Reports

Research Report: Personal Virtual Assistants: Primer and Planning Guide

We used to laugh at the idea of “the talking toaster” when thinking about the gratuitous addition of a speech-based interface to household appliances, consumer electronics, self-service kiosks or even ATMs. Now the machines laugh at us, as improvements in natural language understanding, artificial intelligence and text-to-speech rendering make phones, tablets, computers and (yes) household appliances more conversational, human-like and responsive to spoken input.

Conversational Commerce Paper: IVRs Take On New Tasks

People will go to great lengths to avoid interactive voice response (IVR) systems. Yet progressive, customer-pleasing companies like Hyatt Hotels are putting conversational IVR systems into place to the benefit of both their guests and their contact center agents. Therefore, in an age when some have said “The IVR is Dead,” we see “Conversational IVR” playing the role of Virtual Assistant in the enterprise, fostering a better customer experience and higher morale among customer service representatives.

Research Report-Mobile Customer Care: New Paradigms and Practices

Mobile subscribers are using their smartphones and other mobile devices to take control of their interactions with the firms with whom they choose to do business. They’ve forced companies to form mobile strategies that must go far beyond simply offering a “mobile app” and range to providing the most effective, and natural, mobile user experience. Companies and their technology providers have responded in kind.

Enterprises in Denial: Dealing with the Personal Data Deluge (Global Survey Results)

A remarkably high percentage number of C-level executives indicate their companies’ lack of a defined strategy to deal with all the “personal data” provided by customers and prospects through a multitude of channels. Yet they also tell us of their plans to incorporate that data into “understanding intent” and forging better communications links that promote loyalty, profitability and product refinement.