Even when people know what they are looking for while shopping, they still may need some assistance for locating them in a store. And it is not only brick and mortar store we are talking about, people need ready assistance while online shopping as well.
According to a study conducted by Forrester Research, 44% of online consumers say that having questions answered by a live person while in the middle of an online purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer.
While waiting on a call queue is something customers are not fond of, communicating with your customer support team via Live chat is something customers find convenient. It offers your customers a solution to resolve their queries at the right time without having to leave the page they are currently viewing.
An advance 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. A 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 he can navigate on behalf of the customer. It is easier and simpler way to assist the customer in situations where the customer is not tech-savvy.
- Co-browsing: When the customer is having difficulty placing an order online, the agents can show how to use the ordering pages with the help of Co-browsing.
- Instant Messaging: Instant messaging will help a customer get prompt answer to their queries, speeding the purchasing process.
- Video Conferencing: video conferencing can help you serve a priority customer better. It calls for better customer experience and more personalized support.
- Calling Facilities: Having a calling facility in the live chat support can provide your customer an opportunity to talk to a live agent making the experience better.
However, rich features alone cannot create a great chat support experience for the customers. For that you need to follow a few live chat best practices. Want to know about them? Check them out:
1. Make the Most out of Canned Messages
By using canned messages, customer service agents can greet customers fast without having to type it all.
2. Collect Information
Use pre-chat surveys to know the issues your customers have before they begin typing. Set a routing rule based on this information so that the chat goes to the right 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 response for its live chat support services and significantly reduced the Average Handling Time (AHT).
4. Use Alternate Media
You can also save time by sending images, files, screenshots, or even how-to videos to customers instead of writing complex responses.
5. Be clear about Wait Time and Operation Hours
If an issue cannot be resolved immediately, tell the customer that and give them a clear 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, social media profile should also have the operational hours mentioned clearly.
6. Personalize Your Chat
Personalize your greeting and responses using the customer’s name and buyer history. It is a great way to let your customers know that you care about their unique issue.
7. Build a Connection
Use customer service representative names and photos to build a rapport between your customer and the customer service representatives at the beginning of the interaction.
8. Acknowledge and Empathize
Being sensitive to your customers’ needs, acknowledging their concerns makes the customers feel that your 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 you win your customers over. These are the ten best practices for live chart support your business must follow. In case you do not have the manpower and budget to offer live chat support round the clock, you can hire a BPO that offers live chat support as a service.
