"By integrating SalesIQ chatbots into Zoholics events, the APAC Events team has enhanced attendee engagement, reduced logistical challenges, and provided a smooth, tech-driven experience. "This innovation continues to prove that AI-powered chatbots aren't just an add-on but a game-changer for future event management."
- Geetha Sathish Kumar, Head of Events, Zoho APAC
Offline events have a wonderful way of connecting with people. From the moment we excitedly register to attend until we return, exhausted, with loads of learning, the whole experience augments our wisdom and brings us closer to our connections.
When Covid happened and the world shifted to the web, it was predicted that it was going to be the downfall of in-person events. But over the last 4-5 years, we've seen a massive increase in the events, especially business events, thanks to the compelling nature of in-person events. More than ever, they want to stay closer to their customers and create an opportunity to connect and celebrate their journey with them in the flesh.
That being said, every imagined the plight of organizing such events? Behind all the glory, there's a laborious effort. It takes a team of professionals to put on a show, right from selecting a convenient location to curating an agenda that brings-in the crowd.
For Zoho's APAC Events team, it's just another Tuesday. An integral part of Zoho, the Events team at large is responsible for participating in various external events and conducting the company's annual user conference, Zoholics, across the Asia-Pacific nations. The team has been producing Zoholics and cherry-picking tech-shows in the region since 2017. What started off as a single event, targeted at Zoho users in Singapore, has grown into a running tour with multiple annual stints. In 2024, the team conducted Zoholics in 13 countries! Talk about being busy bees.
Always looking out for new ways, experimenting with them, and imbibing them to elevate the event experience, the team identified a few challenges that needed to be addressed to enhance the engagement experience of their attendees.
Streamlining chaos
Zoholics is something that excites people and brings customers and partners to many Zoho touchpoints—social media handles, mobile apps, and mainly the website.
This inevitably creates a scenario where customers and Partners might want to interact with organizers for many reasons, mostly to get their questions answered, make personalized requests, book one-on-one meetings, and more.
The team also wanted to highlight the sessions and make the agenda available for all, add the event day to the registrants' calendars, nudge the visitors to connect via social media, and get insight into the visitors.
During the event, even more needs arise—viewing the floor plan, showing customers the sessions happening across different tracks, accessing presentations, providing instructions for fun activities, collecting feedback, and much more.
The Zoho APAC Events team found it all fragmented and wanted to unify it so it could be handled in one place and be less chaotic for the registrants and attendees.
One key requirement for them was that the solution be simple enough to learn and seamless enough to own. They didn't want the solution to consume a lot of their time, as organizing itself drains their schedules.
Zoho SalesIQ's conversational chatbots
The search led them to Zoho SalesIQ's chatbots, which they gave a trial run. During the process, they were happy with quite a few aspects of the solution.
1. Deploying the chatbot on the event registration website helped visitors learn more about Zoholics. If they had any queries regarding the event, they could check with the conversational chatbot and get them clarified. If they were facing any technical difficulties registering for the event or payment queries, visitors could inform the team of these concerns.
2. After registration, the Zoholics event-exclusive mobile app is the primary mode of communication with registrants. The team found they could deploy the chatbot on the app using Mobilisten, SalesIQ's mobile SDK, allowing them to address queries on a scale without needing human assistance.
3. On the day of the event, Mobilisten became the single touchpoint, sharing information about the event, what was happening at that moment, and what was next. It also gave attendees the option to see/download session presentations, get feedback, book one-on-ones, and more.
4. Addressing language diversity while conducting events has always been challenging, especially in the APAC region. With SalesIQ's multilingual capabilities, they could deploy the chatbot in many languages. The bot spoke to attendees in their own language based on their preferences. This helped and encouraged many people to engage with the bot and provided a personalized experience.
5. Using SalesIQ's plugs, they were also able to achieve some dynamic functionalities. The bot can be configured to display different options before and on the day of the event, making it easy for them to plan, prepare, and deploy everything beforehand.
6. During their events, the team usually devises fun games to encourage attendees to attend as many sessions as possible and increase interaction. With the bot, they were able to provide instructions for the games and other interaction opportunities.
7. Once the event was over, they could view engagement reports for insights and refine their processes for future events.
8. In addition to all these benefits, SalesIQ also met one of their critical expectations: it was simple to learn and own. It gave them complete control over the solution and allowed them to learn it quickly.
Five APAC Zoholics after, what do they think?
Seamless user experience, even for first-timers
"At debut events like Zoholics Maldives, attendees quickly adapted to the chatbot, demonstrating its intuitive design and ease of use."
- Geetha Sathish Kumar, Head of Events, Zoho APAC
Reduced employee workload and instant information access
"At a major Zoholics event in Sri Lanka, with over 650 attendees (one of the largest APAC events yet), the chatbot significantly reduced the need for attendees to approach Zoho employees with questions. All essential information was readily accessible, minimizing confusion and ensuring attendees could find answers instantly."
- Geetha Sathish Kumar, Head of Events, Zoho APAC
Effective information segmentation
Categorizing details into pre-event and event-day sections prevented information overload. Attendees received relevant details at the right time, improving engagement and clarity.
Multilingual accessibility
The chatbot supported local languages such as Thai, Bahasa, and Vietnamese, alongside English. This feature enhanced attendee comfort and ensured seamless communication, regardless of language preferences.
On-demand access to event materials
Attendees could download and view presentations, brochures, and other event resources directly through the chatbot. Additional features included quick-access links for 1-on-1 session registrations, surveys, and event-related actions, streamlining their participation.
Hands-on experience with Zoho products
The chatbot served as an interactive, real-world use case for Zoho Backstage and Zoho SalesIQ, allowing attendees to experience their capabilities for themselves. This approach encouraged organic product adoption without any forced demonstration.
By integrating SalesIQ chatbots into Zoholics events, the APAC Events team has enhanced attendee engagement, reduced logistical challenges, and provided a smooth, tech-driven experience.