Voice-First Technological Advances in the Automotive Industry

a. Amazon Launches Echo Auto

For around $50, car owners can add Alexa to their cars. It is not a complicated process; just plug in a small device to the auxiliary jacks. This device is the Echo Auto.

Echo Auto is Amazon’s answer to Google’s Android Auto and Apple’s CarPlay in-car information systems. Both systems feature voice-activated commands for functions like listening to music, phone calls, and navigation. With Echo Auto, Drivers can use Alexa to listen to their favorite Ebooks, navigate, stream music, and make calls.

b. Google Expands Relationships

Google’s Android Auto is not new to the market. The device has been around since 2015. At this point, they are only expanding their existing relationships with automotive manufacturers. On September 18, 2018, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi coalition agreed to integrate Android Auto into their cars’ media displays. Drivers of these vehicles will rely on Google Assistant to manage their in-car experience. Later in the same year, Toyota entered into an agreement that will see their vehicles power their displays with Google Assistant.

What Can We Learn from These Developments?

1. Your automobile is an essential element in a broader voice-based ecosystem. Your vehicle can integrate into other aspects of your personal life, including your smartphone, personal computer, and smart home. An article by the Wall Street Journal suggested that Google’s ultimate goal is to create a broad ecosystem for its customers. Through the platform, users can effortlessly move their digital lives across different devices. You can say the same about Amazon and Alexa. Amazon’s vice president of Alexa Voice Service, Steve Rabuchin, says, If Voice is going to be everywhere, you want to see it transition from the moment you leave your home when you get into your car, and at your workplace.”
2. Your dealership’s sales team need to answer its customers’ queries concerning voice-based systems. You should be able to answer your customers when they ask which voice-first experience options are available to them for select vehicles. You should also be able to explain the features of different systems.
3. Your dealership also needs to adapt its digital presence to the voice-first world. One way you can make the transition is by optimizing your website content and apps so that your audience can navigate and discover with voice commands. Another approach is to embed into your website voice-based searches.

Keep Up, Integrate Alexa and Google Assistant into Your Operations

Voice-guided systems will continue to be an integral part of your customer’s lives. According to a study by Pew Research, about half of Americans use digital voice assistants at some point in their daily routine. A substantial number of people operate their devices (phones, home appliances, and computers) through voice commands. Your automotive dealership should be ready to speak the voice of the masses, integrate Alexa and Google Assistant into your operations.

Gyms, like other public facilities, should adhere to social distancing and hygiene guidelines. According to the Center for Disease Control, members and employees alike should maintain the six-foot distance at all times. This means fitness facilities need to reduce the number of people visiting the facilities for workout sessions and schedule routines that enable members to use the facilities while adhering to the rules.

The workout sessions may be reduced to an hour or less, while some equipment may only be available on specific days to allow ample time for cleaning. Gyms need to communicate all such changes to members in advance. “These trying times compel gyms owners to communicate the new policies and procedures to gym members constantly. Integrating a telechat or chatbot system helps answer the most frequently asked questions more so for staff who need to be attentive when attending to members,” said Tim Sebold VP of Sales & Marketing at soolis.com.

The telechat / chatbot system is not only an effective communication channel but also provides guidance, motivation, and a sense of community for members opting for online workout sessions. What other benefits do chatbots offer fitness centers?

Keeping the Community Informed

The regulations for public facilities like fitness centers often change hence the need to keep members informed about their effects on the business. When setting up the chatbot, ensure it addresses the most pressing issues. Members want to know what time you open the facility; if not, alternative fitness packages to help them keep fit.

Create Personalized Workout Packages

Chatbots make it easy for gyms to customize workout packages for members. And, according to a Harvard Business Review, customers are more receptive of personalized products as they are based on personal information they have shared with a brand. If built right, chatbots can help gym owners find out their customers’ preferences and customize workout packages based on that information.

