Why Customer Service Live Chat is No Longer Optional
As the years go by, more of our conversations with people aren’t really traditional conversations at all. Calling an old friend to catch up isn’t exactly all that common compared to 20 years ago, with communication though message services and applications leading the way in how people stay in touch with each other. With this shift in communication, customers are also changing how they interact with customer service, including a groundswell of demand for live chat solutions.
Here are 5 reasons why using live chat customer service is no longer optional:
1) It saves agents time – In the business world time is money and there’s no denying that live chat makes agents more efficient. Not only can they have multiple chat conversations going at the same time, but they can also be available to assist with email customer service tickets at the same time. This ability for the agent to change their focus on the fly means they can clear the log of customer issues faster than ever before.
2) It saves customers time – Living in a world of multitasking, customers are simply more likely to reach out via live chat because it means they can do other things. One of the benefits of live chat is that customers aren’t tied to a phone call or waiting on hold for an agent to show up. Offering live chat means more customers – some that may not have reached out otherwise for a variety of reasons – will contact you than ever before.
3) It enables better answers – In a phone conversation, an agent is put on the spot and has to answer with what may or may not be the right answer. With live chat, the conversation is still in real-time but the agent has more time to think through and create a professional response. Another bonus of chat is agents can easily link to customer self-service options such as Knowledge Base articles and content that are applicable to customers and take answers to the next level.
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4) It facilitates the solving of more complex problems – We’ve all had a conversation where we were asked on the phone to describe a scenario or situation. Wouldn’t a picture have been helpful instead? With live chat, sharing files and attachments right in the chat window can aid the conversation and help in getting customer issues resolved faster. It also helps to keep all assets associated with the conversation in one place.
5) It can be a one stop shop for all customer conversations – Live chat can start off simple but turn into many different conversations. A customer has to leave abruptly? Easily turn the chat into an email ticket and continue the dialogue. Or maybe a customer wants to replicate the error for you? Complex visual customer service solutions like a video conversation or screen sharing can be launched directly from customer chat. In addition, live chat can also support audio conversations so customers don’t have to end the chat, find their phone, look around for a phone number, dial it, and navigate a phone tree.
To summarize, live chat is no longer optional in customer service because it has evolved into more than just a chat conversation; it’s now the tip of the spear in customer conversations. This solution saves both customers and agents time as well as creates better customer experiences through improved answers and information. Communication will continue to evolve, including chat bots becoming more sophisticated, and companies need to make live chat a part of their customer service solution today before they fall even further behind their competition.
