Your customers are looking for something new. They want something fresh and different and innovative, which has lent a hand to many advanced call center applications, solutions and software. With the advent of multi-channel contact center support, you can deliver the ultimate service experience to your customers. Among this array of new and improved customer channels is live Web chat – a form of communication that is slowly but steadily on the rise.
In fact, according to a report by LogMeIn and the e-tailing group, one in five shoppers prefer online chat over any other form of communication. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of shoppers (approximately 65 percent) said they have engaged in a live chat session while shopping online – an increase of almost 10 percent from 2011. When asked why they prefer live chat, 79 percent cited instant gratification as their reason, while 51 percent prefer live chat because they feel they can better multitask. Needless to say, it would be wise to invest in live chat for customer engagement if your contact center hasn’t chosen to do so yet.
If you’re looking to strengthen your contact center’s live chat initiative for better customer engagement, consider the following two suggestions:
If the genuine intrigue of contacting your agents via a new platform isn’t enough for customers to proceed, research shows that offering chat incentives can get the job done. For example, a study conducted in 2012 revealed that 80 percent of shoppers would use live chat services over more traditional channels if, say, a free shipping offer or other discount was provided.
Make sure that those utilizing your contact center’s services are on the same page with the tools of this unique technology. In fact, research shows that 93 percent of chat users feel that the product and service knowledge expressed by their chat agent is the most important part of the customer experience.
