How to Set ‘SMART’ Digital Marketing Objectives

Posted on by

Setting an objective is listed as the first step to a powerful digital campaign by the Digital Marketing Institute. It sounds simple, you know what your marketing campaign goals are right? In reality, the process can challenging, and without proper consideration, businesses often end up with a campaign that lacks direction and doesn’t link together   HiveDigitalStrategy go as far as claiming that goal-setting is one of the most difficult tasks digital marketers must complete. Despite this difficulty, the benefits are significant and justify the effort require to define clear objectives that are the foundation of a successful campaign. I have listed some of these benefits below:-

 

 

Given the importance of objectives, it should become clear that to effectively analyse your strategy, your objectives should be effective, or ‘SMART’. by creating objectives using the framework, you are keeping up with many of the best businesses in the world, as they all are driven by focussed objectives. MindTools defines the individual letters of the ‘SMART’ acronym as; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Below is a breakdown of the five letters involved.

At the forefront of business knowledge:

The ‘SMART’ framework is widely accepted to have been introduced in 1981, by George T. Duran. However, it is still at the very forefront of business knowledge, with the only development coming recently in the form of ‘SMARTER’ goals (The E and R stand for evaluated and revisited). The last two letters of this acronym are letters that usually come at the end of the campaign and so they are not actually necessary when first setting the objectives.

Now lets examine each letter of ‘SMART’ and how it can be used to create an objective.

Specific

To make your objective specific, you need to avoid ambiguous terms and ensure that there is an outcome that you desire from your digital marketing strategy. Your objective should answer the following question: What do I want to achieve?

Example: I want to increase traffic to my website.

By giving a specific outcome, you are able to centre your strategy around achieving your goal.

Measurable

To make your objective measurable you must be able to answer the following two questions:

  • How many/how much?
  • How will I know I have achieved my objective?

Example: I want to increase traffic to my website by 20%.

By giving a tangible number, you can determine when your goal is reached and track it along the way.

Achievable

Making your goal achievable means identifying the overarching method you will use to achieve your goal. Can you answer the following questions?

  • Is it possible to achieve my goal?
  • How will I achieve my goal?

Example: I want to increase traffic to my website by 20% using Search engine Optimisation (SEO).

By giving the method of SEO, you are ensuring that you have a path to follow, and can plan a strategy based around this.

Realistic

Determining whether your goal is realistic often involves a combination of research and estimation. You should answer the following questions.

  • What resources am I able to allocate to this plan?
  • Are the resources available enough to achieve this plan?

Example: I want to increase traffic to my website by 20% using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), with an allocated budget of £2,500.

The number of resources you will need to allocate is highly individual and depends on a lot of variables such as your level of competition, market saturation, and your financial situation.

Time-bound

It isn’t enough to say you want a certain outcome. Give yourself a deadline. if your objective is to increase visits to your blogging site by 1000, then set a time-frame. Within a month, within a year?

Example: I want to increase traffic to my website by 20% using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) within 6 months of campaign implementation, with an allocated budget of £2,500.

Using your SMART Objectives:

If your objective fits in with all five of criteria, then you have a ‘SMART’ objective and are ready to plan and implement a clear, defined digital marketing strategy, something that over half of businesses are failing to do. Get Ahead of them!

A REAL WORLD EXAMPLE:

TOMS, in the spirit of social entrepreneurship, launched a campaign that successfully implemented SMART objectives. ‘One day without shoes’ is a campaign that was launched by the company, with them encouraging the public to go barefoot for a day, and a donation of shoes being made by the organisation for each person that participates. Heres how their campaign followed the ‘SMART’ framework.

  • Specific – Persuade people to go barefoot for a day.
  • Measurable – Receive proof via Instagram of people participating.
  • Achievable – Post persuasive content (Stories) on social media.
  • Realistic – Ensuring they have the resources to manufacture and deliver the donated shoes.
  • Time-bound – Host the ‘One day without shoes’ on one day in May (May 10th in 2017) annually.

