The situation
The shop’s product range was in supplier price lists, and its expertise was in PDF buying guides. Choosing the right product takes advice, and customers want it when they’re browsing, not only during opening hours.
What we built
- An assistant as the home pageOf the shop’s site, next to a blog and an FAQ.
- Recommendations from the shop’s own rangeWe loaded the products from the supplier price lists. Staff edit products and brands in the admin panel, and the assistant picks up every change on its own.
- Answers from the shop’s buying guidesStaff upload guides as PDFs, and a new version replaces the old one. On upload, each passage is linked to the products it talks about.
- Orders in the conversationThe assistant confirms the products, asks for an email address and shows the total with delivery. It creates the order only once the customer confirms, and the customer downloads a pro-forma invoice with the payment details.
- Orders in the admin panelWhere staff open each order and its pro-forma invoice.
- It stays on topicIt declines questions that have nothing to do with the shop, and limits how many questions one visitor can ask in an hour.
What changed
Customers get advice drawn from the shop’s own guides at any hour, and can order in the same conversation. Staff keep the products and guides up to date themselves, without a developer.