The age of the internet has brought revolutionary changes in the lives of people. Many business sectors saw growth on the internet and new possibilities and domains opened up for them. During the pandemic, the internet saw a bloom in business structures that were online. People largely rely on the internet for the purpose of their business. Just like a retail business, brands on the internet demand the same output for their customers. Even many retail businesses have moved online because they have found that the internet offers convenience for their customers and more chances of success for them as a result.
For instance, Comcast has hundreds of retail stores all over the US. Comcast customers can either visit the nearby store or they can use Comcast socials (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc.) to reach out to Comcast customer service. This opens many avenues for customers to be able to communicate with the brands. Hence, customer support remains one of the top priorities of anyone who has a business on the internet.
Let’s explore some modes of communication that businesses can use for their customers over the internet. Also, we will discuss why live chat, one of the most popular modes of communication, should be used by your business for customer support.
FAQs
Most businesses offer FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) section on their websites. These consists of many common questions that customers might have regarding their services and the answer or explanation given to them.
FAQs are one of the self-help ways that users can use to learn about the brand’s products or services. These are helpful in addressing the main questions and concerns and the customer does not have to talk to anyone for that information but just read the FAQs section.
Chatbot
This is the most commonly used tool for customer support. If you go to any website, you must have come across it; a small box pops up on the corner of the website, greeting you with an automated message. It offers multiple options of queries from which you can choose the one that is more relatable to your own and receive an answer.
Chatbots usually have very few responses and they are mostly generic. You can have a chatbot with the opening greetings message and then present a few options on which the chatbot can provide the customer information.
The main purpose of chatbots is to provide information. However, at times, a customer with an issue or a complaint usually does not get a satisfactory response from the chatbot as it is programmed to convey the information or problem in a certain way. Hence, their individual concerns cannot be addressed in the same manner when using chatbots.
Live Chat
Live chat is when a human operator is chatting with customers to address their queries. This method is just like a call center representative offering customer support, but instead of a phone, the equipment is being used as the keyboard for communication.
Here are five reasons why you should use live chat for customer support:
Proactive Service
Live chat offers proactive service to your customers. Just like in a retail store, there are salespeople present to talk and guide the customer as soon as they walk in. Similarly, businesses can engage the customer as soon as they land on their website. Thus, live chat offers a proactive service to their customers.
Effective Communication
By using chatbot software, customers get a one-sided response from online websites. However, by using live chat, they get more interactive and helpful responses. When two people are engaged in chatting, the outcome is different than when you are chatting with a bot. The customers feel more relaxed and can convey their problems and queries in a better way.
High Efficiency
By using live chat, you have more efficiency in customer support than by using other methods. You need to have a fast response time to your customers to maximize efficiency. Customers are more satisfied when they get a fast response.
Low Cost
Live Chat customer service is a low-cost option as you can use the people already working for your business to provide customer care. This means that one customer support agent can carry out multiple conversations simultaneously, which isn’t possible in phone support.
Customer Needs
Each customer has their own specific needs and requirements. Through live chat you learn what exactly your customer is looking for and, on the basis of that, you work towards making an attractive sales pitch. You cannot treat two customers the same because both of them have their own sense of taste and liking. You will need to know what they want to make sure you deliver to their satisfaction.
Wrapping up
Customer support is the most important aspect for anyone who has a business. We recommend that you use live chat as one of the methods of customer support in order to engage your customers more effectively.
