Communication is a major aspect of a business, whether big or small. For any business to excel, one must incorporate competent communication tools. You need to offer your customers real-time conversations, and one of the most helpful tools for that is Customer chat support.
But what type of communication tool is this?
Customer Chat Support is a communication tool that permits customers to interact directly with business support agents. The communication is done through audio, photos, videos, and texts. When you embed live chat software into your website, customers can ask questions to the agents and get answers quickly in the same tiny window.
This service is not limited to websites only. You can use it on social media pages like Facebook, Messenger, Whatsapp, and SMS. Keep reading as we explore more about Customer chat support in this article.
How does customer chat support meet the varying needs of customers
Customers’ expectations evolve daily, and companies must understand the needs of their customers. The experience your customers get about your brand is equally important to the services or products you offer. It also influences their decision-making.
Customer chat support helps brands quickly resolve the issues affecting their customers. It also gives better quality service by directing chats to the relevant teams or departments. As a result, customer satisfaction is boosted.
Additionally, this chat service helps brands identify customer insights and understand their journey. This way, they identify the gaps and provide an improved experience. Chat support offers maximum convenience since it’s available 24/7, so the customers can reach you anytime.
Why is chat support the best communication channel
Why should your company embrace the chat short service? Because it’s convenient and fast, and customers love it. Research shows that many customers across the globe prefer using live chat thanks to its satisfaction level.
Here are additional benefits of customer chat support.
1. High Accessibility
You can easily integrate the live chat service software into your customer’s workflow through a link on your app or website. This makes it easy for the customer to find help without digging up an email address or searching for your contact page. The easy accessibility ensures they don’t use much effort and build their loyalty to your brand.
2. Increased website conversions
Integrating the chat support service to your web page enables customers to reach you whenever they have a question or a problem. This makes them happy and satisfied, convinces them to make a purchasing decision quickly, and boosts sales conversions. In most cases, whenever a customer is properly guided, they make purchases faster. That’s why support agents must simplify the process by explaining everything to the customer.
3. Reduced repetitive conversations
Nobody likes to repeat themselves over and over. Most customers expect support agents to have their details at their fingertips without asking them. Luckily, the chat support service enables agents to use notes from previous conversations to support customers. This not only saves time but also reduces the irritating repetitive conversations by going straight to the point. The service offers live tools such as video chat and co-browsing that guide customers to an application, thus reducing the number of contacts they make regarding the same problem.
4. Better customer experience
Customer experience can make or break any business. Businesses that focus on better customer service delivery register remarkable customer satisfaction and accelerated growth of returns. Luckily, with live chat service, your customer will get instant answers as opposed to ancient communication channels such as emails. Besides, the answers are accurate, and they don’t have to queue for inquiries. Customer chat support is an investment that leaves customers happy and adds credibility to your business.
5. Delivery of useful content
When you embed live chat support into the customer’s journey, it offers them a better chance to explain where they are stuck to your agents and give them the help they need. It also notifies the agent what the customers were up to before requesting assistance. Thus the two parties get a head start in understanding the issue and how to solve it.
6. Life chat is conversational and engaging
Many customers prefer expressing themselves via chat conversations to formal writing. Emailing pressures the customer by demanding a clear explanation of their problems. They are also required to provide relevant information, something they aren’t perfect in. Nevertheless, things are different with the live chat support software. It breaks down those interactions enabling the support agent to guide the customer by asking relevant questions correctly. What could take an email a day to solve takes live chat a few minutes.
7. Customer acquisition and onboarding
Live chat goes a long way in helping businesses connect with potential and new customers. It also convinces them to invest in your business by purchasing your products or services. Research by Forrester depicts that consumers who use the live chat software have a possibility of 2.8 times to proceed to purchases than those who don’t. You build trust with your customers whenever you are available, even if they aren’t ready to talk immediately.
8. No language barrier
Your business should not be limited by its geographical location. You should be able to cater to customers from different places, and live chat enables that. The software features a Google Translate integration that allows support agents to communicate with all customers in their native language. The lack of a language barrier plays a great role in building trust between brands and customers.
Live chat best practices
Continuous delivery of great customer service is not a walk in the park. Besides, the live chat softwares are developed differently, so you must know how to keep it effective and offer customer-friendly experiences. Below are live chat best practices that will make your live chat more engaging and build a strong rapport with your customers.
1. Maintain low response times.
Immediate response to customers is one of the live chat’s pros. But that benefit may not be realistic if the customers are kept on hold. One of the key metrics brands should use to improve customer service is faster response times. If your response time is low, customer satisfaction will be high.
Live chat softwares enable support agents to handle multiple conversations without keeping the customer on hold for long. One of the best ways to initiate a low response time is by letting your customers know when you are available. The other trick is improving the typing speed of support agents. You can also use saved replies and eliminate typing whenever a chat pops up.
2. Teach your customers
Avoid restricting yourself to answering only the questions that your customers ask. Try to understand why they are asking and what they want to achieve, and share your opinion or advise them further. For instance, give them a suitable alternative answer to address their needs.
3. Metric tracking
It is critical for brands to track their metrics, no matter the level of customer service. The live chat software is not exceptional in metric tracking. By tracking, you can quantify the performance of live chat compared to your goals. Also, the practices enable you to measure the performance of your customer support team by highlighting their strengths and where they need to improve. Some measurable metrics include First Response Time, Number of chats, and First Contact Resolution.
4. Utilize Co-Browsing Sessions
Co-browsing gives your agents access to the browser windows of customers for real-time guidance. This means the agent and the customer can navigate the same website simultaneously. Co-browsing creates a clear communication channel hence a more interactive conversation with an in-person feeling. Using co-browsing in live chat software also reduces the response time and gives customers real-time support.
5. Request for customer feedback
This is another important live chat practice. Set up your software so that the last step after the current conversation will be a request for customers to share their experience. You don’t have to integrate anything fancy. ‘’Great,’’Average’’ and ‘’Poor’’ options are enough. With this rating, the customer’s response will take seconds, but it will go a long way in helping you understand the views of your customers and give a better experience.
Conclusion
Competition in the marketplace is stiff, and one must employ the best strategies to stand out. Technology has introduced many customer service tools, but Live chat customer support is a powerhouse. It’s advantageous not only to the customers but also to your agents and the overall business compared to traditional communication methods.
Customer chat support is a must-have tool for any business in today’s world. It is engaging, time-saving, and offers a better customer experience translation to more sales. Now that we have discussed the service, it’s time to act.
Contact Loop and let them help you grow your customer base and attract more revenue via customer chat support. The company boasts sales, customer service, and retention specialists. Enjoy their unmatchable support and await tremendous business growth.
