Customers all have their preferences when it comes to contacting customer support. Still, most of them tend to favor an efficient, fast, and convenient method. Email can be time-consuming, calling on the phone is out of the question for some, and social media messages can go unseen, so live chat seems swift, easy, and efficient.
Still, the benefits of live chat for customer service (and for other intentions) are more than just being quick and effective. It can also boost agent productivity, help you establish a better customer relationship, and influence your product/service decisions. Just like finding excellent SEO services in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, FL, a solid live chat feature can do a massive service for your brand and business.
As such, in this article, the expert team at Rosy Strategies will discuss the benefits of live chat customer service and 24/7 live chat support.
Discussing Live Chat Benefits
So, let’s see just how a live chat feature can help your online presence and business processes.
Better Support Experience for Your Customers
The most significant reason buyers like to use live chat is that they get answers to their questions almost instantly.
With the help of a live chat feature, your customers can reach out to you almost immediately when they encounter a problem or have a question. The immediate response feels more intimate and supportive than sending out an email, where they don’t know when they will get feedback.
That said, customer satisfaction ratings are also higher with live chat than with other customer support methods.
Building Rapport With Customers
During a chat session, your agents or engagement specialists can examine the customer’s tone and sentiment and make small adjustments to cater to their situation. When they adjust their style to the customer’s, it’s easier to build trust and form a helpful relationship.
Provide 24/7 Live Chat Support
With a well-thought-out schedule, you can always be available to your customers. When you expand your availability to cover the entire day, you will give no reason for your customers to say that their concerns remain unaddressed.
And even if providing 24/7 live chat support is not possible in your situation, you can always create a knowledge base or comprehensive FAQ section on your website to help with most queries.
When you take the knowledge base route, ensure that the documentation is easy to find. Remember, most of the time, your customers are happy to find a resolution on their own. Still, for that to happen, you need to put your answers in a visible place, and your documentation should be written in a way that’s easy to understand.
When combining a comprehensive FAQ section with a live chat feature, your customers will feel that their voices are heard, no matter whether they’ve reached someone or found the info they’re looking for on their own.
Live Chat Can Boost Customer Acquisition
When discussing live chat benefits, experts often state that this gives new and prospective customers a more confident way to contact you and do business with your brand. According to expert data, people who use live chat are 2.8 times more likely to convert than those customers who use other methods to reach out.
Gain an Advantage Over Your Competitors
When the competition in your industry does not offer live chat features or offers only low-quality ones, you can gain the upper hand and potentially snatch their customers.
For instance, if a customer wants to buy something but needs help deciding between two products, they will probably buy from a seller who will be readily available to answer their questions rather than picking up the phone or sending out an email. As a matter of fact, some market research suggests that over half of customers will always use live chat over grabbing the phone.
Reduced Repetition for Customers
Let’s face it — no one likes to explain the same issue several times. As a matter of fact, around 72% of customers looking for support expect agents to be familiar with their details, such as product information and support history.
With a robust live chat feature, agents can message the customer while simultaneously reviewing the details of the problem.
Depending on the chat software you’re using, your agent may also be able to share screens with the customer or send screenshots and helpful links to solve the problem more quickly.
Boost the Productivity of Customer Service Teams
Live chat benefits also include improving the staff’s overall productivity in customer service. Why? One person can handle only one phone call at a time, but with a live chat feature, employees may be able to manage a few conversations simultaneously.
The latter is especially true if they are handling simple questions. Needless to say, they will most probably focus on one customer exclusively in case of more serious issues that require reporting and research.
Make Smarter Business Decisions With the Help of Your Chat Data
Another significant benefit of a live chat feature is that you can collect valuable data. Depending on the chat software you are using, you may be able to tag, organize, and store chats you can review later.
The data can then be used to help your product, marketing, and support teams learn more about possible product/service issues and improvement opportunities and highlight features that customers are highly satisfied with.
Better Customer Engagement
When you are readily available to your customers, they will be more likely to interact with you. Some people who previously used the phone to reach out to you will use your chat feature, and there will probably be many new customers who started engaging with you thanks to your live chat.
When customer engagement is high, you can make a good impression and give your customers a reason to stay with your brand. When done the right way, you can create a more meaningful relationship between your brand and customers.
Remember, rock-solid customer support is essential in today’s market. A live chat feature is an excellent method to make this imperative segment of entrepreneurship a lot simpler.
Success With Live Chat Is Within Arm’s Reach
Nowadays, customers are looking for comfortable and effective ways to reach out to the brands they want to interact with or have questions about. Opting for live chat means that your business can cater to their preferences. Also, being readily available can help you improve your relationship with your customers. The data you gather from these chats can positively affect your business decisions and how you create and market your products/services.
To learn more about the benefits of these features, you can always reach out to us and explore additional options to create an even stronger online presence.