7 Ways to Step Up Your Live Chat Service
Customers prefer live chat over email, social media
Positive customer experience is an ongoing expectation today, and the number one differentiator customers use to decide which brands to use. Companies looking to stay ahead of their competition should be looking for ways to deliver an exceptional experience. While many brands have taken great steps in making phone call experiences better, some are still struggling with other customer touchpoints.
One of the most challenging spots for businesses is figuring out how to deliver a better experience to website users. In the past few years, live chat has quickly become a leader in the online communication space, saving businesses money along the way. Customers prefer live chat over email or social media support because it is a more useful and enjoyable experience. Companies like it because it costs less than a voice call.
Live chat only works, however, if you know how to optimize the delivery. Whether you are new to live chat or are ready to step up your live chat experience, here are seven ways to deliver better customer service.
1. Solve problems in real-time
Unlike the voice calls where agents have to walk a customer through their problem step by step or create a ticket for another department to reach out to the customer, live chat gives you the chance to answer questions in real-time. For instance, if a customer can’t find a specific page or form online, agents can utilize screen share to navigate the website and show customers where to find what they are looking for.
2. Create conversational responses
Many times, answers and responses to customers will show up repeatedly. Creating a library of common responses is a great way to reduce time spent by agents on each case. But, you must make sure the conversations come across as natural and not forced. Teach agents to review their text before sending it and make sure that it is something they would say on the phone. Program chatbots to sound natural as well and avoid losing customers that want more than a robotic conversation.
3. Set expectations
While some brands choose to offer live chat 24/7, not every brand takes this approach. Make sure your hours for live chat are clearly stated on your website. Alternatively, you can turn off the live chat software at a certain time to avoid creating a negative experience when users want to reach out and you are closed.
4. Respond efficiently
Speedy service is powerful, but only if it is also efficient. Agents should respond quickly, but to create a good experience, they also need to respond with the right information. If they try to rush through responding and provide the wrong details, they will only frustrate the customer more and cause them to look for service elsewhere. One useful technique agents can use is document sharing that allows them to instantly send the desired information through the chat.
5. Personalize messages
Customers may expect instant gratification, but they also want to feel as if companies know who they are. When possible, agents should personalize messages based on information the consumer has shared or on information found in their customer account.
6. Give agents better tools
Artificial intelligence is taking over in a variety of ways. One way that benefits brands utilizing live chat is through automated AI bots. Using keywords the customer types into the chat field, bots automatically find the desired information, which pops up on the agent’s screen, letting them send it instantly. This cuts down on the agent’s time invested because they no longer have to search through a library for it.
7. Ask for feedback
Once you have helped the customer, it is important that you ask for their feedback because it makes them feel valued and it helps you improve on future conversations. Ask one or two questions about the user’s satisfaction and what areas you need to improve, so you have a starting point for future agent training and updates.
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