Broadcasting
Businesses must harness the power of conversational experiences to enhance customer engagement and personalisation
By Siddharth Bawa, Account Executive at Infobip
Delivering exceptional customer experiences has become crucial for businesses, with an increasing number of organisations recognising that omnipresence – offering continuous, personalised journeys on customers’ preferred channels – is key to attaining success. By embracing omnichannel communication strategies, businesses can bridge the gap between physical and digital interactions, while also reducing complexity and maintaining a personalised touch. Businesses are thus shifting their focus towards conversational experiences that enable bi-directional interactions.
Research by Accenture shows that nearly 80% of CEOs have changed or intend to change how they manage client engagement using conversational AI technologies, while a study by Deloitte found that brands that lead in personalisation improve customer loyalty 1.5 times more effectively than brands with poor personalisation.
Ultimately, conversational experiences can contribute to successful customer engagement and personalisation because humans crave connection above all else. The need to be acknowledged and understood is driven by our inherent psychological makeup. A case in point was a recent initiative by a local chocolate manufacturer to help address South Africa’s low child literacy rate by deploying a conversational chatbot that enabled learners to access stories in their home language via a mobile device. In turn, children could also submit their own stories to the chatbot, which would be added to the collection. A high engagement rate and the ultimate success of the project saw this being rolled out as a fully-fledged corporate social responsibility project by the company.
Tangible benefits
When conversational experiences are incorporated with hyper personalisation – the process of tailoring a product, service, or experience to meet the needs and preferences of individual customers – businesses can reap various tangible benefits. These include customer acquisition, cost efficiency, revenue increase and marketing return on investment. However, the biggest benefit is customer loyalty, which leads to a long term mutually beneficial relationship between client and organisation.
Yet, despite these benefits, there are still some key challenges that South African businesses face in delivering personalised messages through conversational channels.
For example, in the banking sector, many organisations still have legacy systems. Adapting these systems to current customer experience requirements is proving to be quite a challenge in many cases. Many of the challenges arise from a legacy silo structure which is still present in several banks.
In the realm of customer support, Infobip’s analysis reveals a shift towards seeking assistance on familiar conversational platforms used with friends and family. This shift underscores the preference for instant and immersive messaging experiences, evident in the remarkable 91% increase in WhatsApp Business Platform interactions for customer support. This is where we as Infobip are seeing composable platforms becoming increasingly relevant, as they can orchestrate content from multiple sources and publish it to any digital channel.
It is important that companies adopt an approach that will reduce the complexity of communication while maintaining personalised experiences in a conversational strategy. To do this, businesses should avoid the inherent difficulty of trying to manage multiple different communication channels and instead seek to unify them on a single conversational communication platform.
Key functionality
When selecting a platform for this purpose, businesses should look for key functionality, such as access to a customer data platform where they can orchestrate customer information and craft personalised journeys. They should also seek a drag and drop chatbot building tool that will enable them to generate intelligent, intuitive chatbots that can be used for support, lead generation and cross-selling. Lastly, organisations should also look for a cloud contact centre solution where their clients can transition from automated responses to a live human agent to address more complex queries.
By successfully harnessing these technologies and functionalities, a company should be able to leverage their communication platform to deliver real-time, personalised two-way conversations to their clients.
Seamless agent takeover
While the right technology, such as intelligent chatbots, is key to driving conversational experiences, organisations must also put in place strategies or techniques to ensure seamless agent takeover for a more personalised support experience in conversational interactions. This is essential because people do not want to become stuck in an endless loop and they want to have the ability to speak to a human if they start experiencing challenges in terms of what they want to achieve.
As such, organisations should adopt a strategy where agents can see the dialogue that the customer has had with the chatbot, giving them an understanding of what the customer requirement is. Many organisations now have specialised agents that sit behind the chatbot, so that a specific query can be diverted to someone who is capable of resolving it quickly when the need arises.