TOMS ‘One Day Without Shoes’ Campaign – Source: http://www.toms.co.uk/one-day-without-shoes

SMART objectives will have a positive effect on any digital marketing campaign. Why not have a go at creating your own examples and posting them below?

Thanks for reading!

Learn how to make your ‘SMART’ objectives ‘SMARTER’.

 

by Rory Tarplee

LinkedIn

MSc Digital Marketing Student (Full-time)

A New Year Tribute to Hard Workers

Posted on by

Dr. Jenny Gale
Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour

Balancing work and family life can be hard.  In the run up to Christmas this is more pronounced. However, there is also the general concern that the workplace is becoming an increasingly pressurised environment as organisations struggle to remain competitive in uncertain economic and political conditions, including the uncertainties of Brexit.  The beginning of the New Year offers an opportunity to reflect on the cost of the increasing intensification of work, in other words having too much to do, in too little time, and sometimes with fewer staff and other resources.

Hard work is nothing new of course, and jobs today are cleaner and safer, while technological advances and the digital age have removed some of the arduous aspects of work.  However, employers also demand higher levels of commitment and loyalty from employees, even to the extent that they identify emotionally with business needs, embodying the organisational brand.  This too contributes to work intensification as it requires employees to give more of themselves, often going ‘the extra mile’.  Coupled with the pressure on organisations to continually ‘do more with less’, it is feasible to expect rising workloads and work pressure.  Left unchecked, these can contribute to human resource management issues such as sickness absence and/or ‘presenteeism’.  Presenteeism is the term used for when employees present for work, despite not being well enough, or when the workplace culture suggests that non-attendance, even when ill, may have negative implications for one’s career or job security.  Under such regimes, employees may contribute to their own work intensification as they seek to demonstrate commitment while also worrying about burdening colleagues with additional work.  However, ‘doing more with less’, while reflecting the harsh economic realities confronting private and public sector organisations, is not only bad for employees, it is not good for business or for service delivery.There is only so much that employees can do.  We are not machines, neither are we simply ‘human resources’. We are people and people can ‘break’ with adverse implications for health and the ability to meet expectations not only of managers and colleagues, but customers too.  As a customer, I have often felt the urgency and speed of being served by employees under pressure – telephone enquiries ending prematurely when they seemed anxious to move on to the next call; leaving queues in banks, department stores, and coffee shops (because I ran out of time more often than patience). Fleeting conversations with fellow customers have included utterances of ‘not enough staff’ and ‘they should open another till’ along with a degree of sympathy for employees trying to do too much at once.  Of course, under-staffing can be a consequence of recruitment and retention problems (the NHS being a clear example), rather than decisions designed specifically to reduce labour costs.

However, those employees who take the trouble to ‘go the extra mile’, though already busy, do so at a cost to themselves.  They need to intensify their own effort and this increases pressure on the rest of their working day.  It can mean extending their working hours and involve giving up precious time with their families or other important aspects of themselves that are nothing to do with work. Some employers pay high rewards for this but many do not.  To champion the hard work of those employees who are doing their best to help their customers, patients, and clients, I extend my thanks to them.  For employers, while there are no easy answers to the imperative to control costs, they should reflect on the consequences of work intensification both for their employees and their business.

To view our postgraduate courses such as Human Resource Management click here

Happy New Two-Year! Best kept secret? Degrees that save you time and money…

Posted on by

Now, the thing about two-year degrees is that they are arguably the best kept secret of all time, excluding of course that exquisite and neatly wrapped Christmas gift you received from your loved one. What’s more, like Christmas, two-year degrees have been around for some time – well, not quite 2000+ years but certainly on and off since the Second World War when they were made available to armed forces personnel to assist with their transition to civilian life. So why is it that two-year degrees continue to fall under the radar of prospective students of higher education? Well, the real issue stems from the fact that few universities have risen to the challenge of providing alternative flexible pathways, such as two-year degrees, preferring the status quo of their inflexible semesterised academic calendar which for years has been the traditional means by which students have engaged in higher education.