Inform Members about New Products

With a majority of members choosing to stay at home to keep healthy, many fitness facilities have resulted in using digital channels to reach members. This has compelled gym owners to create packages tailored to home workouts. You can use a chatbot to inform customers about the new products, and it can be tailored to sell the products too.

What’s more, you can use the chatbot to show prospective customers how the products are helping people attain their fitness goals, answer questions about the new products, and recommend suitable buys. Such information motivates members to purchase the products leading to increased revenues.

Launch Contests to Improve Engagement

Gym members opting for online workout sessions often miss the sense of community experienced in real gyms. As such, you can use chatbots to promote community engagement by running a contest. Encourage members to log into their workout bots, recording the number of calories lost, the number of reps made, and so on. Then use such features to identify members who qualify for a gift card or other reward. The bot can also help you identify members who have been the most consistent in their workout regimens during the month and reward them.

Chatbots make an invaluable tool for the modern fitness facility. They not only help gyms communicate with members but also gather critical information to help improve their services. Also, their intuitive conversational capabilities create a seamless experience for users when looking for information without coming off as impersonal.

For more information on how chatbots can help your fitness business, contact soolis at 854-999-2728 or info@soolis.com

Virtual assistants save time and make work easier. Are chatbots beneficial to the medical industry? To answer this question, we will explore some of the benefits of using chatbots in the healthcare industry.

1. Facilitate Continuous Health Monitoring

Medical practitioners are always willing to assist their patients. They also understand how vital their presence is in times of emergencies. Unfortunately, there is a limit in the number of doctors available to each patient. Additionally, doctors can only work over a limited time.

Chatbots can step in and relieve the doctors. Virtual assistants can take on tasks like monitoring health and reminding patients to take their medicine.

2. Automate Information Distribution

In the health industry, time could mean all the difference. Doctors and nurses can make better decisions with fast access to the appropriate information. It is for this reason that many hospitals are installing chatbots in the data systems.

Such chatbots can receive patient information and deliver prescriptions. Chatbot integration can improve the delivery of health services by reducing the time doctors spend on collecting or extracting patient information.

3. Solve Trust Issues

For fear of stigma, some patients may feel shy about discussing their symptoms. What is you had a chatbot asking you the difficult questions in the place of a doctor? Chatbots can boost patient transparency. Such a small adjustment can improve the efficiency of service delivery.

4. Save Time and Money

Industry experts estimate that chatbots in the healthcare industry will save $3.6 billion worldwide by 2022. With chatbots, you can save money from hiring assistants to manage hotlines. Since chatbots collect information with more accuracy, you can avoid class-action lawsuits from medical malpractice.

5. Chatbots Reduce the Occurrence of Missed Appointments

A missed appointment could cost your practice a lot of money. Alerts by chatbots can remind patients to honor their appointments. Integrating chatbots will transform how you run your establishment.

Summary

The potential for chatbots and AI virtual assistants in the healthcare industry can never be overstated. Chatbots can improve service delivery, patient satisfaction, and lower medical costs. You should consider integrating chatbots to your medical practice.

In 2018, Gartner conducted a Technology Roadmap Survey. During the investigation, they interviewed 452 service leaders from a variety of locations, industries, contact center sizes, and business models. The topic of discussion was 45 established and emerging technologies.

The goal of the exercise was to identify the types of technology that we use in the service landscape and their internal or external impact. How will such technology be relevant to service leaders and contact centers in the future?

Service technology is like a bullseye with five slices. These slices include:

• Channel technology
• Voice-of-customer tools
• Infrastructure technology
• Customer engagement tools
• Employee engagement tools

In this article, we shall look into channel technology. We shall be exploring whether there is a place in the future for such technology.

Channel Technologies in the Service Industry

This is the most significant slice of the bullseye. This slice supports technologies that facilitate self-service and live channels. Quite a number of service leaders believe that providing the customer with multiple channel choices is an effective way to serve.

