Since the start of the online chat back in 1973, this type of communication has developed exponentially. Just in recent years companies began to discover the effect that online live chat offers when it comes down to website conversion rates.
You might ask yourself why phone calls and live chats are much more successful for closing deals online than for example emails or social media? Well, the answer probably lies in the base of those communication channels – they are the ones that offer real-time human interaction during the final stage of the buying cycle. And this stage is crucial as it allows your agents to alleviate the sense of risk that every buyer has.
The human element in phone calls and live chat makes an undeniable difference when a company is looking to improve the customer service it offers. Real-time communication channels help businesses to keep the connection with their customers and community quick and personal.
But how exactly can live chat help your business to improve customer service?
As most experienced customer service agents will tell you, there are some certain dos and don’ts when you want to improve your company’s customer chat service. Following that expert advice could greatly help you and your chat agents in the journey to happy customers.
1st advice – Don’t be too formal in your answers.
Do not make the mistake of transferring your great email writing skills to live chat service. It is one of the most common issues that live chat agents face (without even knowing it in most of the cases). As email originated from the traditional formal letter, it uses a more formal voice. In differentiation, the live chat character is lighter and less formal. If we apply the same principles we do in emails, live chat customer service gets slow, complicated, and impersonal.
Note that customer service is most effective when it is personal, quick, simple and conversational.
A great tip is to add listening indicators in your dictionary, using phrases such as “Yes, I understand your concerns”, “I see, let me quickly check” and similar, not only shows that you are listening and trying to solve the issue that the customer is facing but also adds a personal note to the whole communication.
2nd advice – show your empathy towards the customer
What is the most important thing in customer chat service? Making sure that customers feel heard. Showing empathy towards customers can help you achieve that. It all starts from the moment they reach out and continues with understanding how the person feels in this particular situation. “Thank you for bringing this to our attention” and similar answers are great starters.
Next comes the point where you should take action regarding your customer’s concerns. Being able to identify the problem right away will be great, though sometimes you have to reach technical support, sales support or whatever department is responsible for those types of solutions. If you are unable to instantly find the resolution, be sure to keep your customer updated on what is happening and how you are going to proceed with the issues. Keeping customers in the dark while they wait eagerly for your answers is a big no-no.
Don’t forget to stay positive. Though customers cannot see you or hear you, they can understand when you are being positive about their case. Let the know they are in good hands and that you are understanding and doing everything in your powers to help them.
3rd advice – Do not use passive writing – be active!
Scientists often use passive writing, so do professors and government officials. Not that is something sinful to do but when you are trying to be less formal and get more personal with the customer (1st advice above) you should keep your voice active. The active writing is much easier to follow than the passive one. “You and I solved the issue in no time!” vs “Your issue was resolved in the give time frame”.
4th advice – offer a post-chat survey but keep it in the same channel
You should allow your customers to provide you with feedback even if they do not take advantage of it. The post-chat surveys are a great feature that can help your customer service and support teams to evaluate and improve their performance. A simple message saying that you care for your customer’s opinion could be enough for them to rate your or your agent’s performance.
Note: most of the customers won’t stay long to answer your 20-minute survey. Keep in short, with 3 or 4 multiple choice questions that are on point and can help you validate the experience of the customer. A good idea is to leave the last question open-ended, so if a customer decides to provide specific suggestions at the end of the survey – they will have the option to do it.
5th advice – Do not ask for too much information at once
Customers could get confused if you shower them with questions first thing after you say hi. You might be eager to solve the problem but it is best when you structure your questions in a logical pattern, one following the other. In this way you can easily exclude some of the resolution options that do not fit in the overall picture.
A great tip for business owners is to add a pre-chat survey so when customers initiate a chat session, they can provide some preliminary information. Such information is vital for agents as it helps them to reduce the time of handling customer concerns. Let your customers set the direction of the conversation so you and your agent will ask only the necessary questions.
6th advice – treat your customer as your friend
You want the best for your friends, right? Well, adopting that approach when handling customers’ concerns and issues is something good. In the first place they would not get in a chat discussion if they do not need your help. For example, you do not want to make your friends wait long for you, the same goes for customers.
Sometimes a customer question requires conducting a research, contacting other departments or other time-consuming activities. When that happens, it is best to let your customer know about it as they probably value their time and do not have extra hours or more to stay in front of the chat window. If necessary and possible connect them with agents from other departments who can offer them relevant information and resolution regarding the issue. Some cases just require time to be handled, when that happens you should offer your customers to contact them via email or phone when you have an answer.
