Live Online Customer Support: Is it right for your business?

Aug 18, 2009•Blog Posts•Online & Digital Media• by author

Scott M.

When was the last time you were in a store and couldn’t find what you were looking for? Or maybe you had a question about a particular service. What do you do? You find an employee and ask her your question. She, in turn, does her best to answer it for you. It’s as simple as that.

But what do you do when this happens while you’re shopping online? It’s not so easy now, is it? Most likely, you will have to pick up the phone and call support, which can be an ordeal in itself because a real person rarely answers. You could send an email, but then you would have to wait for a response, which can take quite some time. In short, you will more than likely have to stop the shopping that you are doing and go back later once your question is answered, possibly deterring you from the purchase altogether.

As consumer expectations reach their highest levels yet, businesses must do everything they can to keep up and provide the best possible service. Online live chat is a service that allows consumers to instantly chat with an associate or representative directly from their website, oftentimes 24 hours a day, and ask them any questions they might have about their product or service. Here are some of the benefits of online live chat and how it can improve your business practices:

Small cost
Online live chat services are relatively cheap compared to telephone support. Using chat will reduce the amount of money you will need to spend on telephone support, as less calls will be made when more people use chat to contact your business. The live chat service is also fairly cheap to purchase, install and maintain. A lot of live chat providers also allow you to download a free trial version before you actually purchase, so you can test out different services to find out which one is right for you.

Lightening fast response times
Email support takes time to respond, and not everyone will pick up the phone to call for support and risk waiting on hold for long periods of time. Online live chat allows customers to immediately contact someone from wherever they are on your site and get a response within minutes – even seconds.

Simplicity
There is no need for an email account or to search for a phone number. All the potential customer has to do is click on the chat link and begin typing. A sales associate will respond and help him/her with questions almost immediately; it’s easy for both sides.

Keep customers on your website!
Because this chat service allows customers to almost immediately chat with someone without even leaving the page they are on, you will see fewer customers abandoning their shopping carts and discontinuing with the purchase they were planning to make. It prevents frustration of having to leave the page they are on to find an email address or a phone number or having to leave the site altogether to send an email and wait for a response.

Keep in mind
Since typed words don’t leave much room for emotional expression, sales associates should choose their words wisely and keep a friendly, professional tone.

Give customers the same great customer service they receive in-store for their online shopping experience. Instant answers to important customer questions could be the push to greater online and offline sales.