In the good old days, before tuition fees, or even today if you are lucky enough to have sufficient financial means, the traditional semesterised academic calendar offers the luxury of three summer months of hedonism. At this point, many of you will have the words of Kylie Minogue ringing in your ears – for those who don’t, here they are…‘I should be so lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky….’ OK, so it seems like me, there are others out there who think that studying over the summer months (bar a couple of weeks of well-earned rest) is a good idea, yet there are few universities willing to offer them. The issue is that for a university to deliver two-year degrees, and other accelerated courses for that matter, requires a period of institutional transition and change management to change the out-dated and entrenched semesterised academic calendar, academic culture and supporting infrastructure. Effectively, the resistance to such change by many well-known established universities has meant that two-year degrees are offered by only a handful of forward thinking and progressive universities.

Staffordshire University is proud to have pioneered two-year degrees back in 2006 and to have continued investing in their provision ever since to accommodate the needs of students looking for something other than a traditional three-year degree, whatever their reasons. As a member of Staffordshire University’s academic team responsible for the delivery of our two-year BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance degree I have witnessed students from many different walks of life who have each graduated with excellent results. For example, there have been mature students that enrol on the degree with great trepidation but then relish the experience of studying and redirecting their career. Then there are the more traditionally aged students including those who are motivated to complete their degree quickly and to progress to their chosen professional accountancy qualification – believe me, the thought of becoming a professionally qualified accountant by the age of twenty-four can unlock significant amounts of drive and motivation! Employers also recognise that two-year degree students are always motivated and ambitious too. But there is a common thread that runs through all the conversations I’ve had with two-year students about why they chose a two-year degree and that is, at the end of the day studying a two-year degree saves them an immense amount of money – according to Jo Johnson, the ex-universities minister (aka brother of Boris), approximately £25,000.

Staffordshire University is of course an established leader and expert in two-year degrees and degree apprenticeships, with student satisfaction and employability being our key drivers. So when I read the criticisms contained within the Government’s 2016 White Paper that many universities still provide courses that are inflexible, based on the traditional three-year undergraduate model, with insufficient innovation and provision of two-year degrees and degree apprenticeships, I was confident that my university was in fact one of the few universities, very much at the forefront of delivering exactly the type of alternative ways of engaging in higher education that today’s society needs. I am also immensely proud of my Two-Year BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance team who achieved 100% student satisfaction in the National Student Survey of 2017 and also the university as a whole for being ranked No. 1 for employability in the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education Survey of 2017. Reflecting on these successes, I wonder what 2018 will bring – will the best kept secret now be unwrapped? For further details of Staffordshire University’s Two-Year Accelerated Degrees please visit:- www.staffs.ac.uk/accelerated-degrees

Wishing You a Very Happy New Two-Year!

Alison Maguire MBA (Ed), ACMA, CGMA, Cert.Ed., SFHEA.
Head of Department – Accounting, Finance and Economics

School of Business, Leadership and Economics
Staffordshire University Business School
B336 Brindley Building
Leek Road
Stoke on Trent
ST4 2DF
United Kingdom
Tel: 01782 294155
www.staffs.ac.uk

New book co-authored by Prof Iraj Hashi – Spanish Sociedades Laborales—Activating the Unemployed

Posted on by

Spanish Sociedades Laborales—Activating the Unemployed- A Potential New EU Active Labour Market Policy Instrument by Jens Lowitzsch, Sophie Dunsch,  Iraj Hashi

 

This book investigates the potential of the Spanish Sociedades Laborales (SLs) as an instrument of active labour market policy for re-turning the unemployed to the labour market. SLs are  mostly small and micro enterprises and a qualified form of the conventional corporation, majority-owned by their permanent employees. Unemployed persons can capitalise their unemployment benefits as a lump sum to start a new SL or to recapitalise an existing SL by joining it. This makes SLs similar to start-up subsidies for the unemployed, an established instrument of active labour market policy across the EU. This book examines the function and success of existing SLs and explores the transferability of the scheme to other EU Member States.

