Disrupting markets as a serial entrepreneur and marketing leader for decades, Stijn Hendrikse is now turning his laser focus on innovating the way in which small businesses handle customer service.
Customer service is central to the success of any small business. The age-old Pareto Principle states that a mere 20% of a given brand’s customers will account for approximately 80% of its revenue.¹ Retaining those customers requires perfecting the customer experience with 95% of consumers indicating that customer service is central to their choice of brand and loyalty. Another 59% of consumers state that they have higher customer service expectations now than they did a year ago.²
This uptick in expectations is partly due to the increasing access to customer service channels that are available 24/7. In fact, 37% of people currently use customer service bots to find a quick answer.³
On the flip side of this equation are small businesses owners that are still relying on outdated technology to handle customer service needs. Currently, of the 32 million small businesses operating, an incredible 40% are relying on their website as their main interface with their customers.
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Even for small businesses that are ready to get on board with AI-powered solutions, the chatbot technology currently available is mostly focused on meeting enterprise scale needs.
This is where Hendrikse’s focus lies. By conducting hundreds of interviews and through continual research, Hendrikse has been able to pinpoint the questions customers are asking small businesses most. This has resulted in versatile and meaningful chatbot templates that create Amy — Hendrikse’s AI-powered conversation platform.
The goal of Hendrikse is to ensure that his small business chatbot is continually optimized by content through interactions with small businesses and also by learning from the conversations people are having with them.