For such a strategy, you must recognize the benefits, costs, and limitations of such channels. The bullseye model can make you understand the technology landscape as well as benchmark the right strategy.

AI Bots and Virtual Customer Assistants

The popularity of AI bots is growing as the industry is embracing these virtual customer assistants (VCA). As of now, AI bots are of medium importance. We expect these AI/chatbots and VCAs to grow in importance as we march to the future.

Chatbot technology acts on behalf of your organization. They collect and deliver information to and from the customer. You can use them to perform a transaction with your clients or offer support. AI/Chatbots and VCA are quite effective in guiding customers to the appropriate resources. Having such a setup can lift off some of the pressure from your support teams.

According to Lauren Villeneuve, Senior Principal Advisory, Gartner, 68% of service leaders believe that virtual customer assistants and Chatbots will be essential to the industry in the coming two years.

Service centers must consider how they can integrate this technology into their current operations. There must be a way of integrating the tech into both customer-facing and rep-facing systems.

Practical Use of AI Systems and Chatbots

Using AI bots and VCAs in web chat platforms has been a success to many service centers. There are many benefits to the deployment of AI and Chatbots. These benefits include:

• Greater Capability and Scale: AI bots can solve the small issue while your advisors focus on complex tasks. With such a system in place, your customer support teams will have a lighter workload. You can serve a growing customer base without the need to hire more personnel.
• Faster Chat Speeds: A chatbot replying a text is five times faster than a human performing the same task. Ai bots can reduce customer wait time.
• Better Gatekeeping: AI bots can act as security. The AI programs can detect other bots trying to gain access to your system. Such a setup frees up your advisory team so that they can focus on actual customers.

The future is bright for AI systems and chatbots. Do you use these systems? Are you considering having this technology? If not, what are you waiting for? AI could be the advantage you need over your competition.

1. Reducing Operational Costs

Chatbots automate customer service operations such as query collection, providing instructions, and repetitive answers. Funding your agents to be available 24/7 all year-round is costly. According to IBM, businesses spend $1.3 trillion to respond to 265 billion customer service call every year. You can use chatbot technology to answer up to 80% of routine queries and free up your agents and free your customer service agents for more critical queries. Consequently, you can slash your customer service costs by up to 30%.

2. Around the Clock Customer Service

Chatbots are virtual assistants that do not need sleep, customer breaks, vacations, and are not prone to illnesses or disasters. They provide 24/7 customer service assistance to your customers. You can also update your virtual assistants to collect information from customers, sell your company’s portfolio and catalog, and make a recommendation based on previous customer preferences. Both your business and clients will stay happy after interacting with chatbot technology.

3. Customer Retention

Did you know that 91% of unsatisfied customers will not return for a service? If you keep losing new clients, there is a high chance that your business will sink. As more customers continue to seek immediate responses, not being able to respond immediately will leave them unsatisfied and cause them to find solutions from your competitors.

Chatbots provide instant answers and engage clients as soon as they visit your website. They also inform a client that their query has been received and direct them to customer service agents, which will help you gain their goodwill.

4. Consistent Customer Service

While human beings can deal with queries that you cannot automate, they also work depending on their mood. Personal problems, general dislike, hunger, and the time of the day can affect the productivity of your customer service agents. If your agent is not in the right mood, they may not give your customers a satisfying experience.

Chatbots, on the other hand, work tirelessly and always adhere to rules. They only respond as programmed, in a polite manner, which provides consistent customer service. If you need responses in multiple languages, you can achieve it with a program – a skill that may be challenging for your customer service agents. Once you program the virtual assistants to work in various languages, you will improve the customer service experience in your business.

5. Extended Marketing Avenue

Chatbots do more than improve customer service- they can also market your business. How? As they engage your customers, they can sell products to your customers in a personal way. Since these virtual assistants retain customer query data, they can recommend products based on a customer’s previous queries. You can also improve your business’s customer reach by automating responses on multiple platforms. It would be impossible to expand your reach at the same rate if you do it manually. Lastly, virtual assistants also eliminate gaps in your sales funnel by responding immediately to customer queries. They smoothen the transition between engagement and conversion to improve your marketing and sales.

