Live Chat: How Long Can You Keep Customers Waiting?

Live Chat: How Long Can You Keep Customers Waiting?

Online shoppers have proven time and again that they’re not the most patient group, and it’s tough to blame them. With so many alternatives just a click away, it’s crucial to ensure that your web site’s support tools are both accessible and responsive at all times. This ranges from e-mail and phone communication to your live chat software, a sales tool which is becoming both common in its applications and more trustworthy in the eyes of consumers.

The Clock is Ticking

While particular industries and companies will notice varied results, most studies tend to show that individuals shopping online are willing to wait approximately one minute for a customer support chat to initiate. After this period, they’re more likely to move on to another web site in search of their purchase.

Regardless of each shopper’s specific patience threshold, one of the key strategies is to ensure that your live chat service is prepared to handle spikes in customer volume. Even the largest company can only staff so many customer service agents at any given time, and there’s no guarantee that your forecasted schedule will line up with real-world demand. That’s why it’s vital to set up an effective queue for your chat system.

Give a Number

At a busy deli, you might take a slip of paper with a number on it to enter into the waiting list. Online, your live chat software should be able to perform similar functions in order to keep shoppers informed. If there is not an available service representative to accommodate a new chat request, the customer should immediately be notified of where they stand in the virtual line.

While a numbered deli queue rarely runs into technical glitches, Internet applications are understandably more complex. This is why it’s also important to make sure your chat software allows for a variable to be set which will disconnect users after a defined interval. By ensuring that “dead” sessions are reset, there is a lesser chance that users will find themselves in a live chat limbo.

Maximizing via Metrics

One of the foremost considerations to make when implementing a support chat system is the software’s capability when it comes to analytics. It’s critical to review your live chat performance regularly to determine where your web site’s opportunities lie. Some of the most invaluable statistics can include:

  • Average duration before chat request is initiated
  • Length of average customer support conversation
  • Number of missed or dropped chat requests

Once you start connecting the dots, you should be much better prepared to address the particular needs of your business. By taking an informed approach to staffing, while offering proactive communication when customers will be made to wait, you’ll be much more likely to skew performance metrics in a favorable direction.

Etech Global Services has been developing and implementing solutions for over 17 years and we’re no strangers when it comes to live chat support. Click here to read more about the services we provide and how we can help your business take the next step toward growth and greater success.

Original Source: LinkedIn

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