Designing the process to perform Product Workshops for our innovative new service called Hellobot — which is a custom voicebot for almost every business out there — was definitely a challenge. But we did it and we want to show you how. In this blog post, you will find a case study with all main goals, solutions and the outcome we achieved. Fasten your seatbelts and let’s go!
As you may know already from our blog, a voicebot we’ve created is a tool to improve a lot of operations that are a part of daily business routines. Customer service, booking appointments, sales and marketing, even debt collecting — its capabilities are countless.
We’ve already done some Product Workshops for our clients to determine why they should invest in our Hellobot and what benefits it can bring to their companies. And when it comes to our workshops, we take things very seriously. Mostly because we know they are a chance to discover or improve the value of any product idea our clients might have. This method of work was designed by our team from scratch to deliver results for both parties in the software development project.
It was a natural step for us to design the whole process. We’ve built an original process that allows us to perform complex workshops full of comprehensive work methods and tools. All the stages we describe in this article are dedicated especially to voicebots and other voice technologies we offer at iteo. In this article, we focus on Hellobot — our pioneer voice service that we already implement into our clients’ businesses.
Let’s start with the basics.
What are voicebots?
Voicebot is a piece of software that allows people to communicate with voice interfaces using spoken language. It is a solution that doesn’t require additional programs or apps.
A bot can substitute people in many activities. For example, in the services industry voicebots often automatize customer support. They can solve many problems faster, which is a huge benefit. Also, scalability and availability are highly improved.
Why are voicebots gaining popularity?
Using speech as the mean of communication is one of the basic human interactions. Thus, all new voice-related solutions introduced to the market are much more natural to use by people, who appreciate simple conversation-like processes that don’t require additional learning or familiarizing oneself with new tools and systems.
That’s why voicebots are also promising products that can attract many clients in the future. Voice interactions can be connected with any other type of operations to build a complete customer experience with our products or services.
Part 1 — Designing Product Workshops for our Hellobot
Before we could even start selling Hellobot as one of our products, we needed to have a complete Product Workshops process ready to be used whenever a client needs it. So we’ve taken a couple of steps to be sure that we can provide a comprehensive solution for this type of service, so the client could be satisfied. Also, this way we could improve the development process on any stage of production.
Challenges and solutions
We needed to begin with the essential first step — which was to learn as much as possible about voice technologies. Our whole team studied blogs, YouTube videos, scientific articles and books on the subject. We wanted to be prepared for any questions and problems we could stumble upon along the way.
The next decision was to grow our team by hiring seasoned experts that were familiar with voicebots and similar solutions. With them, we could organize internal workshops that helped us to supplement and systematize our knowledge. Then, we discussed the main assumptions of the project and prepared original materials and methods we could work with during voicebot Product Workshops. Creating a stakeholder map helped us to understand who is involved in the project and what is its impact on them.
Designing the process
The main goal of all Product Workshops we perform is to create a product that will fulfill the needs of the clients but also their end-customers. To achieve that, we organize the workshop and then our experts work on the product using the collected material. That wasn’t any different for the voicebot case.
We wanted to organize workshop meetings that are insightful and engaging for both sides. That’s why we used different methodologies to create a process in a form that allows creative workflow and focus on business priorities. Before we even start, we usually meet up internally with the whole workshop team to discuss the agenda, the main goal, the materials we will use and the role of each team member.
Preparing the action plan was an interesting process itself, so we should focus a little bit more on it.
Creating the agenda
Preparing the agenda with clear steps to follow helped us to obtain a solid base for creating tailor-made voicebots and other voice-based solutions. Here is the list with all actions we’ve taken on our way to preparing the best Product Workshops for clients interested in voice products:
- Learning more about voicebots. Collecting information and knowledge from different online and analog sources in both Polish and English.
- Setting goals for the workshop. It is extremely important to have an explicit idea of the results we want to achieve with the workshop meeting with our client. The goal also determines the workshop format and enhances communication between the client and the team.
- Another goals-setting process is now dedicated to the product itself. That means we need to know all required functionalities to implement so the solution works properly and can be released.
- Now we can pick the methodologies for the concrete workshop subject. This stage is divided into two steps:
a) Finding out if standard digital product workshop methods are suitable for this concrete product
b) Browse for methods that are not used in digital product workshops but can be used in this project (eg. methods used for offline services) - When all of the above is ready, we can now design the workshop process with all required materials — canvases that will motivate the client to work. They also make the whole process more appealing and help to see the whole effect of the workshop process.
- The last step is to pick the right team and introduce them to all the plans and the project itself.
What should be considered when designing the process?
Beforehand you should create a dedicated brief for the client that suits the type of workshop we are performing. This type of communication allows the team to familiarize themselves with requirements and pick the strategy accordingly. Also, using brief simplified preparations before the workshop. The brief has two goals — to give the client an idea of what they should expect and to give our team a chance to ask first questions — like the current state of business processes or how do they imagine a voicebot in their company.