Conclusion

Utilizing chatbots for your business has numerous benefits. They cut down operational costs, provide 24/7 consistent customer service, extend your marketing, and help you retain customers.

For more information on chatbots click this link.

For anyone out there who may be having trouble getting their gym prospects from point A to point B through their sales process, we’ve put together a simple strategy you can follow to get started. Take a look!

Steps to Get More Gym Members

1. Design Your Marketing Funnel

Following a concept similar to a cooking funnel you’d find in a kitchen, a marketing funnel starts with a broad idea to attract leads and narrows down to the select individuals who will become a paying client. While there are a few different funnel strategies out there, the main idea follows a customer journey that begins with awareness of your brand, convincing the person to buy your product, and then building their loyalty to your business.

2. Get People Into the Gym

One of the most effective tactics of getting gym prospects to sign up for a membership is by getting them through your doors. Using content marketing strategies like effective promo videos, blog articles, and social media posts can be a great way to attract attention and build interest in your fitness equipment. Use these avenues to invite them for a free consultation or quick walkthrough of your gym.

3. Follow Up

A major step in the marketing process is collecting personal information, so you can reach out to prospects after the initial contact. Getting basic details like their name, phone number, and email address will make it possible to follow up, answer any questions, and confirm their interest in your facility. Make sure to share information about current promotions or deals the gym is currently offering.

4. Finalize the Sale

The last step involves doing what is necessary to close the deal and get the gym prospect to sign on the dotted line. Overcome any final objections or concerns they might have and confirm they understand the rules and regulations of the gym.

Remember to always ask them for referrals at this stage. Potential leads are four times more likely to use a service when they are referred by a friend or family member.

Struggling to Convert Your Gym Prospects?

Marketing funnels aren’t easy to think up and they can be even more difficult to put into practice. If you’re having a hard time putting together a successful customer journey for your prospects, SoOlis can help! Contact us today to learn more about our marketing services!

The dreaded “where do you want to go for dinner” question that has been decades-long hurdle in a relationship can easily be hashed out with a quick look at Facebook, where restaurants typically post their menus. For gyms and health clubs, it’s imperative to find your spot in the world of Facebook. Not only does Facebook and various other social media outlets provide a way to reach out to audiences not easily accessible before, but Facebook also provides an inner view of your gym or health club before people even walk in the door.

An astonishing 95% of adults between 18 and 34 follow a brand via social media, and with 72% of adults actually checking Facebook before purchasing a product from a local business, it would be a wasted opportunity not to be on social media.

As a health club and gym owner, being active on social media shows clients and potential clients that you are easily accessible. A lot of people tend to message companies on Facebook rather than calling or emailing because it allows them practically instant responses while being able to multi-task with other things. Having a social media presence is also essential as it allows your clients to share with the world their experiences at your gym or health club. People are more likely to go a company, gym, or restaurant that has great reviews or experiences rather than a place that has little to no social media presence. If there is a negative review or post, look at it as a way to show potential clients that you want to rectify any situation. This can show clients that you are willing to go the extra mile to make sure everyone is well taken care of.

Stop only looking at social media as a way to reach your audience and start thinking of social media as a hub for your clients to boast about your services. For more information about this topic contact us at info@soOlis.com or call 877-789-8773.

Companies are not a one-size fits all, and with that, it is important to have a marketing and public relations team that specialize in what you are trying to sell. While marketing and public relations teams are essential in today’s world, having a team behind you that actually specializes in what you are trying to sell can put you ahead of the pack.

For instance, if you had to choose between a general marketing and public relations team who have clients that range from politicians, to mom and pop shops, to factories, or a team that specializes just in your specific field? Clearly, the team that is well versed and knowledgeable of your goal is going to be the best bet. They know your audience and the best way to get to them.

