As a HubSpot support representative, I was the first to join the chat team. Previously, we only provided phone, email and social media support but didn’t offer a live chat service.
As a chat pioneer, it was clear how efficient this medium was in solving customer queries. It was flexible enough for complex problems to handle but responsive enough to answer simple questions quickly. It was amazing. It was great to be able to breeze through the cases.
My manager asked me when chat would replace phones as our primary support method. However, she quickly taught me my lesson and showed me how many customers prefer chat support over the phone.
Are customers more comfortable with chat support or phone support?
We surveyed over 250 people and found that 69% prefer phone support to chat or other support channels. There are several reasons this is true.
Why do customers prefer chat support over the phone?
Chat is still relatively new as a support medium. Intimate messaging was not popularized until the 1990s, and it wasn’t until the mid-2000s that businesses started using it to provide customer service. Although it is common to have a chat feature on your website, not all people use it. Breaking bad habits and getting people to try new support channels can be difficult.
Many businesses provide chat support, but there are still many that don’t. Some customers are forced to contact customer service by phone or email. Customers will not use chat support if their favourite brands do not offer it. However, they may be more inclined to try a brand that does.
Tips to improve your Live Chat Service Experience
Pay attention to how your messages look, sound, and feel.
Chat is a great way to communicate with customers. However, it’s impossible to use your voice or facial expressions when communicating with them. To communicate with customers, you must rely on your writing skills. Your text can dramatically impact the customer’s perception of your message if it looks or sounds certain.
If you want your customers to understand what you are saying, then your writing must be clear and grammatically correct. In case your customers don’t know what you mean, limiting informalities such as abbreviations or shorthand is a good idea. Avoid using all caps. This can make it seem that you are shouting rather than highlighting a particular section of your text. To emphasize a particular detail, you can use bolding or italics.
Chatbots can be used strategically.
Artificial intelligence such as Crisp is great for automating customer services, but it shouldn’t replace the human rep on live chat.
Chatbots are meant to be used as liaisons between customers, support reps, and each other. They can help with simple inquiries but should be primarily used to connect customers to the best support reps. This allows customers to get faster solutions and creates a better service experience.
Multilingual live chat available
A website can be a great way to connect with people all around the globe. If you don’t provide multilingual support, you will only be able to communicate with them in one way. This means that if your support team doesn’t speak the same language, they won’t be able to read your website or ask questions.
Some chat service providers provide translation tools that can be added to your help desk or ticketing system. These tools allow customers to communicate with you in real-time and translate the message for your representatives. Type in your message to send it. The translator will translate it into the language you choose. This allows you to overcome language barriers that might prevent customers from calling your support line.
Save Your Chat Records.
You can improve the chat experience by saving chat records in your CRM. This will allow you to review the cases of your team and identify which customers have the most problems, what points cause friction, and where automation can be added to improve your team’s workflow.
You can also save chat records to help solve future customer problems. A customer can save chat records to help solve future problems.
Send an out-of-office message and offer follow-up resources.
A common error businesses make is having their chat service open 24/7 but not having someone handle it during business hours. Customers will wait patiently to hear back from the business after reaching out.