When There is No Chat in Chat Support
Today we talk about chat support best practices, the customer experience VALUE that it creates, and the ROI of the business case to implement it.
Although we are skeptical about the value of chatbots, we are big believers in the value of online chat support and intentional customer experience design. Earlier this month, we shared that 44% of online consumers deem online chat support one of the most important features a website can offer.
Why Online Chat Support is Good
From an organizational standpoint, chat support is cheaper than a phone call and it keeps the customer engaged without having to switch channels. Both brands and consumers appreciate the seamlessness of this experience.
An added value for the consumer, is that they can multi-task, meaning they don’t need to set aside dedicated time to resolve their issues. That said, consumers expect that their problem will be solved in a reasonable amount of time. And that the brand values their time.
Today we want to stress the importance of the implementation of this great customer experience tool.
What Happens When Things Go Wrong
Here is an example of our own bad experience last night. Let’s analyze what is happening to gain a better understanding of the implementation failures.
1) The agent is asking the customer for patience after the customer explained there was no time to spare.
2) The agent shared that this relationship is actually a threesome…
3) From the customer’s perspective, the speedy channel of online chat just became impersonal and inefficient.
We understand the need for the business case to work and that unless there is some attrition in the contact centers, the online chat turns into a bad investment.
So How Do You Solve That?
We would argue that, even with the attrition dollars, you are still not going to pay for the new ongoing licensing and tech support costs. So why not keep the ratio a little more generous and have one agent serve two people rather than 4 people?
Perhaps then, you will be able to keep at least the illusion of dedicated customer care and will not make your customers fall asleep on their computers waiting for their turn to be helped.
If you have any questions about chat support best practices or need any input on how to design the customer experience on your live chat support, feel free to reach out! We are here to help.
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