It tackles two widely discussed policy issues at both the EU level as well as the national level: firstly, the reactivation of the unemployed into work, and secondly the encouragement of employee co-ownership in the context of the economic reform agenda, in particular with regard to corporate governance, regional economic stimuli and distributive justice.

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-54870-8

13 great events from January to June in 2018

Posted on by

Here’s a good mix of events – comedy, music, opera, baking, jazz and festivals all happening within our local region

January

25th to 27th – Moscow City Ballet presents the Nutcracker, Regent Theatre

26th Circus of Horrors at the Victoria Hall 

February

6th Banff Mountain Film Festival at Victoria Hall

7th and 8th Bill Bailey – Larks in Transit Victoria Hall 

28th England Legends Live! – Peter Shilton and Sir Geoff Hurst presented by Pat Murphy of BBC Five Live, Victoria Hall

March

1st to 4th Lichfield Literature Festival 

3rd French Bread and Croissants with Phillippe Toquin at the Dorothy Clive Gardens

7th Ellen Kent – La Traviata March Regent Theatre

26th Russell Brand Re-birth Victoria Hall

29th to April 2nd Nantwich Jazz Festival 

April

7th An introduction to bee keeping with Alison Wakeman at Dorothy Clive Garden

May

4th top 7th Lymelight Music Festival Newcastle under Lyme (follow @newcastleBID  for more details as they come)

June 

8th to 10th Dovedale Arts Festival 

 

Keep up to date with events and tourism by following our twitter account @tourismsu 

If you are interested in studying tourism or events with us then have a look at our courses

rock concert

Social Media And Our Communication Skills

Posted on by

Social media opens vast possibilities for finding connections and interactions. It also is a very powerful tool to communicate ideas. The uprisings that we have observed during last years in various parts of the world were all organised by people getting together in social media platforms. Once the message is out, it can spread to millions within seconds. The latest #metoo movement on social media was so effective that it has been selected to be the 2017 Times Magazine person of the year.

However, this popularity comes with a cost. More connection does not imply more interaction. Having grown up with social media, the new generation prefers to communicate through an online platform than to have a face-to-face conversation. Real-life interactions, however, teach us aspects of non-verbal communication: being able to read and respond to facial expressions, eye-to-eye contact or changes in tone of voice. These abilities could easily be lost in digital communication. Besides, experts relate the rising occurrence of depression, anxiety and isolation among youngsters with their excessive exposure to social media.

While communicating through social media, we often do not feel the need to form grammatically correct complete sentences. This is particularly common for youngsters and teenagers who heavily rely on emoji, acronym or short expressions. However, over time, this convenience is likely to weaken their ability to write and to communicate in formal environments. In a world becoming increasingly competitive, these skills will be the essential assets for success.

So, while we are enjoying the benefits of social media, we need to remember that the real-life friendships and face-to-face interactions are equally valuable. A balanced use of digital and face-to-face interactions can immensely expand our communication capabilities and help us to utilise our full potential.

Mehtap Hisarciklilar-Riegler, Associate Professor, Staffordshire Business School

Which Social Media Platforms Are Right For Your Business?

Posted on by

Despite what people say, you don’t need to be on all social media platforms to promote your business. However, a lot of businesses fail to harness the power of social media, or waste time using the ‘wrong’ platform for their needs.

By picking the platforms that work for your company and utilising all of the features they have to offer you could be making a bigger difference with just one that you could be with six. Plus there are only 24 hours in a day and for a small business, it can be quite challenging managing all the platforms as well as business activities. But, how do you choose the right social media platform? Let’s get started!

 

WHAT TO CONSIDER?

