The way you treat customers directly affects the business's success. Satisfied customers will praise the product or service, recommend the business to friends and family, and possibly become a returning customer. For all of this to happen, you need great customer support.
Customer support is the base of building trust and loyalty in the customers. It is integral that your business is oriented towards improving customer support by welcoming new additions such as live chat. Besides the fact that 63% of shoppers prefer using a website with live chat for repeat purchases, the following reasons will show you how live chat can upgrade your customer support services.
1. It Eliminates Waiting
This fast-paced world has taught us that time is money and people don’t like to waste either on waiting.
One of the favorable characteristics of live chat is that customers will no longer have to deal with endless waiting. They can say goodbye to long and sometimes confusing IVR menus since they’ll have a chance to instantly speak to a live agent.
Understanding customers' needs such as not spending time waiting for the response will depict you as a customer-centric company that orients towards their best interests.
Shep Hyken, a Customer Service Expert wisely said: “When it comes to people, customers expect the same quick response they are used to getting from electronic equipment and technology.” That is exactly what live chat can deliver.
2. It is Convenient for Customers
During the purchasing process, the customers might have some questions about the product.
If they aren’t sure about the purchase and they have no one to turn to for clarification of their doubts, they can easily walk away.
Live chat makes the buying process more convenient for customers because they can turn to a live agent for any potential difficulties or questions.
Actually, 44 % of online consumers say that one of the most important features a website can offer is having a live agent to turn to for potential questions in the middle of an online purchase.
You’ll save them from the trouble of roaming around the website and searching for FAQ and they’ll be grateful for that.
3. It Eliminates Anticipation for the Response
Having to wait for a response from customer service and constantly checking the phone or email can be really frustrating.
Statistics show that average wait time on social media is 10 hours and an email response takes longer than 12 hours.
Maybe some don’t mind the wait but others won’t even try to reach out to support service because of it.
Don’t risk to lose potential customers because of the response time. Especially since there is a solution that can eliminate those troubles – live chat.
4. It Gives You Competitive Advantage
No matter what niche you are in, competition is an inevitable part of the world of business. The rising number of entrepreneurs makes it even harder for a business to stand out.
Small, medium and large businesses are all equally devoted to standing out in the crowd and earning the customers' attention.
Real-time customer service can be your way of differentiation. If a customer is torn between you and your competitor just emphasize that your biggest concern is customer satisfaction which is why you provide your customers with live chat.
5. It Increases Conversion Rate
The support agents can perform the role of a seller as well.
If you wish, you can configure the software to greet the visitor and ask if they need any help. By initiating the communication you’ll have a chance to convince the visitor to buy a product.
Just think about it. If a potential customer is hesitant about the product but then he sees the live chat option, asks about anything he or she wants to know and their dilemma will be solved. This leads us to the desired outcome – the visitor becomes a buyer.
There is another useful purpose of live chat. Amanda Willis, the head of the marketing department at The Word Point shared how live chat can also benefit your marketing strategy: “Live chat software provides you with all the data and analytics about visitors’ patterns and behavior. The collected information can then be analyzed and used to improve further marketing efforts.”
To analyze the data you can integrate the live chat with Google Analytics.
6. It is Adaptable
FAQ and IVR don’t always offer all the solutions to customers’ problems. And even the thought of writing an elaborate email can be tiring. That is why we have live chat!
Live chat adapts to customers’ issues, queries, and interests. Considering that customers will be speaking to a live agent, they can ask whatever they want and the agent will provide them with the corresponding answer.
The best way to make the most out of live chat is to train the agents to be competent to answer any type of question. The customers will love the fact that they won’t be passed around multiple support channels.
7. It is Accessible from Anywhere in the World
Live chat is very much appreciated by international companies. If your customers are spread around the world, live chat can save you a lot of money.
There will be no need for you to set up customer support offices in various capitals and big cities. Live chat enables the agents to interact with customers no matter where they are.
Simple access to the internet and a few clicks on the website is all that you'll need to establish customer interactivity.
8. It Removes the Need for Multilingual Support Agents
Since they’ll have the time to translate the answer, the agents can address issues in any language.
A simple tool such as Google Translate will allow agents to speak with customers in multiple languages.
Some live chat softwares even have a translation feature which makes the agents’ job even easier.
9. It is Cost-Effective
The customer service costs can be more affordable if you use live chat.
There will be no need for spending money on equipment for phone support. Not to mention that as the company grows so does the need for the call center’s new equipment.
In addition to eliminating the expense for phone equipment, a skilled live chat support agent can interact with up to three customers simultaneously while the call center operator can only help one customer at the time.
10. It Increases Engagement
People are social beings and offering them robotic and generic answers won’t suffice to evoke trust and emotion in them.
Zendek showed that 73% of consumers claim that friendly customer support makes them fall in love with a company, whereas 52% have made more than one purchase from a company after they’ve experienced positive initial customer service experience.
Live chat gives a human touch to customer support mixed with fast response. What is not to love there?
Superior customer support services can play a crucial role in business growth and live chat can be the source of that winning customer service.
Live Chat Is Taking Over the World
From small businesses to large companies, brands all over the world and of all sizes are embracing this customer support trend. Live chat has brought so many benefits to customer support that it simply can’t be ignored.
With fast service, increased engagement, and a cost-effective approach that live chat offers, your business will stand out among the competitors.
BIO: Erica Sunarjo is a communications professional with more than five years of experience. Erica runs her own blog BestWritersOnline and is proud of her an uncanny ability to explain the most complex subject in simple terms.
