The new technology I would like to introduce this class to is Google Helpouts. This product is brand new and was just released to the public on November 4th 2013. Their tag line is “Real help from real people, in real time” and their stated goal is to “help people help each other”. Helpouts relies on Google’s Hangouts to allow people to interact face to face over internet video to learn how to do a wide variety of topics. These topics are categorized into the following areas: Arts & Music, Computers & Electronics, Education & Careers, Fashion & Beauty, Health, Fitness & Nutrition and Home & Garden and as is with all Google products the database is searchable. You can choose to get help from individuals or businesses and select them based on qualifications, price, availability or ratings and reviews. Some helpouts are free and some are a paid service. If you choose a paid Helpout you have the option to pay for a certain time period or pay by the minute i.e. $40 for a full hour or $1 per minute.
Some Helpouts are available for immediate help and others have to be scheduled. Appointments can be automatically added to your Google Calendar and will send you a reminder via email or text. You can also sign up for announcements, newsletters, special offers, feedback and testing.You can record the Helpouts you participate in so you can refer to them again later. Perhaps the most amazing part is that Google offers a 100% moneyback guarantee if your’re unsatisfied.
I think the whole idea is amazing and I believe there is huge potential for positive marketing and customer interaction. From a business perspective, If I were a small business owner I would use this technology to support my customer base as well as a way for me to showcase my product/service and reach new customers. As for big business what could be better than being able to offer one on one support to your customers without them even having to leave the house? Customers can also get support virtually anytime day or night even if stores are closed. Businesses such as Sephora, One Medical, Weight Watchers and Rosetta Stone have already joined and I believe that many others will soon join since the format allows for a much more personalized service for customers.
From a customer or user stand point I also find this technology super helpful (pun intended).
I have a young daughter who will soon start wanting to wear make-up. I obviously don’t use make-up and because my wife has severe allergies and has never been able you wear it, neither of us know anything about cosmetics or how to apply them. So I went to Helpouts and searched for “cosmetics”. I received two pages of options and topics. Sephora had many Helpouts available for free and there were also independent make-up artists to choose from as a paid option.
Follow this link to read the official Google blog post or you can watch the promo video on YouTube
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