Social Media, Chatbots, Recognizing Needs, and Making a Big Boom Happen
Kyivstar began developing Zoriana, a customer service chatbot, back in early 2015. A relatively new approach at the time, the team wanted to build an automated way for customers to solve common issues and navigate the website.
And the bot worked wonderfully.
“When the bot first launched, many customers thought they were talking to a human, which led to some funny interactions,” notes Anton, Acting Head of Social Media and Digital Support. “It’s amazing to see how far Zoriana has progressed today. To help make all this happen, it feels like a big boom.”
That’s exciting stuff, isn’t it? During our talk with Anton, we hear more about Zoriana and taking care of the customer. We also find out how you can make your own big boom happen.
Here we go…
1. Fulfill different roles in the ecosystem
You can’t know how an ecosystem works until you see how everything in it is interconnected. To do that, you must explore each part.
Anton’s career at Kyivstar has been about gaining a better understanding of how all the pieces work together. He started in the call center in 2011 while attending university, then joined the instant chat team after a year and a half.
In 2014, Anton moved to Kyiv to work as a web channel specialist, where he did analytics to improve Kyivstar’s chat support. It was here that the team also began building Zoriana.
“I worked for two years developing Zoriana, which has greatly improved our customer support services,” says Anton. “What helped me a lot while creating Zoriana was the fact that I had experience on the front lines with customers. Now, as Acting Head of Social Media and Digital Support, I’m using everything I’ve learned previously.”
It’s interesting how previous experiences help us in current endeavors. Using lessons from the past, we can make big things happen in the future.
For Anton, lessons go even further back than his time with Kyivstar.
“Before university, I worked at a supermarket to make money for school. My parents were so proud. It taught me the value of work and gave me a foundation for working hard and learning as much as I can along the way.”
This idea of doing different things and learning even applies to Anton’s personal life. It’s what gives him a better view in everything he does.
“I love traveling because there’s so much to learn from other cultures and places. I like Amsterdam a lot, as it’s like a big, charming village. Thailand is my favorite place. The people are always smiling. It’s important to discover and learn about new countries. I want to go to Latin America next,” states Anton.
2. A bot can be a friend, too
You may have heard a lot about robots taking over the world. While the benefits and dangers of that can be debated, there’s one thing that can’t: To succeed in today’s world, you must use technology to your advantage.
That’s precisely what Kyivstar is doing with Zoriana, a chatbot capable of two million dialogues with customers. She’s a virtual assistant with over 12,000 answers to common problems. How amazing is that?
It’s not just about using any technology, though. It’s about using the right technology.
“ Zoriana was the best solution for Ukraine because of the language. She does excellent in Ukrainian and Russian. That was important for us when we started work on Zoriana.,” describes Anton.
For Anton, much has been learned from the development of Zoriana.
“Our work with Zoriana is ongoing. When we launched, Zoriana just helped users with simple problems but we kept working. Four months after launch, we integrated Zoriana with Facebook Messenger. This was a huge milestone — a big bang of sorts,” exclaims Anton.
That’s pretty awesome. Beyond just continually using technology, there must be constant analysis of what the customer wants and how they act. Anton emphasizes this in his work.
“The more channels we have, the more conversations we get. On the website, users generally aren’t aware Zoriana is a bot and will word things in a complicated manner. On Facebook, users usually know it’s a bot and put questions in simple terms to get a quick answer,” says Anton.
3. Outer space isn’t even the limit
In an age where you can get to space, climb Mount Everest, and even become a superhero, it’s not ridiculous to say anything is possible. You just have to focus on your own growth and improvement.
At Kyivstar, Anton is working on pushing the team’s capabilities further — especially through Zoriana.
“ Zoriana can handle self-care now. She can provide you with tariff plans, bundle offers, usage data, and more. We have a big roadmap ahead to fulfill and this will deliver more incredible offerings,” explains Anton.
In addition to Facebook Messenger, Anton and team are exploring other social media platforms for using Zoriana. For instance, Viber, given its large audience in Ukraine, is a promising channel for helping clients, as business accounts can also be created.
“On Facebook Messenger, we get about 100,000 questions or conversations per month. Our social media encounters will increase as we integrate with other platforms. We may use new tools like Instagram and Snapchat stories to build our brand and promote new services. Viber is our focus right now for self-care, as there are lots of customers to serve there,” says Anton.
Clearly, there are lots of things in motion for the social media team at Kyivstar. Success depends on continuing the hard work.
“The best career advice I’ve heard was from Kyivstar. They said this: ‘You have to work hard. If you can do that, you’ll benefit because we’ll give you opportunities to advance your career. With hard work and resilience, you can get to where you need to get to go.’ I’ve applied that idea to my work here,” affirms Anton.
If you ask Anton about why you should join Kyivstar, he’ll echo a similar sentiment.
“Come to Kyivstar because they give you the chance to build your career. You can go from entry level to bigger positions. They help you develop and improve in the way you want.”
That’s pretty awesome, right? You have the freedom and power to fly to the moon — perhaps even literally!
4. Hit the boulder until it goes boom!
Let’s continue discussing how hard work allows you to evolve. Because Anton has an interesting thought on all the work he did with Zoriana.
“The inspiration I got from the Zoriana project is that, when you work on something for years, and you realize a big success, it gives you motivation. It’s like making a big boom happen,” attests Anton.
For Anton, it doesn’t stop with Zoriana. There are more booms to make.
“The next thing is to integrate all aspects of customer care. We want to bring the call center, Zoriana, and all social media channels into one service and marketing ecosystem. This will enable us to serve our clients in the most effective manner possible,” proclaims Anton.
If you look around at some of the most famous entrepreneurs, they follow this idea of going for the big boom. Take Elon Musk, for example. He goes for it all in all that he does, especially with SpaceX — the company that could take humans to Mars and beyond.
Anton follows a similar philosophy: Go for the big wins — or go home. Consider doing the same if you ever wish to see a ‘boom’.
5. Enjoy the view as you ride to the stars
Imagine this: If you actually took a trip to space, wouldn’t you take a moment to soak up the view of Earth. Sure you would.
No matter what you’re doing right now professionally, take time to live in the moment. That can mean different things to different people, of course.
“In addition to traveling, I like to spend time with family and play with my cat. She’s super fun. I like playing video games, like Uncharted 4. In general, I believe it’s important to just have fun outside of work. It will make you better when you get back to the job,” states Anton.
Go for the big bang!
Thanks to Anton for such an inspiring chat! Now, you have not only a better idea of what Anton does for Kyivstar, you also understand what it takes to achieve great things.
All that’s left for you is to get to work. Just remember to enjoy the views and good times during your trip.
