Top 7 Practices for Using Live Chat for Customer Service

The new age of entrepreneurs has laid a strong foundation for customer communication, thanks to the advancement of technology. Today we see different communication platforms comprising all-in-one messengers and free live chat widgets that businesses utilize on their corporate websites. These solutions foster loyalty among clients and make it more feasible for a company to be available to them 24/7.

In the following paragraphs, we will focus on top practices for using live chat for customer service. But before we dive into the details, it is imperative to understand the benefits of installing a live chat widget on your business website.

So, without further delay, let us get started.

Benefits of installing a live chat widget on your business website

Here are some of the advantages  every businessman should be aware of when it comes to installing a live chat widget on their corporate website:

• Assists in developing trust amongst your customers
• Enhances your sales figures and conversion rate
• Provides 24/7 support
• Increases engagement and customer experience
• Accumulates crucial information and customer data
• Saves time and money for your business
• Highly affordable in cost

Now that we have looked at the benefits of installing a live chat widget on your business website let us look at some of the best practices for using live chat for customer service.

Best practices for using live chat for customer service

Here are some practices to ensure better performance and quality of your customer support using a live chat widget on your corporate website.

Respond to customer queries in the shortest time possible

Today’s customers have very little patience. They want instant replies from companies. One way to do that is by integrating a live chat widget on your website and responding to their queries in seconds. You can use template responses and automation with chatbots to ensure your clients are satisfied with your customer service.

Realistically raise the expectations of the customers

There always would be certain inquiries that cannot be answered with canned responses using the live chat widget. In such complex cases, a human agent’s assistance will be required. They can get as much information about the customer’s query as possible and revert via phone or email. The key here is to provide realistically time frame of producing a reply and stick to it.

Categorize with the right tags

Tagging your customer chats is a sure-shot way to organize your live chat functionality. You can organize support tickets according to different types, like a quality complaint, assistance with an order, general inquiry, etc. When you categorize customer queries, it assists the agents in routing and answering them efficiently..

Follow online chat etiquette rules

Remember, you must follow some rules when chatting with customers via the live chat widget. If you don’t do so and use any cuss words or show rudeness while responding to the customer, it can have a negative impact on your brand’s perception. Hence, it is suggested you should always use a positive tone while responding to customers.

Here are some other things that will pay you in the longer run:

• Address the customer using their name
• Respond to the customer’s queries comprehensively so that it looks personalized and not a canned answer
• Always ask for feedback before discontinuing the chat with the customer once you have resolved their concern

Avoid passive voice at all costs

While communicating with the customers via live chat, ensure your language is direct and in an active voice. People generally do not like tongue twisters, so you should never try to complicate things. If you can do that, it can go a long way in ensuring your customers feel satisfied with your service.

Scrutinize the quality of chat performance of each live chat agent

In this modern age, customers are looking for a great customer experience. The only way to meet their expectations is by measuring your service quality using live chat support metrics. Some of these metrics include:

• First contact resolution
• First reaction time
• Cost per conversation
• Customer satisfaction rating (CSAT)
• Return on Investment (ROI)

Understand Where to Position Your Live Chat Widget on Corporate Website

If you place the live chat widget on each and every page of your website, it might get an overwhelming amount of inquiries your support team wouldn’t be able to handle . Hence, you must keep the live chat functionality only on selected web pages essential for your business. This can include a checkout or VIP page for corporate customers only.

You can even have different live chat widgets for separate web pages. They will have distinct appearances and can be monitored by different teams.

Concluding Thoughts

If you want to integrate a live chat widget on your corporate website for customer service, Umnico free live chat is among the best options. The platform  provides integrations with social media and messengers, allowing to continue conversations started in live chat via other channels, as well as real-time website visitors monitoring. You can even reach out first to customers using Umnico  widget and see  typing previews that  makes it easy to impress customers with fast and personalized replies.