That’s why here at soOlis, we pride ourselves on the fact that we are a marketing and public relations firm for health club professionals BY health club professionals. With a vast history in working side-by-side with well-known gym equipment manufacturers, gym owners, and health club owners, we know how to help you reach your goal. Combing that knowledge with our extensive knowledge and training in marketing and public relations, well, it truly makes us unstoppable.

For more information on why we here at soOlis can help you get a leg up on your competition with specialized marketing and public relations plans, please email us at info@soolis.com

Beginning in 2009, soOlis offers health and fitness industries marketing tools to assist your business. They create custom websites and custom fitness equipment portals and help with the ecommerce and online marketing side as well. With over fifty developers and designers, they maintain the ability to keep websites updated within a seventy-two hour time limit and with the increase in staff the hope is to make everything even more efficient. People behind soOlis.com have over fifty years of experience in the industry andn now it allows others to provide their expertise in their field.

In the midst of it all Dan Hallon communicates mostly with soOlis’s clients and potential clients. Dan maintains the east coast, while James runs the central region of the country. Dan previously worked for Verizon and Comcast where he specialized in developing marketing plans for his clients. 

Between Sydney Sebold, the new PR manager, and Corrine Banks, the Social Media Production Manager, soOlis and it’s client’s hold a prominent display on social media sites such as: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Sydney runs client’s Facebook appearance and provides press releases on the company’s news and partnerships. She is currently working on her degree in Communications. Corrine creates videos, advertisements, as well as landing pages for clients. Corrine is an accomplished fitness professional and trainer with over ten years of experience in the industry. Working more behind the scenes, but they contribute to how people today spread the word.

Lastly, the Research & Customer Service Manager, Dina Thompson, provides a quick response to the company’s clients to ensure customer satisfaction. She and her family recently relocated from Germany to Delaware. She is completing her degree in Communications and Marketing.

Contacts:

Sydney Sebold

PR Manager

sydney@soOlis.com

Dan Hallon

East Coast Manager

dan@soOlis.com

Dina Thompson

Research & Customer Service Manager

dina@soOlis.com

Corrine Banks

Social Media Production Manager

corrine@soOlis.com

HIIT Workouts

Wikipedia defines it as “a form of interval training, a cardiovascular exercise strategy alternating short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods.”

Age is an important factor for pretty much everything a person does in their lives, and that includes exercise as well. As people age, they begin to question their abilities in what they can or cannot or what they should and should not do. In the words alone, high intensity says it all. High intensity is strenuous at anyone’s age, but according to Club Red, one should discuss their options with their doctor when reaching the age of fifty-five. With any workout, one should know what they are getting into and how to perform them correctly and effectively. With HIIT Workouts, one should not pursue them if they have orthopedic or cardiovascular problems. This level of exercise has both pros and cons just like anything else.

In a HIIT Workout, one exerts more energy at a time to burn more calories; therefore, less time, more results. Another benefit of these workouts, is that there are such a variety of choices in what exercises you can do. Again, with everything you find what works the best for you. If you give one exercise a test run and it does not fit, it’s not the end to your HIIT.

The biggest concern with HIIT is that it is a lot of work and strain on your body in short time frames which leaves a higher risk of injury. Also, most people jump right into these workouts instead of taking their time and easing their way into it. When a less fit person goes in head first, it simply adds to the risk factor.  

All in all, just like all exercises, it’s about knowing how much you and your body can handle. Do not lie to yourself, there is no shame. Mentioned before, it is a high intensity workout, meaning it’s high intensity for everyone, not just those about a certain age. However, those who have reached that age should take an extra precaution because your body may not be used to the new regiment and simply because your body is aging with you.  Know your limits in order to achieve the best workout along with staying safe.

For more information please contact soOlis.com at info@soOlis.com.