Even though technology is thriving and continues to evolve in all directions, we still need to maintain the human touch. Technology and automation are there to assist us as employees and customers, not to take over. Therefore, merging chatbots with the human experience is a balance that organisations need to carefully maintain.
Trust Otorudo, Regional head of Smart Treasure, Lagos Operations, has said that among other reasons he found fulfilment in service to humanity, which aligns with one of the core attributes of Smart Treasure Investment, an investment platform. He noted that, this attribute fueled his passion and dedication for the platform, hence the reason he is committed to it.
By March 29, 2025, Otorudo will be one year with the ST platform and already he has touched many lives in philanthropic and charity works. This is aside all the financial and material benefits he said he has been able to achieve through his involvement with the ST project- with a great percentage of the amount committed to the ST charity course.
“Smart Treasure has made giving an easy habit for everyone who is a part of it, it comes natural to us,” Otorudo said.
“For nearly one year I have been with ST Team, it has been a very fulfilling relationship with different forms of activities. I have practically moved from being a needy to giving back to the society and this is as a result of my encounter with ST Team and I am forever grateful for that.
For Otorudo, the fact that the lives of people are being transformed for the better is enough motivation for him, and he expressed it this way: The ability to touch lives is my motivating factor- to give out to widows, the less privileged and those in need.
“At ST, we are not anti-government but partners in progress to help build an egalitarian society we can all be proud of, knowing that the government cannot do it alone.
“We cannot all be in position of power to affect lives but we can contribute to the growth of humanity through changing the lives of people, one person at a time. Which makes all the difference,” he averred.
Prior to his joining the Smart Treasure, Trust worked as a banker, contract staff for an insurance company, had a stint as a journalist and served as youth Corp member with the Nigerian Army, where he said the virtual of discipline, hardwork and service to humanity was instilled in him.
Presently, a VIP level 9 member, Otorudo advised those who were yet to register to the ST project to do so, if they are interested in changing their financial status.
He is presently on the list of Nigerians who will be visiting Dubai this July for an all-expenses paid trip, courtesy of ST Team. This is aside the numerous gifts he has been rewarded with, a car, an iphone and other high end gifts for his dedication and hard work.
Since 2023, Smart Treasure has involved itself with various charity works aimed at closing the gap between the rich and the poor in the society.
Among the ongoing projects are, ST Tech Academy, where members are being empowered with Information Technology skills; support to orphanages and schools for special children; and most recently, the salary subsidy initiative and an agricultural farm project aimed at feeding Nigerians from the proceed of agric farming.
Save the Consumers, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has condemned MultiChoice for reducing prices for its DStv and Gotv services in South Africa while hiking the same in Nigeria.
The NGO described the move as as discriminatory and exploitative.
In a statement on Sunday, Aliyu Ilias, executive director, Save the Consumers criticised the 21 percent increase in subscription fees.
The group highlighted the contradiction in MultiChoice’s pricing policies, pointing out that while Nigerian consumers are being charged more, South African subscribers are enjoying price reductions of up to 38 percent along with additional channels and improved services.
The NGO also accused MultiChoice of defying Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), directive to suspend all price adjustments pending an ongoing investigation.
“This action is not only insensitive and exploitative, but also blatantly discriminatory,“ Ilias said.
“Even more troubling is the company’s simultaneous enhancement of service offerings and reduction of prices for South African customers.
“In South Africa, MultiChoice has lowered fees on various products, added new channels, and introduced features that improve the user experience, all while acknowledging the financial pressures faced by South African households.
“This double standard, lowering prices at home while increasing them in Nigeria, amounts to economic discrimination and reinforces long-standing concerns about MultiChoice’s exploitative approach toward the Nigerian market.
“It is indefensible for MultiChoice to cite inflation in Nigeria as justification for the hike while offering consumer-friendly pricing in South Africa.
“This reflects a disturbing double standard, with Nigerian consumers continuing to suffer under a near-monopolistic market structure that MultiChoice exploits with impunity.
“While MultiChoice claims the price hike is necessary to deliver “world-class content,” Nigerian subscribers still face persistent challenges that remain unaddressed despite repeated complaints.