When deciding which platform is worth investing your time in, there are a few things to consider – your target demographic, the style and ability of the platform and ultimately, what you want to achieve.
Below I’ve put together a list of the key purposes/demographics for the 5 most popular social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram. Take a look and see which is most suitable for your business:

 

FACEBOOK –
Facebook is one of the most popular and powerful social networks out there. It has over 1.28 billion monthly active users. Due to its large number of users, the likelihood of your target audience being online is quite high. The platform has great targeting for both paid and organic content and you can almost completely control the way you want it to look – from the cover photo and profile picture to the about options, app integrations and featured images.
Almost any business can benefit from having a Facebook page. But Facebook isn’t primarily about selling. Facebook is ideal for giving your business a personality. Content works best when you portray your business in a friendly, sociable way. It’s the perfect place to show off what your team members have been up too as well as showcasing your products. “The best ‘bang for the buck’ in Internet marketing today is Facebook advertising. The targeting options are limitless and surprisingly inexpensive for businesses of all sizes.Facebook advertising can help marketers of all kinds get insights into how different demographic groups respond—and for a fraction of the cost of other alternatives,” (Chris Treadaway, co-author of Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day).

 

TWITTER –
Twitter has become widely popular over the last decade and is known amongst businesses for being the place of conversation. Unlike other social media platforms, Twitter is very ‘in the moment’.
Twitter is the platform for you if you want to reach out to people regarding news, updates, questions for your followers or just want to see what your customers are interested in, choose Twitter.

 

LINKED –
LinkedIn is a B2B social media platform. Just imagine attending your busiest networking event from the comfort of your own office/home. LinkedIn is predominantly a platform that allows you make connections in the business world and utilise them as necessary.

It’s a fantastic platform for recruiters and any professional services. LinkedIn has good targeting options and allows you the make the most of people’s skills.
Service providers are more common on LinkedIn in comparison to manufacturers or retailers, because it’s easier to talk about what your business does, and it’s not a very visual medium.

 

INSTAGRAM –
If your business is B2C and very visual, Instagram is the platform you need to be on. Shops, travel agents, estate agents, designers and more are all on Instagram because they offer a ‘strong visual’ product that people will take an interest in.
Instagram has great integration with Facebook when it comes to advertising and due to its use of hashtags, posts are easier to find and target your customers.
You can drive traffic through to your websites/product pages and also show your company’s personality.

 

YOUTUBE –
We’ve all heard of YouTube, right? It’s the go-to place for reviews, how to’s and entertainment. Almost any business type can benefit from YouTube but it requires a lot of time and skill to build a following and to create engaging videos.
As with all platforms, YouTube can work better for certain industries including retail, health and more. It’s also a fantastic platform for influencer marketing. Not to mention it is the second biggest exarch engine and is still and expanding platform, unlike twitter.

 

So which platform will you be using for your business and why, share your thoughts bellow and thank you for reading this blog post.

 

By Richard Holland – MSc Digital Marketing Student

 

Contact –

Linkedin- Richard Holland

Instagram – Vission Design

Brand –

Instagram – Ricco London

Twitter – Ricco London

Facebook – Ricco London

Accessible Tourism and the Purple Pound

Posted on by

by Final Year Tourism student Vionage Leyleen Maziwa

With a value of around £249 bn to the UK economy (BBC, 2017) the power of the ‘purple pound’ cannot be underestimated. But what is the purple pound and why is it so important for organisations to consider its importance? Colours have long been attributed to the purchasing power of target market segments, with the grey pound referring to the disposable income of older people and the purchasing habits of the LGBT community known as the pink pound. The colour purple refers to the potential spending power of disabled people.

A 2014 report from the Department for Work and Pensions suggested that high street businesses could be turning away the custom of 1 in 5 people by not attracting disabled people. Whilst many tourism businesses are not found on the high street, it is imperative that the tourism industry should recognise the value and importance of the purple pound.

