The first recorded Chatbot was designed in the 1960s by an MIT professor called Joseph Weizenbaum, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, was a very basic programme called ELIZA that could carry on a brief and very limited conversation. An incredible feat, but unlikely to pass the Turing test ..read more

Over the last 18+ months how, where and when we shop has shifted dramatically – consumers are leading the change to digital first engagement with their favourite brands. Initially a necessary consequence of the global pandemic, we’ve realised that convenient customer journeys, embarked on mainly using our mobile phone, are actually our preferred method of shopping, tracking our orders and interacting with brands ..read more

Conversational marketing is the antithesis of impersonal, one-way mass marketing. It’s a way of engaging consumers with a two-way conversation that builds trust and loyalty by making the whole customer experience as personalized and seamless as possible ..read more

Black Friday is the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season. It was apparently the name police in Philadelphia gave to the day after Thanksgiving in the 1960s because of the level of traffic on the city’s streets as people headed to the stores to start buying presents. It may have begun as a major shopping day confined to the US, but has become an enormous global retail event.   ..read more

As a company that works closely with online retailers and eCommerce brands, we understand the importance of digital engagement and how a deep knowledge of your customers’ preferences can build long-lasting relationships. It’s why we’ve built an integration that connects Shopify directly into our platform, enabling our partners to leverage the power of conversational commerce through one of the world’s largest eCommerce platforms.  Shopify Connect makes businesses more efficient and proactive, while saving consumers effort and time when interacting with their favourite eCommerce brands by ..read more

After 18 months of adjustments and adaptation in the retail and eCommerce industries, businesses might have hoped that the world slowly reopening, with 6.6 billion Covid vaccines already administered, would ease some of the pressure they’ve been facing. But no such luck, because there’s a global supply chain crisis which makes the Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal seem like ‘the good old days’. The issues affecting the supply chain aren’t all directly Covid related, but many are  a knock-on effect from the pandemic ..read more

While the issues affecting airlines across the world are far from over, there has been a positive trend for many carriers since our last deep dive into our airline data at the end of Q2. More vaccinations and fewer travel restrictions mean passenger numbers are recovering, but not yet to pre-pandemic levels. There was actually an 18-month high for US airlines in July, with 73m travellers, and it’s a similar story in Europe, where Ryanair more than doubled its passenger numbers compared to September 2020. This is our second quarterly deep dive into customer behaviour in the airline industry (y ..read more

Digital customer engagement has changed. Modern consumers expect personalized, convenient and speedy interactions from their favourite brands, and they’re more than happy to jump ship to a competitor if their needs are not being met. It’s up to businesses to adapt their strategies or risk losing out. In the past 18+ months, consumer habits have shifted overwhelmingly to the digital realm. What began as a necessity with the world locked down, has become a preference. Building happy and loyal customer relationships that feel relevant and individual is everything and brands need to think beyond ..read more

Hello and welcome to The Conversation Round-Up where I sift through the latest news and trends in messaging, automation and customer experience to bring you the stories that matter ..read more

A few weeks ago I appeared on CX legend and friend of Conversocial Dan Gingiss' podcast 'The Experience Maker'. We focused on the needs and expectations of a modern consumer and how to best use messaging channels to meet and exceed those expectations.  ..read more