Why Virtual Assistants will be Key to Getting through the Holiday Shopping Season on Top

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Black Friday and Cyber Monday have kicked off the holiday shopping season this year with a bang. While it was reported that the number of shoppers increased from last year, retailers saw a drop in the average amount of money that was spent - approximately $10 less. (money.cnn.com) This drop could be attributed to a number of things. 1. More people reported all their purchases were sale items, 2. A higher percentage of people bought items that were that were 60% off and higher, (IMAGE) and 3. Businesses were ill prepared (specifically online) for the massive amount of shoppers. According to Forbes, lots of big brands' websites were experiencing server issues that couldn't handle the volume of people. 

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"Consumers faced a variety of technical problems on Black Friday and through the so-called “Turkey Five” (the five days after Thanksgiving). Major retailer sites, including Macy’s, QVC, Walmart, Victoria’s Secret and Newegg, all experienced outages, due at least in part to server overload due to enormous boost in traffic. The Gap, Inc. family (Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athletica) was offering a massive 50% off site-wide deal fell victim to the same fate. Other retailers, such as Williams-Sonoma, saw a significant decrease in their page load time—not a great occurrence when buyers are in a hurry to empty their online carts and get on to the next sale." (Forbes)

While things like this are bound to happen,it did not effect the number of online users which continues to grow each year. From last year to this year, approximately 5 million more users were shopping online (about $3.34 billion came from online sales), while brick and mortar store shoppers decreased by 3 million people this year. Out of the online shoppers, $1.2B came from mobile purchases. This is a huge increase from previous years. 

Creating the ultimately customer experience online (via any device) is important to attract new customers and retain existing ones. A major trend this year that consumers are adopting (and preferring) is Virtual Assistants (VA's). While having a VA all year round is a good practice, VA's are also valuable to have during peak seasons as well, such as the holidays. Being able to position your Virtual Assistant as a way for consumers to get quick answers to pre-sales and post-sales questions will reduce the number of inquiries to live agents/employees and increase customer satisfaction. Check out this white paper showing how some of our customers have leveraged their Virtual Assistants during peak seasons: http://www.nohold.com/manage-traffic-spikes-better-with-self-service.html

And it is not just large brands that can benefit. Small and medium businesses, even little personal shops on eBay or Etsy can have a Virtual Assistant to eliminate some of the holiday stress. Visit albertai.com to learn more about creating a Virtual Assistant (bot) quickly and easily, no programming skills required. 

Cheers!

Throwback Thursday: The Past, Present, and Future of Online Shopping

“One of the first known Web purchases took place in 1994. It was a pepperoni pizza with mushrooms and extra cheese from Pizza Hut” (TIME.com; A Brief History of Online Shopping).Today, we use the Internet to purchase almost anything: books, groceries, computers, etc. The majority of Americans are embracing the growing trend and utilizing the convenience of online shopping, but just like in-store consumers, it is important for companies to provide their online audience with an excellent customer experience, too.

According to a Forrester report from 2010, “57% of US online consumers report that they are very likely to abandon an online purchase if they cannot find quick answers to their questions. However, satisfaction with online self-service has room to improve. To reinvigorate online customer service, eBusiness professionals should give virtual agents another look” (It’s Time to Give Virtual Agents another Look, 2010). When looking at eCommerce in 2014, it is apparent that companies are devoting more attention to improving their eCommerce strategy and using cutting edge technology to provide their consumers with world class service, virtually.    

There is no sign of slowing down for Virtual Agents assisting online shopping in the near future either. A trusted analyst firm predicted that the number of online purchases made via a Virtual Assistant will continue to grow into the coming years. With more and more well known brands embracing and even acquiring Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) as part of their own strategy, this is proof that the era of smart machines is upon us. 

Check out this slideshare, How to Increase Sales by Tracking Four Specific Problems, to find out how a Virtual Agent can work as a 24/7 sales person.

What do you expect in the future for online shopping? How do you think Virtual Agents/A.I. will impact the way we make purchases online?

www.nohold.com

Throwback Thursday: Then and Now: Lenovo's eLounge vs. Disney's "Avatar Land"

Some might say I am a Disney fanatic, so I am really excited to share some interesting news… Walt Disney World in Florida is working on a new land to add to the Animal Kingdom called Pandora. It is a replica of the world of Pandora from the 2009 movie Avatar. They are creating this "Avatar Land" to be as interactive as possible, just like being inside a virtual world. It is as though the land is a living organism that responds to contact.  

With an abundant supply of technology and resources, I am sure the creators of Avatar and Disney are going to work together and create a memorable, interactive experience that their guest will be amazed by.

In 2009, Lenovo thought of a concept similar to the avatar land which they named eLounge. This eLounge allows you to create your personal 3-D shopping experience online. You can create your own personal avatar, browse and interact with there virtual products, walk around and share your experience with customers from around the globe, and get support from virtual product specialists. Since eCommerce has sky rocketed in the past few years, having a virtual world that is interactive and collaborative will help complete the circle of the customer experience journey.

What I found interesting was the virtual avatar product specialist that is placed in the virtual shop. Implementing a virtual agent as a product specialist, will eliminate the need for human specialists to respond to every question. After all, a virtual world should have virtual agents, right?

Do you like the idea of online shopping, simulating an actual store? Would you like to communicate with other shoppers for advice and support? 

Happy Throwback Thursday!

Throwback Thursday: How Window Shopping Has Changed In the 21st Century.

Happy Throwback Thursday!