Trips and spend of the Purple Pound

Figure 1 – Trips and spend of the Purple Pound

According to VisitBritain (2017) disabled British and international visitors currently spend over £3 billion on overnight tourism trips in England each year (Figure 1). Add to the mix their travelling companions and the total tourism spend by this market in England annually is estimated to be around £12 billion per year. So, for tourism organisations, improving accessibility could improve business.

What is accessible tourism?

Accessible tourism is tourism that is available to every person regardless of disability, health or other issues UNWTO (2012). It is important to remember that only around 8% of disabled people use a wheelchair, meaning that over 90% have hearing, visual or other mobility impairments that do not require the use of more obvious support. Assumptions that all people with disabilities present obvious signs detract from the provision of appropriate services and support (see figure 2 for examples).

Figure 2 - Impairment help symbols

Figure 2 – Impairment help symbols

People with accessibility needs include those who are or who present:

  • Wheelchair users
  • Learning disabilities
  • Visual impairment
  • Hearing loss
  • Mental impairment
  • Families with young children
  • Elderly
  • Autistic
  • Foreign language speakers

Needs they may require:

  • Lift
  • Disabled toilets
  • Blue badge holder parking space
  • Flat surface – (wheelchair friendly)
  • Automatic /extended/ double doors
  • Staff capable of speaking more than 1 language
  • Accessibility aids eg onsite wheelchair
  • Guide dog permit entry
  • Hearing impairment eg hearing loops

Research (Visit Britain, 2017) suggests that visitors who make up the accessible tourism market are:

  • More likely to take longer trips
  • Find seaside destinations particularly appealing
  • Anecdotally very loyal
Figure 3 World of Wedgwood

Figure 3 World of Wedgwood

As part of my final year Tourism project, l will be assessing accessible tourism provision in visitor attractions, with a focus on the World of Wedgwood. Consideration will be given to the extent to which the attraction meets the demands of the accessible tourism market. The aim of my study is to increase Wedgwood’s awareness of this rapidly growing market and to utilise Visit Britain’s accessible tourism toolkit to offer suggestions and recommendations for facilities and services on offer, in order to increase the chances of attracting more visitors with access needs.

Vionage Leyleen Maziwa

The author Vionage Leyleen Maziwa

Contact Details;

Vionage Leyleen Maziwa

Email: vlm.wisdom@hotmail.com

Facebook: Vionage Leyleen

LinkedIn: Vionage Leyleen Maziwa

References:

BBC News. (2017). The power of the ‘purple pound’. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-39040760/the-power-of-the-purple-pound-explained [Accessed 28 Nov. 2017].

Gov.uk. (2017). High street could be boosted by £212 billion ‘purple pound’ by  attracting disabled people and their families – GOV.UK. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/high-street-could-be-boosted-by-212-billion-purple-pound-by-attracting-disabled-people-and-their-families  [Accessed 28 Nov. 2017].

VisitBritain. (2017). Providing access for all. [online] Available at: https://www.visitbritain.org/providing-access-all [Accessed 28 Nov. 2017].

UNWTO.org.(2017). Manual on  Accessible Tourism for All:  Principles, Tools and Best Practices [online] Available at: http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/docpdf/moduleieng13022017.pdf [Accessed 28 Nov. 2017].

Find out about our Tourism and Events courses on this link

Sign up to our next Open Day on this link 

Follow us on twitter @tourismsu

A time to have fun (and some research) at the World of Wedgwood Christmas Market

Posted on by

Christmas is a time that brings so much love and joy to friends, family and loved ones, so why not visit the World of Wedgwood Magical Christmas Market for festive treats and Christmas gifts.

 The event runs from the 7-10th of December.

The Christmas Market Fayre will consist of over 50 stalls selling hand crafted products and locally sourced and produced fine foods for festive treats and Christmas gifts, located in the Courtyard and the Darwin Suite. There will also be music and entertainment, along with Christmas lunches in the contemporary restaurant and a festive afternoon tea in the Wedgwood Tea Room.

