Live chat is both a form of customer service and a marketing tool. As a customer support platform, it allows brands to get in touch with website visitors and target clients who have questions or concerns. As a marketing tool, web chatting is a way to engage customers in a conversation and encourage them to give your products or services a try.
When used the right way, instant messaging is a great tool for successfully guiding website visitors through the purchasing process. But if you're committing these mistakes, you may end up ruining the customer experience.
1. Repetitive auto-invites
Sure, your customers would love it if you make the first move to reach out to them, but you’ll be overstepping your bounds if you do it repeatedly.
Aside from overly persistent invites, customers usually get annoyed with everything automatic. This includes chat boxes that automatically pop up and automated, timed responses—which brings us to the next point.
Aside from overly persistent invites, customers usually get annoyed with everything automatic. This includes chat boxes that automatically pop up and automated, timed responses—which brings us to the next point.
2. Robotic scripts
You’ve probably encountered this one before. You see an interesting link, click on it, and were brought to an exciting-looking website. The only downside is that there’s a live chat box that spews out robotic-like messages. For many customers, this is a major turn-off, not to mention an unnecessary source of distraction.
If your call center implements this technique, you better stop doing so immediately. Even if it’s a time-saving, speedy feature, the major drawback is you’ll end up driving customers away.
3. Offline service
This is another one of customers’ pet peeves that you should avoid at all costs. When customers see your chat platform, they always expect that there’s another person at your end who closely monitors incoming messages. After all, that’s the whole point of providing chat services.
Therefore, make sure you have enough agents to accommodate your customers during peak hours. Also, try to manage your team’s schedule so you can provide ‘round-the-clock services to web visitors.
4. Slow replies
The reason why many customers prefer live chat as a customer service channel is efficiency. On top of that, it’s incredibly easy to use. However, these features are both an advantage and a cause for worry. For instance, customers would always expect you to respond quickly to their queries which is an indication that they trust your brand. But once you fail to meet their expectations especially when it comes to speed, they can easily lose interest.
5. Unqualified agents
These days, the pressure that brands are under when it comes to delivering a stellar customer service is unimaginable. The strongest support your call center can get would come from your employees, so make sure to hire the right people and reward them with the benefits they deserve. This way, they’d be motivated to exert their best effort in keeping your customers happy.
