Streamline Your Customer Support Service Using Live Chat

Streamline Your Customer Support Service Using Live Chat

There are several customer support channels available to businesses, ranging from email and phone support to live chat, and these channels have evolved over the years to be more and more convenient for the user. Live chat will allow a customer or a user to ask questions directly from your website, with no other applications needed. This currently makes it the most accessible, convenient and easy to use customer support option, and this is why it tops the list for user preference in almost any survey. Naturally, this means it is also a favorite for businesses. Here’s what you can expect if you implement live chat for your website.

Lower cost

Phone banks can be very expensive – even hiring a full time employee or two to answer the phone can set you back quite a bit. Live chat however is 17-30% cheaper than phone call services, according to Forrester research. This is due to the nature of the medium. One live chat agent can address multiple customer service requests at once with the proper training. This not only increases the volume of customer service requests that can be handled in a day, it also lowers the cost of your overall customer service department.

Higher sales

Numerous surveys and studies have shown that live chat increases sales, with some businesses seeing a 3 to 5 times increase in conversions, and astronomic ROIs of 6000%. In that same report, it was found that customers are three times more likely to make a purchase after using live chat. Combine this increase in sales, with the lower costs of operations, and you have an instant winning investment.

Higher customer retention

We’ve mentioned previously that live chat is currently the preferred method of customer service for most users. In a survey done by the eDigital Customer Service Benchmark, it was found that live chat has a customer satisfaction level of 73%, compared to 61% for email and 44% for phone support. These numbers show that customers clearly prefer to do business with companies that provide live chat support, and this is due to a few factors such as ease of use, speed of response, and effective help. When customers know that they are likely to solve any issues they may have with your products or services quickly and easily, they are much more likely to purchase from you again and again.

Faster issue resolution

When paired with a knowledge base or article hub, live chat can streamline your issue resolution process and make it much more expedient. When a user has a question, the operator simply points him towards the appropriate article or webpage. This process can be optimized even further by allowing the user to pick from a series of issues, and then redirecting him to the article. If he cannot solve the issue based on the help of the knowledge base, he then continues on and speaks to an operator.

Customer convenience

Product quality and pricing will always be the most important deciding factors in any purchase, but customer service is a close third. Live chat gives your clients instant access to your customer support team, so if they have any issues, they are able to solve them as quickly as possible, with almost no extra effort. Reports show that live chat is the preferred customer support method for a majority of clients because of this speed and accessibility. Some customers also appreciate the ability to multitask when they are solving issues related to your product or service. All this convenience translates into customer loyalty, and higher retention/conversion numbers.

Competitive advantage

Studies show that only 9% of companies have implemented live chat on their website, despite the fact that 58% of surveyed customers say they use live chat when shopping online. This means that there is a tremendous opening to set yourself apart from the competition and meet this customer need with live chat.

Are you interested in implementing live chat on your website?

Live chat is an easy to implement customer service solution that comes with a lot of benefits for both users and businesses. It is a relatively small investment with a great return, both in the short and long term. If you can ensure that most of your customers walk away satisfied after making a purchase, you can increase the likelihood of them recommending your business to others and coming back. If you are interested in implementing live chat on your website, contact us today.

Picture of Beau Brewer

Beau Brewer

I've been fortunate to have had the opportunity to gain experience (20+ years) in Advertising. I possess the unique ability to "hand craft" corporate identity, website design, and graphic design by applying my experience to create a perfect combination of printing, marketing, and design.
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