7th advice – Emoji overkill
We all know emojis and most of us have used them in one or other occasion, or simply use it regularly on a daily basis J. When we talk about customer service chat, emojis can be a good thing that can serve as an ice-breaker, but when used in place and without unnecessary overkill.
One smiling or winking emoji could convey feelings of friendliness and could reduce formality with customers. But it is quite easy to go overboard with emojis. Put a cap on their usage. Also use them adequately, not like a teenage girl who is chatting with friends.
The overuse can lead to awkwardness in the conversation, misunderstanding and can lead the customer to think that you as an agent are not serious about the issue at hand. But if your customer sets a tone using an emoji, well it is great that you answer the same way – just keep it in the norms.
8th advice – Mirror customer’s use of language
Continuing from the previous advice, customer service experts consider it a good practice to mirror the language use of the customer. Mirroring a person’s behavior is a psychological trick that is often used in live meetings, as it usually signifies feelings of empathy and that you like the person who stands in front of you (or wherever the person you mimic stands). Live chat agents have it a bit easier (most of the time) as they have to mirror only the language of the customer because text is what shows and matters in the chat window, no body language, nor voice tone.
It is hard to determine what is the correct approach to a certain customer from just one sentence but when you go deeper in the chat conversation you will start to see the pattern in the language use after 2-3 messages. Is the customer keeping it formal, is he/she using jargon to explain the issue, are they being positive? Identifying those language patterns and mirroring them can help you to instill a feeling in your customer that you are understanding them and ready to help.
I think it is worth mentioning, though it is a no-brainer, that when a customer is being negative, well, yes, you guess it right (I hope), you do not have to mirror that. Keep it positive.
Customer service chat helps to improve online sales
It is not a secret that many businesses use live chat service as a helper for more sales. Though it may sound a bit easier than it is in reality as only having a chat software on your website does not really result in more sales. Crucial information that every agent requires to maximize the sales count is:
- What pages the customer visited?
- Is he/she a first-time customer?
- If they are a regular customer, what are their preferences?
Those questions can serve as a solid base for the chat agents to stir the conversation in the needed direction. If it is possible ensure that visitor’s history is available to your chat agents. Of course, the agent should never reveal to the customer that the latter is being monitored (we have Google and Facebook following us all over the net, there is no need for more spying eyes).
Furthermore, if your goal is to increase the sales using chat customer service, then the bare minimum is to provide your chat agents with sales training. That way they can easily identify when it is a good time to go for upsells and cross-sells.
What is the profile of the good chat agent?
Though it might sound a bit dull, the good chat agent is the well-trained chat agent. Most people feel uncomfortable when they are not confident in what they are doing. That applies with full force to chat agents. Whether their main role is to support or sell, agents can quickly lose motivation when they lack the confidence.
Ensure that your chat agents are knowledgeable when it comes down to the products or services that your company offers. Provide them with all the needed information so they can be confident in their answers, after all they are your face in front of your customers.
Is there importance in the chat button placement?
It may be last, but it is not the least. On the contrary, it is important to consider – the chat button placement. As is simple as it sounds, it can greatly impact the overall effect of your customer chat service.
No one will click on a button they don’t see, right? If it is necessary talk with developer or website designer that can help you to position the chat button where it should be:
- On your targeted landing pages
- On your product pages
- On your service pages
- On your support pages
- Even on your contact pages
- On every page
Though it is not a mandatory rule that once you have it on one page, you will use it on all, many businesses using chat customer service keep it on every page. Ensuring they are accessible for customers.
It is vital to choose a design that fits your site’s theme and stick with it as that will help customers to recognize the chat service button whenever they see it.
In Conclusion
Live chat customer service could prove to be really beneficial for your customer and business needs. If you still have not implemented any type of live chat software it is good to think about it as it can be the make or break point in the customer trust and loyalty levels.
Customers are looking for companies that they can trust. Companies that are easily approachable when needed. Companies that support their customers in handling their issues and concerns. Live customer chat service offers exactly that – quick, conversational and personal solution.
Do you want to be personal with your customers? Are you looking to win their trust? Do you wonder which is the most preferred channel to handle customer inquiries? Read more here.
