Learn how live chat works and reap the rewards for your business and customers.
Dreaming of first-class customer feedback, 100% client satisfaction rates, and doubling your leads?
You’ll be pleased to know that when it comes to your business, live chat can make this a reality.
The easy-to-integrate, affordable software offers an innovative take on customer service, providing your customers with immediate answers and making it easier to convert website visitors into sales or to offer more personalized, immediate customer support in case of issue. In fact, in a survey by Comm100, businesses using live chat were seen to increase their ROI by as much as 6,000%.
So now you’ve decided that live chat is the tool for you, how do you integrate it into your business? Our informative guide will show you exactly how to use live chat, the benefits for both agents and consumers, and the best practices to ensure greater customer satisfaction.
How does live chat work?
Live chat is a beneficial tool for both customers and businesses, with its easy-to-use software that both agents and site viewers can navigate.
For the viewer
When the customer arrives on the website, a widget will appear in the corner of the window for them to click on and explain their issue or ask questions. Alternatively, companies may take a more proactive approach and initiate a pop-up chat at some stage in the customer journey with a question that prompts the customer to engage with the agent.
The idea is that it is easy to find, intuitive to use and provides an additional support for browsers as they are looking at your website.
For the operator
On the other side, the operator has a window where they can move between multiple chats, answering questions and resolving issues. With some software, the operator can also create automated questions and responses, allowing them to save time on frequently asked questions and repeat queries.
Additionally, with certain software, operators can access an analytics board to analyze data and see where things could be improved on the customer journey. For example, where is the site losing customers? Is there anything they could do to minimize the risk of abandoned carts? How many minutes are customers pausing on certain items and services?
Often, live chat software will provide you with key information about each user, where they are based, their language, and what they’ve been browsing, so you can offer a more personalized service.
There are many benefits to using live chat for your business, from greater customer satisfaction to higher retention and conversion. You can also use live chat to generate leads, providing forms that prompt customers to opt-in for email marketing or leave their contact details for future use. All in all, using live chat can help you save time and money, increase your ROI, and help you in the implementation of your digital transformation.
How to use live chat?
Live chat is easy to use and comes with various features depending on the company you use, your pricing plan, and package. For example:
Proactive chat
Businesses can choose to be proactive in their chat approach, initiating an automated pop-up when a visitor lands on their site. For example, this might be the widget appearing in the right-hand corner with a greeting or a prompt to the customer. It might even be accompanied by a sound to notify the customer. By being proactive, businesses are more likely to keep their consumers engaged on their website and, ultimately, convert sales.
Automated and canned responses
Agents can save time by creating canned responses to the most frequently asked questions, resolving the issue in record time. Not only is this more efficient for the agent, but the consumer will have their problem solved more quickly, resulting in greater customer satisfaction.
Another option is for businesses to integrate a chatbot that sends automated replies to customers. This method has no agent involvement, meaning staff can focus on higher-priority jobs.
With the help of AI software, chatbots analyze the question asked and give an automated reply using data from the company or other reliable sources. It offers the added benefits of lower personnel costs and the ability to solve issues and queries at any time of day or night.
Mobile-friendly
The phone is king in our fast-paced digital world. To keep up with demand, businesses can make sure their live chat service is mobile-friendly, making it easier for customers to get help on the move. Ensure that the widget is still easy to see and customers can still return to the chat while they browse.
Attachments
An attachment feature is very beneficial within live chat software. This allows your customers to attach files, images, and links to support their claim/query, which makes it easier for the agent to resolve. They can even ‘like’ messages or send emojis in response, saving both parties time.
Notifications
To support customers on their journey, keep them informed of their live chat progress. For example, if the customer has just joined the live chat, send a notification on their estimated wait time or queue number. This transparency ensures that customers stay engaged and don’t lose patience.
You could also send notifications as they browse, with helpful prompts like: ‘Can I help you with anything?’. This is a proactive way to ensure the customer finishes purchasing and doesn’t abandon their search or shopping cart.
Chat routing
Each of your staff will have different specialties and talents. Utilize this by grouping them into categories for each query type — for example, pricing, technical support, or delivery. Once you’ve done this, you can use chat routing to send customers to the correct department. This means they’ll receive the best customer care, and agents won’t lose time trying to find information from other departments.
Agent analysis
Using the data from live chat, such as chat history and customer conversion stats, companies can see which agents are struggling and which are excelling. This can support you in enforcing training for a better overall customer experience.
Targeted audience chats
Using live chat, you can target specific consumers. For example, returning visitors who shop at high value or those who are more likely to leave something in their basket. Agents will be notified that the target client is on the site and can send a proactive chat prompt, making it far likelier they will retain them as a client or convert the visitor into a purchaser.
Live chat best practices
There are a few ways to ensure that live chat works as efficiently and effectively as possible. Agents need to engage with customers in a way they would in person and not hide behind the screen with confusing responses and unfriendly language. Some best practices when deciding how to use live chat are:
- Transparency. Agents should be as transparent as possible with customers. Tell them exactly what is happening and where they are in the process to inform them as they use the software. This increases trust, making them more likely to return and buy again.
- Politeness. Just as you would in-store, ensure customer service is polite and friendly. Use pleasant language and take a personable tone so that customers feel they’re in safe hands.
- Conversational chat. Be conversational and not too robotic to give customers a more human experience. You don’t need to go overboard on industry jargon and fancy words. Simply use short sentences and user-friendly language to explain things easily to your customers.
- Quick response. Minimize response times so that customers aren’t kept waiting. Consumers want to see their issues resolved as quickly as possible, and if you keep them waiting for too long, you may lose them altogether. If the site is busy, inform them of their expected wait time to avoid disappointment.
- Customer feedback. Always ask for customer feedback or ratings at the end of the conversation. This will help you improve your chat experience for next time. Ask questions like ‘is there anything else I can help you with?’ and then send a feedback form. This is also a great way to obtain customer contact information so that you can generate more leads in the future.
The advantages of using a chatbot
Live chat provides a fantastic solution to the delays often seen in traditional customer service. Now that you know how to use live chat, you can go one step further by integrating a chatbot, hugely increasing your customer satisfaction rate.
Chatbots are AI software that can be used with, or in addition to, your live chat. The chatbot is advanced enough to assess a customer query and respond, using information from various reliable sources to provide the correct answer.
The benefits are limitless; companies can offer 24/7 service outside working hours, instant response time, and proactive customer service. This saves money and time that would otherwise be wasted training teams or overstretching agents with multiple chat threads. If the AI chatbot can’t resolve the issue, it will pass it on to a live chat with an agent, who will be able to better solve the specific query.