“These include repetitive content, frequent service disruptions, and poor value for money.
“Rather than resolving these issues, MultiChoice has chosen to penalise its loyal Nigerian customers with higher prices, once again proving that profit, not service or fairness, is its primary motivation.
“Meanwhile, South African subscribers benefit from reduced pricing, such as the “Add Movies” bolt-on slashed by 38% to R49, alongside additional channels and enhanced streaming features.
Ilias also said the justification by Byron Du Plessis, chief executive officer (CEO), MultiChoice, that the changes are due to “financial pressures faced by households further demonstrates the company’s hypocritical and disingenuous treatment of Nigerian consumers, who are themselves grappling with a severe cost-of-living crisis”.
“This double standard—lowering prices at home while increasing them in Nigeria—amounts to economic discrimination,” he added.
The recent demand by Abuja Municipal Area Council’s (AMAC) for a business owner in the area council to pay a N500,000 levy for owning a television set has sparked outrage across AMAC.
Nyesom Wike Minister, Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria
The demand notice, which surfaced online, has triggered widespread criticism and legal challenges over excessive taxation in Nigeria.
The controversy began when AMAC issued a demand notice to Tela Network Ltd, an Abuja-based infotech firm, requiring it to pay N1 million in arrears for 2023 and 2024, a N500,000 fine, and a N500,000 levy for 2025—totaling N2 million.
The notice directed payment to a designated bank within 14 days.
In response, Tela Network Ltd, through its legal representatives, contested the levy, arguing that the company does not engage in radio or television broadcasting and should not be subject to such charges.
The firm requested AMAC to clarify the legal basis for the demand.
AMAC defended its position, citing a 2012 by-law that classifies businesses into tax categories. The council maintained that “Computer Service Generally” falls under Category B, requiring an annual TV/Radio license fee of N1 million.
The levy has drawn sharp criticism from Abuja residents and legal experts. Many describe it as an unfair financial burden, especially in light of Nigeria’s economic struggles.
Residents argue that taxation should be tied to service delivery, questioning why they should pay exorbitant fees for television ownership when public services remain inadequate.
Social media users have also condemned the levy, with many calling it excessive and exploitative.
A legal expert, Iroh, representing Tela Network Ltd, described the law as draconian and suggested it should be challenged in court.
He acknowledged that while AMAC has the authority to make by-laws, the levy’s implementation appears arbitrary and oppressive.
Liborous Oshoma, human rights lawyer criticized the tax, stating that such levies disproportionately affect low-income individuals while the wealthy often evade enforcement. He urged residents to challenge the demand legally.
Efforts to reach Emeka James, spokesperson, AMAC, were unsuccessful, further fueling speculation and frustration among the affected parties.
Authorities Seize 1842 Devices in African-Wide Cybercrime Crackdown
Police Arrest 4 Bank Staff over Alleged ₦270m Fraud, Money Laundering
Enza Raises $6.75m Seed Funding to Boost Embedded Payment Solutions Across Africa
NIMC to Prosecute Nigerians Printing ‘NIN Cards’, Says Only Slip is Legal
FG, UK FCDO, and Ghana Partner to Launch Sankore
Broadcasting1 day agoNGO Blasts MultiChoice for Tariff Hike in Nigeria, Slash in South Africa
E-Business1 day agoOtti, Abia State Gov Promises Internet Access for all Abia Communities in 9 Months
News1 day agoNIPOST Explains Clamping Down on Illegal Logistics Services in Enugu
Telecom1 day agoTelcos Mull Introduction of Different Tariff Plans for Different States
News1 day agoNESREA Urges Nigerians to Dispose Batteries Properly to Avoid Hazards
E-Financial1 day agoCITN Seeks AI to Curb Revenue Leakage in Nigeria’s Tax System
News1 day agoTony Elumelu Foundation Grants $15m to 3,000 African Entrepreneurs
E-Financial1 day agoSEC Declares War on Capital Market Fraudsters