Live Chat & Interaction

52% of consumers say companies should make it easier to ask a question and access information.

As the way we shop changes, so too should customer service. After all, your company’s customer service should be accessible to your consumers wherever they are — including in their home. Adding live chat features to your website can be done quickly so that your consumers have instant access to your representatives. And we’ll show you why that’s a good thing.

Nearly 58% of time spent online is spent shopping. During that time, users might be at their work desk, in the car, in the aisle at a competitor’s store or in their own homes. Wherever your consumers might be, you should be able to provide them with adequate customer service. Now, when most consumers think of customer service, it makes them cringe. To many, customer service is a reactive department that only exists to calm angry consumers and tout company policy. But, when you create a system of support where consumers can ask questions, get guidance and, yes, even complain, the overall experience will improve.

Take a simple online transaction. Customer A wants to buy a shirt, but isn’t sure if it will fit. He could send the company an email, but most consumers expect that email correspondence will take at least one day, if not more, for a response. If Customer A wants that shirt sooner, he may try calling the company. While listening to the menu, he notices that purchase queries are directed to one line while return policy queries are directed to another line. Which choice should he make? At this point, many consumers would hang up at the thought of needing to be bounced from one representative to the next. Now imagine if Customer A could reach a representative with a simple click of the mouse through live chat. He has the opportunity to ask all types of questions, and if the representative needs to find an answer from another department or supervisor, Customer A isn’t spending valuable minutes on his phone while he waits. He’s free to browse products, check email, even watch streaming videos.

According to Oracle, 52% of consumers say that in order for companies to better engage with their customers, they should make it easier to ask questions and access information about the company, product and services prior to making a purchase.

Don’t let your customer service department fall into a reactive state where you can only fix a problem after the customer is dissatisfied. Instead, be proactive and anticipate your consumer’s needs.

How Live Chat Can Improve Customer Interaction

Our Gainesville Marketing clients often wonder how live chat features can really improve customer service. There are several ways we can help you improve consumer-to-company interaction, and it’s all through live chat. This web-based feature is easy for us to implement on your web pages, and you’ll see that it’s well worth the limited training your staff needs to accommodate your customers

• Instant gratification — Consumers don’t want to wait for answers to their questions, and with live chat becoming more and more popular, sites that don’t offer the feature stand out more than sites that do. Give your customers what they want quickly so they are more likely to make a purchase.
• More enjoyable experience — The dreaded “hold” music … we can hear it now! Customers will wait on hold for an average of 20 seconds before frustration begins to creep in. Admittedly, that doesn’t give your employees much time to fumble around for an answer, let alone locate a supervisor or neighboring department to find a solution. Live chat can keep your customers cool because they’re able to browse the web or perform other tasks while waiting.
• Less confusion — The way we talk can be a heated issue for conversation. Accents, dialect, mumbling — they’re all cause for frustration on the phone. If your staff has been outsourced, you might as well kiss your good customer service ratings goodbye. It’s frustrating for the consumer when they struggle to understand what’s being said, and it’s embarrassing for your employees to defend their way of talking. Live chat appeals to everyone in this situation — no accents, diluted dialects, no mumbling, and even people who are hard-of-hearing can chat with ease.
• Less costly — Multi-line phone networks can be costly to install, no matter how large or small your office is, and training on the phone network takes time away from your employees’ daily duties. Live chat training can be completed in minutes, and there’s no in-office installation required. Your employees can work on multiple chat sessions at once, something they could never do on the phone, and the noise reduction you’ll experience from eliminating a room of phone reps might amaze you. Keep the peace and save your money with live chat integration.

Live Chat Integration with Gainesville Marketing

Implementing live chat can be done in a matter of minutes, and it’s a web-based feature, so there are no added cords or software required. A simple-to-use, pop-out window will contain the chat session for your representatives, and consumers will experience a similar pop-out window. We’ll provide you with all the instruction and training you need so that you can start offering your consumers a better customer service experience.