Disruption Interruption podcast host and veteran communications disruptor, Karla Jo Helms, recently sat down with Stijn Hendriske, author of T2D3.pro and Founder of Amy.us, to find out how he is disrupting the way in which SMBs handle customer service around the clock with innovative chatbot solutions.

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On the flip side of this equation are small businesses owners that are still relying on outdated technology to handle customer service needs.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.

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.

With the implementation of the innovation of Amy, small business owners can still feel that they are having conversations with their customers, but they can scale that process. By investing time in making Amy smart, they retain a hands-on approach to communicating with their customers, and can continue to do so even when they have thousands of customers, not just 20 or 30.

Hendrikse explains:

Start today! Don’t wait for the perfect time to disrupt. While sometimes the things he builds don't get as much traction as he originally hoped for, in the end, a lot of things stick.

Customer service is the new sales. The need for small businesses to take a hyper focus on their customer service is more important now than ever.

Small business owners are facing unprecedented difficulties in providing a great customer service experience.This is where Hendriske believes his AI-powered conversation platform Amy will help bridge the gap.

40% of small businesses rely on their website as their main interface with their customers. Unfortunately, customers aren’t finding the answers they need via this static platform. Chatbots can make it easier than ever before to meet customers where they are with the answers they seek.

In order for AI powered chatbots to be effective, the training models behind the AI have to be optimized for the business type. This is where Hendriske is using his chatbot technology to change customer service for small businesses, such as locksmiths, breweries, funeral operators, churches, and more through a process of templating questions to match these companies unique needs — something previously not accomplished through enterprise chatbot solutions.

Hendrikse sees small businesses as the place where the path from problem to solution is the shortest. Hendriske loves working amidst that simplicity, where he can immediately see if something's working or not, where he can see if someone's happy, and where it is easy to measure whether or not a customer is coming back.
Disruption Interruption is the podcast where you’ll hear from today’s biggest Industry Disruptors. Learn what motivated them to bring about change and how they overcome opposition to adoption.
Disruption Interruption can be listened to via the Podbean app, and is available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.