Live Chat Customer Service: 9 Tips to Follow

The quality of customer service is definitely a determining factor for a company's success. A true engine of conversion and keystone of a pleasant user experience, chat is a tool that can make all the difference for your customers.

While the satisfaction from its use varies according to age, some guidelines can still be drawn in order to maximize its potential in general.

The chat at the service of your customers: some tips to follow

(1) Determine your goal

To choose the form your chat will take, start by identifying the objective pursued by it. To do this, start by putting yourself in the shoes of one of your potential customers. Why is it on your site? What is he looking for? Once you have answered these questions, you will be able to find the right approach in the process of developing your chat.

2) Avoid generic messages

You may be surprised to learn it, but generic messages like "You need help? Not much success. Their lack of spontaneity is certainly a factor justifying their lack of popularity.

Instead, choose a more personalized formula by naming the individual on the other side of the chat and how the chat can help. So you will get a much better response rate.

3) Use the chat as a channel to another means of communication as needed

Because of the inherent complexity of certain situations, it may be necessary to go through another communication channel and make a phone call for example. Although we recognize the great potential of the chat in terms of customer service, we must recognize its limitations.

So you should not hesitate to go beyond online interaction to help your client and to put in place alternative solutions to help him/her.

(4) Avoid being intrusive

Is there something more unpleasant than feeling the seller's eagerness to sell us something when you go to a store? According to this idea, we must emphasize that such a way of doing things is just as forbidden on a chat.

Allow your potential customer time to arrive on the site without taking the lead. You can still make the chat tab visible in the corner of the screen.

In this way, he will know that help is available in case of need without however seeing the window appear directly on the screen upon arrival on the site. So if he encounters a problem during the buying process where he can't find the information he's looking for, he'll be happy to know you're there.

(5) Don't be invasive

When conceptualizing the integration of a chat on your website, you must keep in mind that its window must be located at the edge of the screen and never hide it. Otherwise, it becomes an annoyance for the Internet user who is embarrassed in his navigation. By withdrawing it and choosing a modest format, your visitors will be able to chat with their interlocutor while continuing to browse the site at the same time.

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(6) Offer specialized help

When you experience any difficulties with a product or when problems have occurred when you get a service, it may be upsetting to stay in this situation. The chat wants to be the perfect tool to remedy these problematic situations as quickly as possible. On this point, know that access to a knowledgeable technician or advisor will be greatly appreciated by your customers.

(7) Be available

If you make an invitation, you must be able to respond. If your client calls on you to get help, he will necessarily be upset to be left in the plan.

Answer as quickly as possible, i.e. no longer than a few minutes. If, for exceptional reasons, the client must be placed on hold, he or she must be informed. In addition, it is essential to indicate the waiting time he must meet before being served.

8) Stay professional and friendly during the conversation

In a conversation with a client, you must find the right measure between a tone that is too familiar and a tone that is too formal. Although it may be difficult to find the right balance, know that too formal a tone will make it difficult for you to approach and not make it easy for the client to converse with you.

If you fall into the other extreme and address him as if he were a long-time friend, his perception of your level of professionalism will not be favorable. In addition, you should know that it is best to leave aside the emoticons. The latter are a perfect example of the disruptions caused by the use of too familiar a tone.

To ensure that your employees adhere to this framework, provide training and examples of the appropriate language.

9) Be specific

When talking aloud with someone, it doesn't take as long to clarify one's mind. Nevertheless, when you chat with someone and write is the means of communication used, a misunderstanding may be a little more complicated to unravel.

In order to avoid any imbroglio, be precise. More specifically, this means that it is recommended to use complete words and divide the answer into several paragraphs if it is lengthy. In any case, remember that a continuous text is unreadable and therefore unpleasant to read.

Did you know that...

E-commerce sites that allow their users to have access to a chat if needed see the average cost of shopping increase by 30% on average.

In addition, as visitors never remain uncertain and find the desired product or service more often, their rebound rate and their conversion rate are better.