In recent years, window shopping has taken on a new meaning. It no longer means that you physical need to be at the store to find out what the great deals are. You can virtually be there and find the best prices without having to travel from shop to shop, which takes hours! 
Have you ever gone shopping for something and used your Smartphone as a tool to help you find the best deals? I know I have. Just recently, I was shopping for a TV; I started at Costco and examined their prices, and then, as I was casually walking around, I was looking online at Best Buy's company website seeing what kind of deals I can get over there. Unfortunately for Costco, I ended up doing my business with Best Buy because I found a better deal for what I was looking for with my Smartphone.

I’m bringing this up because I came across an article that actually gave a name to what I (and many other Americas) do instead of the traditional window shopping. They call it showrooming, being in a store and looking at their competitors’ website on your Smartphone, shopping for better deals. To me, this concept is genius. I mean we are in the era of technology, so why not use it to conveniently save some money? 

Companies are becoming very upset when they find out that they are losing business to a competitor because their consumers were able to hop on their phones and quickly compare prices. Stores are trying to figure out ways to combat showrooming. In the 1to1 Media article linked above, they mention stores charging fees for people who come into there stores "just to look."                                

To say the least, people were not thrilled with these signs at all. In my opinion, this store will probably lose more customers because of these signs, than because of showrooming. 

Instead of coming up with ridiculous ways to stop people from showrooming, experts suggest companies to embrace this phenomenon and use it as incentive to work a little harder to make sure consumers make purchases and also, come back to their store. Providing EXCEPTIONAL customer service is a great way to keep customers from leaving your store to go to another. Whether we like to believe it or not, people base a majority of their decision on emotion. They remember the experience they had and the feeling they got when shopping in a store and will likely come back if these feelings were positive. 

Another way, is to get showroomers to leave the store they are at and come to yours by having an attractive AND effective website. Seth Godin wrote a blog called “Q&A: What Works for Websites Today?” He shared a list of questions that should be addressed when creating a good website. He stated, “But I stand with a series of questions that will expose the challenges of any website (and the problems of the organization that built it):

• Who is this site for?
• How did they find out about it?
• What does the design remind them of?
• What do you want them to do when they get here?
• How will they decide to do that, and what promises do you make to cause that action?

The only reason to build a website is to change someone. If you can't tell me the change and you can't tell me the someone, then you're wasting your time.” Create a website that works for your business...it is one of your biggest resources for gaining customers and increasing customer loyalty. 

How do Virtual Agents (VA's) fit into this equation? Simple. SalesAdvisor™ , a VA can give your company one up on the competition. Having SalesAdvisor™ implemented on your company website can help customers find what they are looking for easily and answer any questions they may have about your products, all while cross-selling. Since people are using their phones to access your website, it is a great idea to have someone/thing on their assisting the customer. SalesAdvisor™ can also be used as a tool for employees to provide even better customer service. Maybe implementing the VA on a company tablet? 

How to Increase Sales by Tracking Four Specific Problems - by noHold Inc. from noHold, Inc.

The term “window shopping” has changed throughout the 21^st century because of the convenience of mini-computers in the palm of our hand, 24/7. Point being, we should embrace what technology brings to us, not fight it. Challenge ourselves to adapt to the times and continue innovation. 

Cheers.

How to Increase Sales by Tracking Four Specific Problems

No matter which organization or department you belong to, increasing revenue is at the top of your to do list. Whether it's empowering partners to KNOW your products, increasing up-sell opportunities in the call center or understanding cart abandonment, selling products and services is at the heart of everything. 

Take a few minutes to see how customer-centric brands deploy Virtual Agents (VAs) to bridge the gap between product specs and customer perception. View examples of leveraging VAs on partner websites, and even as a resource in brick-and-mortar stores. Learn how to empower call center agents with the perfect up-sell script, and get answers about cart abandonment. 

How to Increase Sales by Tracking Four Specific Problems - by noHold Inc. from noHold, Inc.

 

ClickHere for a link to the Slideshare presentation.
 
P.S.  Did you know? There are 148 days until Christmas and 154 until the end of the year. 

Throwback Thursday: E-Commerce: Past, Present, and Future.

     We are back for another Throwback Thursday, hope everyone is having a great week so far! 

     From mail order catalogs and brick & mortar to digital commerce, shopping has made its way to technology. This week I found inspiration from an article on TechCrunch, "eBay To Make True Window Shopping a Reality With New NYC Virtual Retail Stores." Coming this summer, eBay is developing a giant touchscreen which will be presented as a window display and pedestrians will be able to literally window shop.
     When I first read this it reminded me instantly of shopping through the paper catalogs that get sent to your home, and it is very similiar, the only difference is this is virtualized. We have certainly come along way from paper catalogs, E-commerce is actually becoming more and more popular as technology continues to advance. In 2012, 8% of total retail sales in the US were online purchases and this number is only expected to continue growing. Online sales is expected to generate 262 billion dollars in 2013, a huge jump from the 231 billion dollars made last year. (source: Experience Advertising infographic)

     With all the online consumers it is important to have  good online customer support for pre- and post sales questions. This eBay virtual store made me think of how great SalesAdvisor would be for it. SalesAdvisor is a noHold product developed to educate, advise, and cross-sell to consumers about their company's products. Not only does this Virtual Assistant improve customer satisfaction, it also up sells which generates more profit from Internet sales in the end. eBay would benefit from implementing this Virtual Assistant to their "shoppable window" for customers to be able to have their questions or concerns answered immediately. Also, the Virtual Assistant can suggest different products based on what you are purchasing.
     The big E-commerce boom has only begun since the advancement of smartphones and tablets. Now everyone is finding it more convenient to purchase things in the palm of their hands. But to be successful in the online marketplace, you still have to maintain a relationship with the customers and make sure their needs are still being met via the web.