Live chat support: the lord of the written channels

The world we live in is constantly changing, and customer expectations are changing with it. We started moving to a digital world a long while ago, and in that digital world, speed is paramount to success.

Customers value speed more and more. When they contact you about anything, they expect a response immediately. Email takes too long and phone conversations are time-consuming and perceived as disruptive. So, what choice is left? Enter live chat support.

What is live chat support?

Live chat support is a synchronous channel in which the customer and the agent converse one to one. Most of the time, a chat pop-up appears on the lower right-hand side of the website, asking customers if they need any help. The customer can simply reply to the message with a question and the support process starts.

Alternatively, the customer can initiate the conversation when they need assistance. They simply click on the live chat button and get connected to an agent in an instant.

So, how do customers benefit from it?

Here’s a scenario: imagine a customer browsing your online store. She may be looking for a specific product, or she has a general idea of what she wants but can’t decide which item to get. She’ll have some questions to narrow down the list of items. With live chat support, you can answer these questions on the spot, in real-time. It gives you the ability to help out that customer directly, answer any questions and clear any uncertainties she might have, and help her reach a purchasing decision. This is the true power of live chat support: what you’re doing here in this scenario is effectively assigning a personal assistant to the customer. It’s like having a real store attendant right on your website, just without the constant peppering.

Why should more businesses adopt live chat support?

Boosting sales significantly is a big reason why live chat support is widely adopted. Even back in 2012, Virgin Airlines saw a 3.5 times higher conversion rate with live chat support than the traditional email. It’s incredibly useful for optimizing customer experience and conversions because everything is happening right on the website. That’s probably the biggest benefit against email. Your customers don’t have to leave your website to send you one, and they get connected to an agent and get a response instantly.

Fast response times have a significant effect on customer satisfaction rates as well. Providing real-time support to your customers is invaluable in this regard. The synchronous nature of live chat gives businesses the ability to harness the power of a speedy and convenient support channel. Speed is king, and this is what the customers expect from businesses.

Best practices

• Offer support on high-value pages: Be sure that your live support chat widget is especially visible on high-value pages like shopping carts and checkout pages. Cart abandonment is a real thing, and you’d want to know what uncertainties the customers might have. Is it the product or is it related to shipping and handling? Let the customer get in direct contact with you on those pages and help them out as soon as possible. This is a great way to clear the air and build trust with your customers.

• Multilingual support: If you’re striving for a worldwide customer base, you really should speak the language of your customers, literally. English might be the language of business, but individual customers aren’t companies. According to Harvard Business Review, over 71% of customers browse websites mostly in their own language. Also, over 56% of customers think the ability to get information in their own language is more important than the price.

• Integrate your live chat into a CRM: Keeping records of your individual customers is important. When a customer or agent disconnects and reconnects, you’d want to continue support where you left off. Customers doesn’t have to repeat their problems. So synchronizing customer’s identity, chat logs, past requests, and requirements with other agents will make the future live chat support instances more streamlined. A CRM system built for this purpose can go a long way.

It is the way of the future

It’s not only a great way to provide instant assistance to your customers right on your website, it’s a tool to build trust and loyalty. If you’re looking for a way to implement live chat support to your website or app, or you need to upgrade your existing implementation, we at Desk360 would be happy to help you. Check out what we offer over at our website, and please feel free to send us an email if you have any questions.