by Deevra Norling
According to J.D. Power live chat over more traditional channels to resolve customer service issues. It's a quick and efficient way to solve problems – or at least it should be. If your live chat is not handled properly it can result in frustrated customers who will leave your website and never return.
To keep customers happy, there are seven ways to improve your customers' live chat experience:
The main reason live chat is so popular with customers is for immediacy. When it comes to customer service, 82% of customers rate an immediate response as very important when reaching out to a company with a query. Anything longer than 10 minutes is too long.
Offer quick response times, immediate redirection to the appropriate department and quick resolution of complaints. You can use tags to quickly categorize, find, and resolve queries. Make sure you have a team big enough to avoid long queues, especially during busy times.
If you're not ready to start a conversation with a visitor to your website for fear of chasing them away, then don't. Research shows that 52% of customers are receptive to a live chat prompt.
Chats are a great lead generation tool when used effectively. New visitors to your website may be looking for information. Using live chat to initiate a conversation and offer help could prevent them from leaving before they find what they are looking for.
During a live chat, customers should feel like they are talking to a real person, not a bot. This is a chat, so it should be conversational and in the first person. Communication shouldn't be too formal or appear as script. "Now let me investigate" is more personal than "We at XYZ are here to help."
Train your chat agents to create a human connection and bring your brand's personality into chats. You should be cheerful, help, and empathize with customers who are struggling. Agents should be able to read the tone of the customer. Some customers may enjoy friendly jokes, while others may prefer a business-like approach.
If you really want to spice things up, implement live video chat. Through personal interaction, agents can record customer behavior based on their facial expressions and body language and react appropriately.
Since video chat is more personal than text or voice chat, it can help spread tense or angry customers. It's easier to shout via text or voice chat, but when customers see a human face, their aggression tends to subside.
Video chats offer another advantage. They are useful when visual instructions are more effective than text in helping a customer.
Other items from AllBusiness.com:
For the most efficient customer service, choose an omnichannel system that integrates with other business systems and platforms. Customers contact your company via phone, email, social media, and the chat widget.
A multi-channel CRM system can retrieve customer interactions from several channels and centralize everything. It uses a ticket system that allows agents to easily view all previous interactions and quickly provide help.
If you run an e-commerce business, by integrating your e-commerce software with your CRM system, you can respond instantly to sales inquiries and keep track of customers who have not completed a sale. Imagine what that could mean for your sales?
While live chat is always preferable to a chatbot, automated chatbot responses are sometimes required. Chatbots can be filled in during times when live agents are not available and provide standard information about your company.
If your live chat is only available during office hours, set up a chatbot after hours to let customers know when you can process their request. Make sure you actually respond when you say you do as nothing can make a customer lose trust in a brand faster than making false promises.
You can also use a chatbot to automatically answer frequently asked questions. Finding the answer to their question saves a customer time and reduces the number of customers in the live chat queue.
Some companies have great live chat services but skip an important step: soliciting feedback. You will be surprised how many customers like to share their opinion and appreciate the opportunity to do so. Asking customers for feedback is a great way to further improve your customer service, alert you to product or business weaknesses, and identify potential opportunities.
To get a higher response rate at the end of a live chat, keep your questions short – five at most. Multiple choice questions are quicker to answer, but include an open-ended question so customers can provide additional feedback in their own words.
Real-time chats are fast becoming the preferred method of communication between companies and customers. Not only can it improve customer service, the live chat can also increase conversions and increase sales.
A survey by Anderson Consulting found that 62% of online customers say they would buy more products from a company with live chat support. Another survey reported by Invesp found that shoppers who use live chat tend to spend 60% more on purchases.
More customers are shopping online than ever before. Therefore, it makes sense that you want to have online support immediately, both during and after your purchase. The more robust, seamless, and efficient your live chat service, the more customers will want to come back and shop with you in the future.
RELATED: 9 Ways To Use Facebook Chatbots To Grow Your Business
Contribution by: Deevra Norling
Deevra Norling is a content writer focusing on Entrepreneurship, Small Business, Careers, Human Resources, E-Commerce, Auto Insurance, Travel, Pets, Freelance, and Personal Development. She also runs a thriving small pet care business.
Connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn.
