Live Chat: A Powerful Way to Improve Customer Service

There is no way any business can overlook the importance of customer service, particularly as digital solutions enable more competition, and more ways to better serve customers. This is constantly being highlighted through customer surveys, with American Express noting that 33% of customers would consider switching brands after just one poor interaction; while Ameyo found that 57% of customers prefer companies who can be reached via mail, chat, video chat or social media platforms rather than voice-based customer support.

So, it’s not just good customer service you have to provide – it’s digital service offerings such as Live Chat, a smart system that sits comfortably within our Mobile Services Cloud suite.

Here we’ll look at exactly how live chat can improve your customer service.

What is Live Chat?

Live Chat is a type of customer support software that lets you engage with your website visitors, in real-time, through the live chat window. When Live Chat appears, a customer can type in their query which is sent to your support team for an immediate response. If the Live Chat engagement takes place outside of work hours, this can trigger a scheduled message that includes frequently asked questions, or other useful information.

10 Great Reasons to Switch to Live Chat

If your company is serious about improving customer support, then integrating Live Chat is a must for increased engagement and customer retention. Here’s a look at the incredible features of this clever software.

1. Greet Customers

The first step in connecting with customers is actually greeting them and making them feel welcomed. Live Chat comes with an ‘auto trigger’ system that lets you automate greetings to website visitors with customisations related to the specific location, time, page visit and more. By making your greetings formal yet friendly, your customers are more likely to engage with you further. You can even add in your customer service representative’s name and photo or avatar for a more personalised experience.

2. Route Chats to Appropriate Channels

One of the biggest benefits of live chat is the ability to store data so that your customer service agents can pick up the support history and personal details without the customer being asked over and over again. As the customer engages over live chat, the support agent can then transfer them to a free operator or an operator in the right department so that their query can be dealt with swiftly.

3. Show Off Your Products

When a customer visits your website, they are actively looking for something that you provide. This is the perfect opportunity to showcase your products and services in conversation. Live Chat is also a great space for up-selling and cross-selling your new products and services – consider what the customer is looking for and take it up a notch to secure a sale.

4. Qualify Leads

Live chat can also integrate with your existing customer relationship management (CRM) software, allowing you to share data seamlessly between your systems. So, when a customer visits your website, you’re able to note past activities including products and services required, and then you can use this information to generate more sales. The customer might have already shared their email address on a previous visit, which can then create a lead in your CRM contact records.

5. Track Sales

Live Chat comes with very useful report and analytics features that allow you to monitor data related to prior activities. This data covers agent activities, chat histories, conversion tracking, average time spent on chats and other useful visitor details. Using this data, you can track potential sales from first engagement through to purchase, identifying what works and what doesn’t. This ensures support agents are better informed for future engagements.

6. Boost Revenue

Using existing customer data and showcasing your products and services will ensure that you boost your return on investment (ROI), but you can further boost revenue through the many cost savings offered by Live Chat. Customer support by live chat reduces your call expenses and the time spent interacting with customers. Your service agents can spend more time generating leads, securing sales, and providing excellent service which increases profits at the end of the day.

7. Anticipate Questions

Once you’ve been in business a while, you can start to predict the questions most of your clientele is likely to ask. That’s why most companies have compiled a list of useful FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). Using Live Chat, you can direct customers to this pre-arranged list or even reuse conversations through a few keystrokes. This reduces waiting time for customers and improves customer experience overall.

8. Respond Faster

When your customers engage with you through live chat, they might not realise it but everything they’re typing is already visible to your agents before they send it, which means agents can search for an answer while they’re typing, and respond swiftly. The aforementioned FAQs can also assist with quicker response times which is vitally important to the modern consumer. In fact, Live Chat also allows agents to share screens with customers, and send screenshots or even links so that they are getting what they need faster. Nobody is going to wait around for your answers, they’ll simply ask elsewhere.

9. Offer Proactive Solutions

With Live Chat, you don’t need to wait for customers to ask you, you can be proactive in your engagement and reach out to your website customers immediately. This is great for hesitant customers, as the automatic messaging might just be the push they need to secure a sale. Any queries or concerns they have can be instantly addressed so that you’re getting them what they want when they want it.

10. Segment Customers

The process of customer segmentation involves grouping customers based on common characteristics. This is often geographic location, demographics, or buying behaviour and interests. With the two-way integration between Mobile Service Cloud and Mobile Marketing Cloud allows you to track all your customer interactions in one place. This integration brings the marketing and customer service departments together for the ultimate customer journey. Live Chat allows you to effectively segment customers so that your engagement with them is much more personalised and they’re getting the support they actually need.

The Magic of Mobile Service Cloud

Mobile Service Cloud is an all-in-one customer support service that incorporates Live Chat – among other channels - to improve your customer retention. This omnichannel solution empowers your agents to deal with a number of customers across their preferred platform, including WhatsApp, Apple Messages for Business, Facebook Messenger, Google's Business Messages, Instagram Messaging, Viber, Telegram, Twitter, and SMS.

What are the Features of the Mobile Service Cloud?

Mobile Service Cloud comes in three packages: Basic, Advanced and Pro, all offering various features that will enhance customer engagement. Some of the features you can expect include:

• Omnichannel inbox for all queries

• Scripted chatbots and predefined responses

• Statistics and reporting for better decision-making

• Skills-based routing and classic tagging

• Search functionalities and support services

• Customer profile and history

• Multibrand and multilingual capabilities

• Internal and external collaboration

• VoIP integration and mobile app

Watch the demo video to discover a few of the features dedicated to agent efficiency and effective collaboration between teams.

To find out more about accessing Live Chat through Mobile Service Cloud, contact CM.com. Start engaging with more customers, and delivering better customer service, with this digital solution!