How to know if you are an outstanding Conversational Enterprise

The global economy is changing.

We are in the midst of a transition. Our economy is already in the process of moving from digital transactions to conversational ones.

Messaging apps (like Facebook Messenger & Whatsapp) and speech-based assistants (like Amazon Alexa & Google Home) are quickly replacing more conventional web & mobile apps as a means of interaction & purchase.

But the world isn’t only changing for consumers. Today enterprises find themselves at an inflection point as well.

They must adopt Conversational AI in their businesses to have simultaneous personalised conversations with a multitude of people across different time zones & geographies to thrive in this new economy.

The first order of business then is to determine what form these efforts must take for companies to be successful.

Should they stop after deploying chat bots across their consumer touch points? Or is that just the start of a long and productive journey to transform into a Conversational Enterprise.

This is what we at Senseforth have attempted to measure by creating a Conversational Enterprise Index that plots at which stage your organisation is at currently and how far away it is from truly becoming a Conversational Enterprise.

We share the thinking behind this Index with you in this article. But first, let’s begin by defining what a Conversational Enterprise is and how it outshines its traditional counterparts.

What is the Conversational Enterprise Index?

The Conversational Enterprise Index (CEI), is a first of its kind, proprietary benchmarking tool developed by Senseforth to assess and classify organisations basis a set of predefined criteria.

Senseforth evaluates organizations using 100 metrics across ten broad criteria to determine their stature in the Conversational Enterprise space. The resultant index designates the enterprise one of four classifications and provides a Brand Mark with a CE Index.

Below are the ten broad criteria we use when determining the Conversational Enterprise Index of an organisation. (P.s. Each of these ten criteria would have +/- 10 metrics each.)

CEI criteria

CEI graph


75 Points and Above: Considered Leading Conversational Enterprise

50 to 74 Points: Considered Future Conversational Enterprise

25 to 49 points: Considered Emerging Conversational Enterprise

0 to 24 points: Considered Early Conversational Enterprise

Why is the Conversational Enterprise Index important?

The CEI allows innovative organisations a way to measure their progress along their journey to becoming a Conversational Enterprise.

On one level it provides them with a definitive checklist, which they can keep referring to, keeping their compass pointing true north regardless of the duration between each transformation.

It also allows organisations to chart their progress against those of their competitors or their industry at large and see where they stand and how far they have yet to go.

If they choose, they can even use it as a milestone marker to highlight their success in moving up the ranks thereby demonstrating how future-ready they are versus their counterparts.

Finally, the CEI also acts an important resource for investors, shareholders and policymakers to better understand the adoption of Conversational AI at various stages within a particular industry.

How can I assess my organisation?

At Senseforth, we assess organisations in two phases.

Phase One involves you signing up for an assessment via our website, link here. What follows is a quick and straightforward, 14-point questionnaire that evaluates your company along the criteria mentioned above.

Phase Two is where our team of qualified Conversational Enterprise Assessors visit your company to meet key decision makers involved in your transformational process.

They will validate the information you shared in the questionnaire and supplement it with additional documentation provided by you. At the end of the assessment process, enterprises will receive a detailed report highlighting their ranking across each of the ten criteria, along with a way forward summary and a brand mark.

The brand mark is both physical and digital and can be utilised across communication channels to publish/celebrate your status.

In Conclusion

The shift to Conversational Enterprises is a foregone conclusion, but we believe that our Conversational Enterprise Index will motivate even more organisations to begin their journey sooner now that they have a clear blueprint to follow.

Let us know if you are interested in finding out where your organisation ranks on the Conversational Enterprise Index.

Not sure where you are —really — on the road to becoming a Conversational Enterprise? Provide your details below to subscribe to our Conversational Enterprise Article Series.