A Tip Sheet On Improving Customer Support With Live
Chat
Very often, success in a modern
techno-centric enterprise is governed not by the technology
you deploy but the way you deploy it. This holds true
for live chat as well. The single most significant advantage
that live chat has over other modes of customer service
delivery is that customers and site visitors reach out
for this medium from a position of knowledge. The likelihood
of one of your customers having used live chat prior
to arriving at your web site is very high. This is mainly
due to the ubiquitous use of text chat and instant messaging
(IM) via AOL, Yahoo, MSN and Google. Leveraging live
chat technology to streamline sales efforts and provide
customer service does not involve a learning curve.
Here is a short list of actions you can take to bet
the most out of the live chat feature on your web site:
Position Chat Buttons Prominently
As the dictum goes, to see it is to believe
it. Your customers can’t use live chat on your web site
if they cannot locate or view the Chat Button at a glance.
No matter how powerful and effective your chat application
is, it is futile if your customers can’t find the chat
buttons easily.
Enabling Live Chat on a
Web Page
Determining which web pages on your web site
should be chat enabled is always a matter for careful
consideration. Customer service experts have a rather
interesting take on this subject. They believe that
since site owners have no control over which page on
your web site is used by site visitors to arrive on
your web site, it is wise to enable chat on those web
pages that may even remotely serve as a landing page.
There is no way to precisely determine what search term
or search phrase a searcher uses to locate a suitable
web site. Searchers may arrive on a specific web page
of your site without your least expecting them to do
so.
Qualified Chat Operators
Quality and not quantity is the determining
factor when it comes to service delivery through live
chat. Your chat operators should have a good command
over the language of the visitor community. They should
be well informed about the product or service you provide.
They should also be able to respond to chat requests
in a timely manner without having to cause long queues
and hold lines.
Dedicated
live chat on your web site offers a highly viable means
of building customer loyalty and generating multiple
conversions each time a customer responds to your call
for action. Chronicle your usage and you will notice
the extent to which live chat can inspire your customers
to return over and over again.
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