network, or the Internet Service Provider (ISP) - Asking the employee to sift through multiple websites will decrease productivity and increase frustration.
Today, in honor of the BYOD movement, I will provide you with a quote from an analyst covering Devices for a well-known and highly regarded research firm. Happy Friday!
"Bring your own computer is a growing trend in SMB and Enterprise. BYOC employees will be responsible for the maintenance of their PCs, and will need their PC questions resolved quickly. {The movement} could result in a small increase in warranty sales in 2012 and 2013. A hot topic is how will my organization support BYOD. PC manufacturers will increasingly need to support questions from consumers about how to use their PCs for work. {Example} Questions will range from enterprise apps, to extending battery life, to using the VPN and authentication."
Bring Your Own Computer or Bring Your Own Device is a popular revolution that is being adopted by large organizations. The consumerisation of IT is gaining momentum as consumers mix work with play. Pretty exciting movement. Essentially, it's the ability for employees to use their own personal or preferred devices for work. I'm a Lenovo and Dell fan by day (work sponsored computer and monitor) and an avid Apple fan on nights and weekends. But sometimes, I like to mix it up. If I telecommute on a Friday, it's nice to take advantage of some of the features on my MacBook Air to complete work related tasks.
Next to security issues, a key component of BYOD is encouraging users to self-support. Many large organizations supporting "Bring Your Own" will pay for all or part of the device, provide the virtual apps/desktop, but are asking users/employees to solve their own support issues. On a high level, if I had an issue retrieving email while working at home, even on my own device, the first option for me would be to contact my company's IT department. But what if it was a simple issue (like troubleshooting my router) that could be handled via self-serve options? What if the IT department could provide employees with a list of approved self-service tools that could be used by non-technical employees as well as the tech savvy?
A few questions to ask yourself when asking employees to support their own device:
1) Am I taking into consideration the different types of users? A problem with a device can lead to lost presentations/documents/work and decrease in productivity. When you ask an employee to self-serve, be sure to give him/her the tools that will help them to be productive. A lost presentation can equate to an unproductive meeting, delays in completing projects, lost time trying to recover the file, as well as a decrease in employee morale.
2) Can the self-serve solution be accessed on any device? Make sure the self-help options can be accessed on a tablet, mobile phone, PC, laptop and on any browser. When you give employees the freedom to select their own device, the self serve options should be equally flexible.
3) Is the self-serve option limited in content? As employees/consumers demand the ability to connect multiple devices to the 'connected home experience' they will expect similar support. Make sure the self serve solution can access related repositories of knowledge. Like the example above, issues retrieving email could be related to the PC, the Router, the Network, or the Internet Service Provider (ISP) - Asking the employee to sift through multiple websites will decrease productivity and increase frustration.
Today, in honor of the BYOD movement, I will provide you with a quote from an analyst covering Devices for a well-known and highly regarded research firm. Happy Friday!
"Bring your own computer is a growing trend in SMB and Enterprise. BYOC employees will be responsible for the maintenance of their PCs, and will need their PC questions resolved quickly. {The movement} could result in a small increase in warranty sales in 2012 and 2013. A hot topic is how will my organization support BYOD. PC manufacturers will increasingly need to support questions from consumers about how to use their PCs for work. {Example} Questions will range from enterprise apps, to extending battery life, to using the VPN and authentication."
Monday, June 4, 2012
Updated Registration Links for The Motorola Modem Virtual Assistant Webinar
*Updated Registration links!
Please note: Registration for this webinar has been updated. If you previously registered, please register again. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Customer Feedback Fridays - Implementation Methods
Different users like to interact in different ways. The ability to have implementation options allows us to customize an experience that meets the needs of our customers, and the end users. For example, one method of implementing Virtual Agents/Virtual Assistants is via pop-up. Because some end users prefer to block any and all pop-ups, we must offer alternate options.
When implementing any technologies, one question you should ask yourself is "how much flexibility do I have with this technology?" In other words, if you decide to implement an experience for your customers be sure that it can evolve with the changing consumer and your business requirements. Having the added benefit of using the same technology across multiple properties is also key. For example, in the slides below, you will see an example of a Virtual Agent "embedded" into the support site. The same Virtual Agent is used for internal call center agents. For call center agents, a button can be created in the CRM system to launch the Virtual Agent with one click.
Since I'm a show-and-tell kind of user, I would like to show you some examples of implementation methods. Instead of providing you with an actual feedback from a customer today, I will let the examples (below) speak for themselves. Here is a list of implementation methods you will see in the slides:
-Co-browse
-Embedded
-Pop-up
-Ask Field
-Social Media (Forum/Facebook)
-Mobile
Happy Friday.
When implementing any technologies, one question you should ask yourself is "how much flexibility do I have with this technology?" In other words, if you decide to implement an experience for your customers be sure that it can evolve with the changing consumer and your business requirements. Having the added benefit of using the same technology across multiple properties is also key. For example, in the slides below, you will see an example of a Virtual Agent "embedded" into the support site. The same Virtual Agent is used for internal call center agents. For call center agents, a button can be created in the CRM system to launch the Virtual Agent with one click.
Since I'm a show-and-tell kind of user, I would like to show you some examples of implementation methods. Instead of providing you with an actual feedback from a customer today, I will let the examples (below) speak for themselves. Here is a list of implementation methods you will see in the slides:
-Co-browse
-Embedded
-Pop-up
-Ask Field
-Social Media (Forum/Facebook)
-Mobile
Happy Friday.
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