Afterwards, it is worth spending some time researching work methods. Their purpose is:
- To determine personas
- To identify the target audience of the product
- To design the bot’s personality that will match the company’s image but at the same time will correspond with the target group
- To pinpoint and design the processes that should be automatized by the bot
- To evaluate all the main process stages and defining KPIs so the bot’s performance can be measured and developed based on the important metrics
When browsing for adequate methods, we should consider a couple of factors. First of all, the methodology we will use should logically arrange the whole workshop process during two days of meetings. The amount of work should be diversified in terms of time and areas of influence, so the workshop is productive and interesting.
All the methods we use in this case were supposed to be based on empathy maps and problem-solving solutions. They should not require specialized knowledge, skills or vocabulary from the voice technology industry, because that would prolong the introduction phase of the workshop.
We’ve picked several methods but all of them required some modifications. This way we’ve customized these methods to fit our workshops process. These are among others: personas, bot’s personality and voice processes flow. The design of these methods is based on our experience in previous projects and workshops for mobile apps and software systems. Thanks to the mentioned canvases, we can help the client to be a co-creator of the solution we are building.
Determining bot’s personality
After the personas are set up when we know the real purpose of the voicebot we can determine the personality of it. It is supposed to match the company’s vibe. That’s a very important element because the communication style of the bot will influence client satisfaction directly. This is also crucial for the company’s image.
Voice processes flow
This complex part is the most time-consuming stage of the workshop. Using it we can design the bot suited for the chosen service. It allows us to draw the course of the process and also to summarize and describe all the elements that need to be fulfilled so the conversation with the bot can be performed with success.
Part 2 — Case study: Voicebot Product Workshops with our client
One of the biggest vehicle dealerships in Poland expressed interest in our Hellobot. As usual, we’ve started our collaboration with a Product Workshop session that lasted 2 days and gave us plenty of insight for the future voicebot product.
Product vision
We wanted to develop a minimum valuable product (MVP) to test the process for just one branch of the company. Based on the performance of the first version, we could collect feedback and the client could decide if they want to implement more of similar solutions. The MVP was supposed to not only simplify communication with customers but also collect the surveys after voicebot conversations.
The processes that the client wanted to substitute with bots were performed by assistants and advisors. Most of them were manual and time-consuming. With automatization, the employees could give more attention to the clients that visit the dealerships in person. We could also add another process that was not included in the phone customer service but would bring significant financial benefits for the brand.
Business goals
The main processes that could be optimized by the voicebot were:
- Receiving positive feedback from the clients after a conversation with the bot
- Reducing the number of unanswered calls which could result in losing potential clients
- Reducing the number of clients that don’t show up to the service appointments and don’t cancel them beforehand
The marketing potential was not neglected either. With the voicebot, our clients could position themselves as an innovative pioneer of the automotive industry in Poland. As for internal benefits, simplifying the processes could reduce costs, raise the availability of the services and the customers’ satisfaction, too.
Target groups
As for the target audience, we distinguished two main groups.
- Individual and corporate clients
They expect quick service, affordable prices and high-quality offers. Their relationship with the brand is rather close. Usually, they are well prepared for the conversation. They ask for prices and want to avoid a long wait for the service.
- Fleet clients
Their habit is to call the service while driving via a hands-free set. They don’t mind higher prices but expect high-quality customer care with additional conveniences — like service appointments on Fridays and Saturdays, a lounge at the car service, etc.
For both of these groups, the voicebot can offer innovative customer support that is available 24/7. The main concern is that the bot might not understand the expectations as it is not human.
The course of the workshop
We’ve met with our client — a chain of authorized car showrooms and services in Poland — in their headquarters to perform Product Workshops. We aimed to achieve our goal within 2 days.
The beginning was dedicated to explaining voice technologies and all related themes to the client, so they could actively be a part of the workshop. We had to keep in mind that using complicated industry terms should be substituted with understandable vocabulary. In the case of more complicated topics, we needed to explain them clearly. We’ve created a visual map key to support our actions in this matter.
On the first day, we determined the target group and the bot’s personality. To do that, we needed to analyze which processes in the company can be automatized by the voice solution. We’ve also mapped the first process that would be a part of voicebot service. On the second day, we mapped another 2 processes and we discussed the technical aspects of integration between the systems.
We can proudly admit that we achieved all our goals. With all the actions described above, we could also build a positive relationship with the client. And that’s what matters when cooperating on a long-term IT project.
Outcome
The whole Product Workshops process that we designed particularly to offer voicebots to our clients was a huge success. The result of our collaboration with the mentioned client we described in this case study was working out a solution based on voice technology that can solve problems and automatize operations.
If you would like to invest in a voicebot for your business — we can help with that. Hellobot by iteo is a complex, custom-made package that includes many types of voice-based services that can be implemented into your brand’s operations. We want to give you an extraordinary product, so let’s discuss your project. Don’t hesitate to contact us and tell us what you need. We’re here to digitalize and modernize your company. And we can always help you!
