At present, a business's success rate depends on countless factors.
One of those significant factors is customer experience. No matter what kind of business you are running, customer experience is a critical factor. Why?
- As per Gartner, 81% of modern-day businesses compete on customer experience.
- A statistic reveals that around 60% of users want a speedy reaction from the support team for their query.
Countless other eye-opening stats rank customer experience on top. And the ways by which customers reach you play a crucial role in this.
Users have a variety of ways to get in touch with your business, such as calls, emails, and reviews. Live chat support is a new way many firms are integrating into their systems for customers.
Why?
The following write-up will uncover some of the best tips and tricks for using chat support to deliver a remarkable customer experience.
What is Live Chat Support? Why Do You Need It?
Live chat support is an awesome way to resolve user queries and provide more information about products and services. Usually, live chat support appears in a small window on the corner of your computer screen when you visit a website.
The person talking to you behind the window on the client’s side is usually a human being. Here is an example of live chat support:
The next question is: why do you need a live chat support option on your website or app? Here are some pointers that answer the question.
1. It is fast
Whenever a user calls online customer service, they have to bypass the IVR system, which is frustrating.
By utilizing solutions like embedding Sendbird chat API into your platform, you can provide customers with real-time support and a seamless chatting experience, thereby enhancing overall customer satisfaction.
Also, there are many alternatives, such as Sceyt, TalkJS, and others.
2. It helps in customer retention
Customer acquisition may be easy, but customer retention is not. You need to do more to retain a customer, and live chat support can help.
For instance, when a customer sends a message, it gets stored in the records. Agents can use it anytime to check the issue.
Other than that, if there is an emergency issue with a customer, some advanced tools can help.
Agents can take remote control of their user devices to resolve issues. Customers can also share screenshots with agents for assistance.
3. You can provide it 24x7
Customers will not just face issues during the 9–5 window; they might also get a “No Signal” on their TV at night.
If you can, great; if not, you should provide users with self-service documents or an AI live chat alternative.
4. It boosts team productivity
With phone support and email, you can handle only one customer at a time. But with chat, you can juggle between various customers simultaneously.
Therefore, if you stay focused, you can handle multiple customers and boost overall productivity.
5. You can survive the market competition
As you are not the only one in the market, offering live chat support can put you ahead of the competition.
Example:
A customer is conflicted between two services. If they find live chat support on your website and not the other, they will likely choose you. It is faster and more interactive than calls and emails.
Effective Tips to Improve Customer Experience Using Live Chat Support
We know that live chat support can have a significant impact on your business. But only if it is done right! Having a chat support window is not enough; you need to focus on many other aspects.
Let’s discover some effective tips and tricks to improve customer loyalty and experience using chat support.
- Make it easy to find
- Add a human touch
- Use a chatbot
- Keep the language welcoming and friendly
- Have thorough product knowledge
- Target first contact resolution
- Keep them engaged and promise a way out
1. Make it easy to find
As 41% of customers expect to see a live chat widget on websites, it should be easy to find. The customer should not spend time looking for the live chat option.
Most website owners keep their live chat window as a pop-up on the side. You can also integrate other communication methods, such as phone and email.
2. Add a human touch
Source: REVE Chat
One way to improve customer experience is to add a human touch. For example, assign real humans instead of chatbots whenever possible.
Add real profile photos to agents to make engagement more personal.
3. Use a chatbot
Although users prefer humans, you may need a chatbot for 24/7 availability.
To ensure customers receive help outside work hours, you can integrate a WhatsApp chatbot.
Chatbots can provide instant responses and link customers to manuals or guides.
Chatbots are also cost-effective—they can save around 30% of customer support costs.
4. Keep the language welcoming and friendly
The key to a good conversation is a friendly tone.
Begin with greetings like “Hello, how can I help you?” and show empathy. Ask questions to better understand the issue.
Support can get repetitive and mentally draining. To reduce fatigue, create short videos demonstrating popular features and reuse them.
Add subtitles using an animated text generator or tools like Wave.video. This saves time and makes responses more engaging.
5. Have thorough knowledge of the product or service
Imagine being asked a product question and not knowing the answer. For small businesses, this could mean losing a once-in-a-lifetime lead.
Provide extensive training to chat agents. They should have deep product knowledge. If not memorized, they should at least have manuals, videos, and troubleshooting guides ready.
6. Target first contact resolution
We have all experienced multi-step customer support. The uncertainty of time is frustrating.
To avoid this, aim for resolving issues in one contact. Take the time needed during the conversation and follow all troubleshooting steps.
Use help from teammates, guides, and canned responses. You can even prioritize new users to ensure they become repeat customers.
7. Keep them engaged and promise a way out
It’s common to encounter irate customers. The best way to handle them is to reassure them that a solution is on the way.
Making a promise can build trust and reduce frustration.
Conclusion
User experience is a critical factor that significantly impacts your business. Therefore, you need to do everything possible to improve it.
Live chat support is one powerful option. But you need effective strategies to make it work.
If you are planning to integrate a live chat feature into your website, you can rely on the POWR chat plugin. You may also consider live chat outsourcing so you don’t need to handle support requests yourself.
Author Bio
Anisha is a Digital Marketing enthusiast who loves creating content and exploring SEO trends. She also writes about sales, marketing, and CX.