The chatbot, a new ally in customer-company interaction

In an era of increasingly diverse communication channels, organizations must rethink the way they interact not only with their customers but also with their employees. Jean-Christophe Bouillon, Business Consultant at Proximus NXT within Proximus Luxembourg, discusses the challenges of Next Generation Communication.

Today, the vast majority of the population has widely adopted new communication tools, whether we are talking about social networks, messaging applications, or online collaboration tools. The difference between younger and older generations in terms of the communication tools they prefer is even tending to disappear. Alongside phone calls and SMS messages, parents and children now communicate via social networks, Messenger, or WhatsApp, to name just the most widely used platforms.

“For companies, these developments mean that they need to rethink the way they interact with their various stakeholders. Customers and employees alike want to be able to communicate with a company through the solutions they use every day,” explains Jean-Christophe Bouillon. Email and telephone communication are now complemented by social networks (Facebook, Twitter) and instant messaging platforms.

“For companies, this means being able to manage a multitude of channels and being present wherever users choose to contact us, in order to provide them with the most efficient response possible.”

Managing interactions centrally

To improve interactions with the diversity of users in this context, one of the key challenges is to bring together all messages, regardless of the communication solution used, into a single central point.

“Managing multiple channels is indeed more complex. By routing all requests to a central point — whether they come through email, a contact form, social media, or telephone — a single person or team can handle responses,” continues the expert.

The chatbot serving customer satisfaction

The latest technologies are now helping to improve the user experience. A chatbot, for example, enables more efficient management of customer requests.

But what exactly is a chatbot? It is a program capable of interacting with a user, most often through a dialogue box on a company’s website or via social networks. It can answer questions, guide users through their processes and, when it does not have the necessary answer, redirect them to a human operator.

“From a company’s perspective, a chatbot makes it possible to provide users with immediate answers to simple questions. The advantage is that this solution operates 24/7,” comments Jean-Christophe Bouillon. “Furthermore, it allows support teams, for example, to focus their efforts on more complex issues that require human intervention. Ultimately, it improves operational efficiency while strengthening overall user satisfaction.”

Serving both employees and customers

The chatbot is therefore a tool that improves satisfaction, both externally for customers and prospects, and internally for the needs of a company’s employees.

A chatbot can help customers solve their problems, but it can also assist employees looking for useful information.

“For example, a chatbot can reduce the workload of HR teams by providing answers to frequently asked questions related to employment law or the number of remaining vacation days,” continues Jean-Christophe Bouillon. “The chatbot we implemented for Tango, which is aimed at external customers, can provide technical assistance or administrative support, for example regarding contracts or billing. It can also support certain online transactions by presenting a new phone model or a new offer.”

Implementing a chatbot with a structured approach

Implementing a chatbot solution to support customer interactions requires a precise methodology.

“First and foremost, it is important to clearly define the chatbot’s scope of intervention, its missions, and the stakeholders from different areas — HR, Legal, Business — who will contribute to building it,” explains Jean-Christophe Bouillon.

“Generally speaking, a chatbot can answer simple and frequently asked questions. Through thorough analysis, it is possible to design the solution, define user journeys, create scenarios listing the questions users are likely to ask in different ways, and determine the appropriate answers.

The success of a chatbot depends on a perfect understanding of users’ needs and on the essential role of the guidance provided by Proximus NXT during the initial stages.”

A robot… with a personality

One essential point should be noted: although users generally do not hesitate to interact with a computer program, they want to be informed that their conversation partner is a robot.

“This does not prevent companies from giving it a name, an avatar, an identity, and even a personality and tone of voice. It is also important to be aware of the robot’s limitations, its inability to answer every question, and, when necessary, to always redirect users to a human operator who can provide assistance.”