PPB February 2019

SELLING POINT ForThe Girls The North Face restructures marketing efforts to become more inclusive of female customers. The North Face is a household name when it comes to athletic clothing and sportswear. But recently, the outdoor brand has undertaken a new venture. She Moves Mountains, its new international campaign, is designed to recognize the accomplishments of female athletes and inspire more women to travel, explore and test their athletic abilities, while engaging with the brand. The effort was proposed by Vice President of Marketing and Strategy Kathy Hines, who is new to the company, to make the brand more inclusive of women. The campaign has since featured American rock climbers Margo Hayes and Ashima Shiraishi, Hayes being the first woman to climb a route graded 9a+ and Shiraishi, age 17, who holds the reputation as a top teenage climber worldwide; American ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson, the first woman to climb two five-mile peaks (Mount Everest and Lhotse) in 24 hours; and Fernanda Maciel, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter and endurance runner whose latest endeavor is to climb up and down Aconcagua in Argentina, one of the highest mountains in the world, in less than 24 hours. To continue this effort, The North Face has partnered with The Outward Bound Trust, an outdoor, educational nonprofit, to provide lower-cost outdoor equipment as a way of encouraging greater activity. The North Face’s NeverStop Community, an online community that profiles athletes from around the world, will also work alongside 1,600 females from inner-city locations to teach the benefits of outdoor sports, introducing activities like rock climbing, hiking and kayaking. The North Face is also restructuring its marketing initiatives to ensure women are equally represented, along with the design and production of its clothes and accessories for women. it can, but certainly not all purposes. According to Medium , computers will only complement human labor—not replace it. But companies looking to downsize or automate some of their existing systems can use chatbots to replace certain responsibilities, specifically tedious tasks, like managing customer service requests and data, addressing complaints and completing orders in a timely manner. If needed, these employees’ skills could then be redirected to developing other areas of the business that merit focus. This information is also aligned with the findings of Gartner, which reported that 85 percent of customer interactions will be computerized by 2020, and Servion Global Solutions, a contact center consulting service that reported this number will reach 95 percent by 2025. Businesses also use chatbots because chatbots drastically shrink their processing time. According to Forbes , speed of service is one of the most obvious benefits that customers gain from the use of chatbots when interacting with businesses. Chatbots, which are available 24/7, can split the interaction time in half, providing customers with clear solutions in just seconds as opposed to a longer phone call. According to a survey of 1,000 adults conducted by Drift, a conversational marketing platform, 64 percent said they preferred chatbots over phone calls because of the round-the- clock service, 55 percent said it’s because of chatbots’ immediate response and 55 percent noted chatbots’ ability to answer simple questions. If you’re considering downsizing, converting to automated systems or simply incorporating new technologies into your business, chatbots may be a trusty option. You’ll communicate faster with potential clients, while providing immediate feedback to pressing inquiries. Most importantly, you’ll set a new precedent for your company’s customer service by using this fast-paced messaging solution. | FEBRUARY 2019 | 59 THINK