In addition to the Christmas market, visitors can also enjoy the Wedgwood Museum or take a tour of the Wedgwood factory, where they can put their skills to the test in the creative studio by having a spin on the potter’s wheel or designing a unique Wedgwood plate.

The World of Wedgwood is situated in Barlaston in Stoke-on-Trent. It is not far from junction 14 (north) and junction 15 (south) which makes life a lot easier for tourists travelling from the motorway . The Christmas Market Fayre has free entry and there is also free parking available on the venue.

About me

My name is Charmaine Oputeri and I am a final year student studying Tourism Management at Staffordshire University.

I am doing my final year project on the World of Wedgwood’s Christmas Market Fayre. The aim of my project is to establish the customer profile and to broadly evaluate the marketing aspects of World of Wedgwood. This is vital to my project as it will enable me to understand what attracts people to visit the World of Wedgwood and how it can be improved for future visitors.

Data collection will be conducted by asking the visitors  at the Christmas Market Fayre to fill out a survey. This survey consists of various questions about the customer experience e.g. what they enjoyed the most about the Christmas Market and what they would like to see improved in the future.

I hope to pursue a career within the Tourism industry as l enjoy working with people. This final year project will enable to reach this goal because it is going to teach me interpersonal skills, good communication skills and lastly, it will enable me to use my own initiative.

Social media

World of Wedgwood on facebook 

World of Wedgwood on Instagram

@WorldofWedgwood on twitter

Charmaine Oputeri on twitter

Charmaine Octuperi on Instagram

 

What are ChatBots and why are they important?

Posted on by

At it’s simplest a chatbot is computer programme that imitates a human conversation…So why is it important?

As a hobby I support local businesses to increase sales, and over the last few years I’ve been supporting some restaurants and hotels. For a one week period I setup and ran a test using a chatbot that gave a personalised experience to potential customers on a Social Media messaging platform. This system was easy to setup and run. In general the restaurants that paid for search advertising on Google had a click-through-rate (CTR) of around 4% and Facebook advertising was around 9%. During this test week the chatbot created a CTR of over 50%, and a major increase in bookings.

With more complicated systems, including adding Artificial Intelligence (AI) or additional support from humans, chatbots can be setup to be much smarter and chat with customers plus find out what they need. Where applicable, it can also learn from previous conversations and the more knowledge it gains, the better it is able to support customers. In addition, it can have lots of separate chats all at the same time, for example H&M can chat with lots of customers to make tailored recommendations to the customers taste (see https://bots.directory/kik/health-and-lifestyle/hm).

If you’re a business owner and short of time, this support could help sell your products and services. Rather than just receiving and monitoring comments on your website, social media or messenger the chatbot could give a personalised service, converse with and sell to customers, sell other products they might be interested in and help build brand loyalty.

Chatbots are becoming a familiar both as apps and chatbot platforms. For example around the home and office are virtual assistants such as Amazon’s Echo and Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, Apple’s Siri, Google’s Google Assistant and Samsung’s Bixby. Messaging apps are amongst the most popular mobile apps today, for examples Facebook’s Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat and Viber combined have more users than popular social network apps. This has enabled businesses of all sizes to use messaging-app chatbots to expand their customer service, for example in e-commerce and sales.

SMM Marketing Platform reported that in just over six months chatbots, on Facebook alone, grew from 33,000 to 100,000 in April 2017 and some chatbots are getting great results, for example Adidas’s chatbot got 2000 new sign ups in two week and Just Eat chatbot created a conversion rate 266% higher than a simple advert.
Although it can be seen that chatbots are to become an important customer engagement tool, they are still in their infancy stage and need careful development. There are always going to be examples where humans try to sabotage the machine learning of these tools and at the moment, without some form of pre-scripted conversation, the natural-language processing and machine learning hasn’t evolved enough to enable fluid dialog between humans and bots.

Paul Dobson is a Senior Lecturer at Staffordshire University, Business School.