No matter what your business is, providing support is merely not enough. A company also needs to be more approachable and available wherever the customers are—most of the time on your website!
The rocketing “real-time” online interactivity has made customers more demanding these days. They want quicker service, greater flexibility, and faster resolution. That’s why more and more brands are using live chat support among other virtual assistant services.
Live chat agents or chat support VAs help customers in their online product-buying decisions; answer product questions in a timely manner; and resolve customer service or tech support issues.
Reports show that a whopping 94% of customers are actually satisfied with live chat customer support. See how important it is to your customer service offerings:
Related: What is A Virtual Assistant?
Why Do Customers Love Chat?
- Customers can multitask without spending time or money on a call.
- Chat saves time. 42% of customers prefer live chat because they don’t have to wait on hold.
- They want it fast! 45% of consumers will abandon an online transaction if their concerns aren’t addressed quickly.
- Customers can have their own record of transaction.
10 Main Benefits of Chat Support for Businesses
1. Quick and easy implementation
Live chat support is growing more popular in the recent years. It doesn’t only allow businesses to provide instant online support but it also requires minimal customer effort.
2. Cut problem resolution time
A Zopim study revealed from an analysis of 85,000+ chats that it takes only:
23 seconds average time for a rep to initially reply; and 42 seconds for him or her to resolve a problem.
Customers want their questions answered quickly. In fact, 79% of customers say that they prefer live chat because of the immediacy it provides. Chat specialists can help customers get the answers they need in the fashion they want.
3. Better support efficiency
Studies show that 44% of customers considered that having a live person answer their questions while buying online was one of the most important features of a website. Overall, 90% of customers find live chat helpful.
4. Lowered customer support costs
Chat support is better for a business because it is cost effective. Agents can support multiple chats but not multiple calls. The result? Chat reduces the number of live calls.
Some businesses reported 70% deflection rate from calls to live #chat. Click To Tweet5. Greater customer engagement
More than half of online shoppers say that a lack of interaction has kept them from purchasing. 77% of them want to contact a real person before buying.
6. Customer satisfaction
Better communication builds business. 94% of customers who were proactively invited to chat were somewhat or very satisfied with their live chat experience.
73% customer satisfaction is coming from live #chat. Click To TweetSatisfaction levels for customer service communication:
- 73% – Live Chat
- 61% – Email
- 53% – Apps
- 50% – Post
- 48% – Social media
7. Less Shopping Cart Abandonment
Live chat assistance has been found to decrease sales cart abandonment by up to 30%. Additionally, 60% of customers said that they hated waiting longer than one minute for a reply.
8. Higher website conversion rates
83% of customers said they needed live support for assistance while making an online purchase. Also, 62% of customers were inclined to purchase products online if live customer support is available.
9. Increases sales and ROI
38% of customers have made a purchase due to a good live chat session. Click To Tweet
10. Chat support creates loyal customers
Statistics show that 63% of customers were more likely to return to a website that offers live chat compared to one that doesn’t.
Best Practices for Using Live Chat Support
- Don’t leave customers waiting– Respond to new chats as quickly as possible
- Create templates– Make a list of model responses for the most commonly asked questions
- Improve customer-agent interactions– Have management review chat transcripts
- Proactively offer live chat– Consider using automatic triggers to entice customers to chat
- Past business hours?– Disable live chat when the business is closed or whenever agents are unavailable
- Always use the brand voice– Train agents to promote whenever possible
- Positioning and timing– Experiment with where and when the live chat button appears on the website
- Have other customer support channels available– Recognize the limitations of live chat and be prepared to switch to email or phone when necessary
The bottom-line of a great customer service is to provide fast assistance by answering questions and resolving problems in real time. Chat support is a quick, direct way to connect with an actual virtual assistant.
Overall, live chat support means more sales because it keeps your customers or clients happy and returning. On top of that, it benefits both costumers and companies. Chat saves time and money; and builds transparency, trust, and loyalty.
If you need help in setting up a chat support system in your website, contact us at 1-866-596-9041. Virtual Assistant Talent will also endorse chat support VAs or agents to assist your customers and website visitors.
References:
business2community.com
happyfoxchat.com
blog.zopim.com
providesupport.com
