Even when people know what they are looking for while shopping, they may still need assistance locating it in a store. And we are talking about not only brick-and-mortar stores; people need ready assistance while shopping online. According to a study by Forrester Research, 44% of online consumers say that having questions answered by a live person while making an online purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer. Live chat can help.
While customers are not fond of waiting in a call queue, communicating with your customer support team via Live chat is convenient. It offers your customers a solution to resolve their queries at the right time without leaving the page they view.
An advanced live chat facility can help you boost your customer experience and drive more sales. The process can also be outsourced easily without hampering the quality of customer experience. Quality live chat support must have the following features.
- Screen sharing: With screen sharing, the agent gets temporary access to a customer’s computer screen and can navigate on the customer’s behalf. It is more accessible and straightforward for the customer when they are not tech-savvy.
- Co-browsing: When customers have difficulty placing an order online, agents can show them how to use the ordering pages with the help of Co-browsing.
- Instant Messaging: Instant messaging allows customers to receive prompt answers to their queries, speeding up purchasing.
- Video Conferencing: Video conferencing can help you better serve a priority customer. It provides a better customer experience and more personalized support.
- Calling Facilities: A calling facility in live chat support can allow your customers to talk to a live agent, improving the experience.
However, rich features alone cannot create a great customer chat support experience. You need to follow a few live chat best practices to do so. Want to know about them? Check them out:
Live Chat Best Practices
1. Make the Most out of Canned Messages
By using canned messages, customer service agents can greet customers quickly without having to type it all.
2. Collect Information
Use pre-chat surveys to learn your customers’ issues before they begin typing. For customers’ information, set a routing rule so the chat goes to the correct department or agent.
3. Practice Using Shortcuts
Setting shortcut keys for frequently used operations, like canned responses, will help your agents save time. Fusion CX has successfully used canned responses for its live chat support services, significantly reducing the Average Handling Time (AHT).
4. Use Alternate Media
You can also save time by sending customers images, files, screenshots, or even how-to videos instead of writing complex responses.
5. Be clear about Wait Time and Operation Hours
If an issue cannot be resolved immediately, tell the customer, give them a precise wait time, and stick to it. Also, if the live chat support is available 24/7, say so; if not, then mention that too. Your website and social media profile should also clearly mention the operational hours.
6. Personalize Your Chat
Personalize your greeting and responses using the customer’s name and buyer history. Remarkably, your customers know you care about their unique issues.
7. Build a Connection
Use customer service representatives’ names and photos to build a better presentation of the customer and the customer service representatives at the beginning of the interaction.
8. Acknowledge and Empathize
Being sensitive to your customers’ needs and acknowledging their concerns makes customers feel that you care for them and are not trying to wrap it up quickly.
9. Use the Right Tone and Voice
Your online live chat presence should reflect your brand identity. Therefore, your chat must have a distinct tone or voice. For example – a high-end fashion brand will have a different tone than a company selling soccer merchandise.
10. Be Positive
Being positive and friendly in live chat can help win your customers. The ten best practices for live chat support your business must follow. If you do not have the workforce and budget to offer live chat support around the clock, you can hire a BPO that offers live chat support as a service.
