A recent report from Software Advice found that 33% of consumers would rather chat to avoid waiting on hold, and 49% of all online shoppers prefer to ask their questions via live chat.
Since 89% of companies plan to compete on the basis of customer experience next year and since live chat is so popular with consumers, it’s implementation and use could be the key for a company to take it’s CX to the next level.
Implementing live chat and investing in customer service agent training to increase efficiency and effectiveness on this powerful contact channel presents unique opportunities for service groups. Customers say that they are more open to live chat service interactions since they typically allow customers to bypass phone menus and hold times for call center agents.
The high penetration of smart devices and online shopping also means that customers are more available to interact on computers or mobile devices that make live chat service interactions possible.
Service providers also should consider the operational efficiencies that live chat provides since trained agents can handle multiple customer interactions simultaneously expanding the general capabilities of customer service team members. Being able to reduce the cost of customer service infrastructure, equipment, and increasing the number of customer cases per agent can make a big impact in the bottom line of a customer service department.
Whether it’s improving customer service, boosting the end-user experience or helping customers make purchase decisions, live chat software for business tackles it all—without breaking the bank.
-Craig Borowski, SoftwareAdvice
Live Chat – The Ultimate Customer Experience
