It’s great to see the transformation in AI technology for the businesses and everyday we get closer with these innovations. To conquer this battle, we have to encourage all the techie people who get involved in it.
We love it whenever we bring some knowledgeable piece of content for our reader. This time we engage a highly experienced industry expert “Nicolas Babin”-the president of Babin Business Consulting, who has 30 years of experience in the martech world.
Nicolas core expertise lies in technical, marketing and management fields. He has command on Consumer Electronics, robotics, web analytics, gamification, online intelligence – data intelligence – big data (behavior analysis and data coherence), digital (eCommerce, online advertising, gaming, apps, AI).
With his vast experience, he accomplished many projects and almost 30 publications. He was awarded on different successful projects and started over 22 companies across the world.
The power of speaking makes him a great speaker and key opinion leader. He has command of 6 different languages.
Let’s talk to him!
Botsify: Hi Nicolas, firstly, thank you for giving your precious time and speaking with us today. Let’s start with your career, What made you choose this profession? Tell us about your success story and your current designation with the images of your workplace.
Nicolas: Thank you for the opportunity you are giving me. I had many professions during my 30+ years in business. From programmer to marketer, head of communication, HR, senior management, entrepreneur and now consultant. I have been very fortunate to live and work in great places (San Francisco, Tokyo, Berlin, London, Brussels and now Bordeaux).
Each time a new opportunity came along, I thought “why not, give it a try and see” and it was the right strategy as I have thoroughly enjoyed all life challenges. Today I work mostly from home in the South West of France in a beautiful town called Arcachon by the ocean.
Botsify: As you mentioned in your profile, you started and/or developed over 22 companies in the US, UK and France. It is a big achievement indeed. Tell us more about this journey.
Nicolas: Thanks to my experience in the US and also being married to a San Franciscan for over 30 years, I developed a very strong entrepreneur mindset. Any time I see an opportunity, I start thinking about a business. I have created or I have been involved in many industries like eHealth, car sharing, gamification, coffee roasting, franchise, industry, architecture…
It has its ups and downs obviously. I have been successful in some and failed in others, the main lesson has always been that I have learned a lot in all the experiences.
Botsify: Mostly industries using gamification in the recruitment process, what about chatbot gamification in the other function areas of the organization?
Nicolas: Gamification is the use of game mechanics in non gaming activities. It helps with engagement so you can find elements of gamification in all types of industries and organizations.
Botsify: As we can see you have accomplished multiple projects, so what steps did you take for leading a successful SaaS project, what hurdles and then what outcomes did you get?
Nicolas: My associate’s mother has had diabetes for over 40 years. Once she was in a coma because of her diabetes. So he decided to start coding to create an app to help her balance her disease. I thought it was a great idea and together we created the business. The main hurdles were that neither of us are doctors and we managed to create a scientific board with 4 professors and 4 doctors and this is what created our credibility. We are doing this to help people with a terrible disease, the outcome is really a feeling of accomplishment and pride. (wow!)
Botsify: Many leading businesses facing problematic situations due to COVID-19. But many organizations are running smoothly with the help of digital marketing. Being a digital marketing influencer, would you like to tell the contribution of omnichannel and multichannel retail in this scenario?
Nicolas: For many years, I have been advocating the fact that companies and people need to transform their way of working. The traditional way needs a change. Covid19 has convinced people that it needs to be done now. This is not to say that we are in a revolution.
We are in a phase of evolution where the way to conduct meetings is changing, the way to manage people is changing and the way colleagues interact is changing. Digital tools are helping the change and this is why omnichannel retail is optimizing customer experience. You will still have people interested in going to a shop and you have people who will use augmented reality for example to shop from the comfort of their homes.
Botsify: Being a digital marketer, would you like to give some social media strategies (like Facebook, Instagram, email, etc.) for engaging targeted audiences to mid-level businesses?
Nicolas: Community management is essential to anyone involved in social media strategy. You need to have an engaged audience if you want to grow and learn. It is much better to have a targeted audience of 100 people reacting to your posts than 1 million people not even reading what you post. Social media when done right is effective, cost efficient and professional. Each channel is different, each channel has a different purpose. Do not underestimate the power of social media, it can help any company make it big if done right.
Botsify: When we talk to the different people, we learn from them and get some interesting ideas. As a speaker, did you experience such things and what makes you the most excited when you talk with your audience.?
Nicolas: I love when people are so engaged that they participate with me and are part of the talk. In this example, people stood up and it was a lot of fun.
Botsify: One of your publications “How to manage crisis in communication” , I think you try to stabilize employer-employee relationships. What if we talk in the sense of organization-customer relationship with the automation tool? Can chatbot help us in crisis in communication?
Nicolas: Yes chatbots can help, but as a first step. In time of crisis you need speed and availability which chatbots provide. However, if a problem persists, human contact is essential. Moreover, in times of crisis you need to be proactive and announce what is happening and sometimes humans are the solution for it.
Botsify: We are truly inspired by the people around us because of some reason. Have you ever met anyone who motivates you to do something out of the box?
Nicolas: Yes, this is so true in general and so true for me. I have had some great leaders/mentors than have helped me grow to who I am today. First Kawada-san my first boss at Sony, then Amagai-san my boss in the robotic business. The head of Sony Europe, Jean Michel Perbet has also been my greatest mentor.
Botsify: Quote your motivational thoughts to inspire our readers.
Nicolas:
Fall seven times, stand up eight.
Botsify: Many chatbot platforms like Botsify are helping to optimize communication with customers. Would you like to shed light on this? And what is the future of chatbot automations?
Nicolas: Chatbots are becoming essential in customer support activity. The progress with AI and Machine Learning make chatbots more efficient and more engaging. Chatbots have started to use NLP (Natural Language Processing) and so the relationship with chatbots is becoming more natural. Chatbots are here to augment humans, the human touch should not completely disappear from the communication with customers.
We are thankful for giving us your valuable time and talking with Botsify. It’s been a truly insightful experience for our readers!
