Bot Review: 1800Flowers
Last week we did a review for Lego company’s chatbot Ralph. In a nutshell, it was an impressive shopping bot: both interactive and efficient. We decided to look deeper into shopping bots and how they differ. Imaginably, they can’t all be the same — different products require different practices.
With the Lego bot in mind, we went along and reviewed another big brand company but with a completely different product. That company being 1800Flowers.
Last year, the company partnered with Google and Facebook and introduced consumers to the 1800Flowers Assistant, the company’s AI bot which lets you order right on the social media platforms.
Here’s some facts and figures to demonstrate how this company is situated before we get to our review.
Despite the fact that the company’s brand is literally a phone number, 88% of all business is online. And 60% of the company’s sales comes from food gifts, not flowers. And with all this change in about 40 years, 1800Flowers has gone from a small flower delivery shop in Manhattan to the largest gift retailer in the US. 1800Flowers is a good example of when the name no longer fits the brand.
The company brings in nearly $1.5 billion in sales every year and has actually been studied academically because of how expertly the business grew and morphed into what it is now. Studies seems to come down to one primary conclusion: companies that can best streamline service for their customers have a much higher chance of success. For 1800Flowers, they certainly have been doing that right.
We tested out the bot on Messenger for some key learnings, here are the few that stood out.
1/ It’s a service, period.
Unlike other bots that are deployed to engage as much as provide a service, the 1800Flowers Assistant is there just to help users process an order. There is no rich content or add-ons to cue more interactions. From the time a user gets started, the bot introduces itself and then shows what collections are available.
2/ It’s consumer-driven
The typical queries of engagement and retainment don’t work the same here. The company has a dedicated consumer based with a facebook following of nearly 1 million members. The need to force or motivate a sale does not come on the part of the bot. The bot is there just to assist, as is in its name.
This goes hand-in-hand with the company’s business model. The company no longer has to manipulate sales or persuade potential buyers, there’s enough product and more importantly enough demand that the company does not have to rally for sales.
Using the bot, there are collections available, not as many as online but enough to make a good choice. But there’s no chatting from the bot to tell you which arrangements are popular or their favorite. Just skim through and choose what one fits your interest and the bot will help you get your delivery on its way.
3/ It’s efficient
In a brief exchange with the Assistant, a user can get to what they want fast. Integration with Messenger allows a user to buy without leaving the platform. The bot registers and saves both delivery and payment information, so that the next time a user comes on, the process can be that much faster.
In about three steps and less than a few minutes, the transaction is complete: product selection, delivery information, checkout.
