Live Chat Archives - Etech Global Services

Why are Millennials choosing Live Messaging over Traditional Communication Channels?

Generation Y, also known as Millennials, are unique, in every sense. Being a part of the industrial revolution, this generation has witnessed the transformation from letters to emails, telephones to smartphones, computers to laptops, radios to smart TVs, and so on. As they have grown in a digital and socially networked world, millennials are quite accustomed to technology compared to the older generations. According to Forbes, they are the biggest spenders and cover the most significant consumer demographics in the world.

What does the Future of Live Chat Have to Unfold?

What defines effortless customer experience in today’s business environment is a comprehensive 24/7 support system by brands to help their customer base. Though in the past, businesses used to depend on phone calls and emails to answer questions that their customers had, today’s organizations are ready with instant answers to customer questions all the time, and the best way companies are providing this is via live chat support. Over time, live chat has become a primary choice for businesses to solve customer problems quickly and efficiently. It has also evolved along the way, adding several attractive features that have remarkably boosted the customer experience delivered by brands worldwide.

How to Make Your Live Chat Service Smarter with Artificial Intelligence?

Live chat is a tool growing in popularity for consumer interactions. It is not an overly complicated system, involving a simple messenger window and sometimes a live chat customer service representative. However, more recently, companies have been turning to artificial intelligence in live chat for additional support to both team members and customers. While this updated approach may seem counterintuitive for improving consumer relations, there are several excellent reasons to incorporate AI into your companies chat sessions.

Measuring the ROI of Implementing Live Chat on Your Website

Have you considered implementing live chat features on your business website? If not, there are many reasons you should. For example, marketing experts say that implementing live chat support generates a 305% return on investment and a 20% increase in conversion rates. As a direct result of all this, more companies are implementing live chat services, making it an integral part of the customer experience. However, is it right for your business? Here are a few metrics to include when measuring the effectiveness of live chat services and calculating your return on investment. Forecasted Live Chat Volume As with all company investments, the ROI of implementing live chat support is directly impacted by economies of scale. Generally speaking, the more customers you expect to engage with live chat support, the more support agents you will need. The more support agents you need, the higher the cost, which has a negative impact on investments. However, as conversions increase, this should offset the cost of agents, thereby generating a high ROI. In short, when live chat volume continues to rise, the ability to maximize ROI will depend on keeping the cost of the live chat support low. If the cost of implementing live chat services increases parallel to the revenue it brings in, ROI will be negatively impacted. Technology Costs Another initial investment that will affect economies of scale and ROI is technology. This can be for better or for worse, depending on efficiency, the human element and how it is applied. For instance, some companies have mastered the art of creating live chat bots. These bots speak with customers and allow them to respond by selecting from a list of predetermined answers. If the bot is unable to assist, the customer may be forwarded on to a human agent via live chat, email or even phone. Some bots are so advanced that they can respond to typed responses. This type of implementation reduces costs drastically after the initial investment. Other technology costs may include furnishing a department with new computers and licensing software to run your live chat support service in-house. This can be very expensive, leading many companies to outsource the function. Value of Average Sale In order to calculate if conversions are high enough to offset live chat costs, you must look at the value of an average sale. The higher the value of an average sale, the better the opportunity to maximize ROI, even with a large team of agents to field multiple ongoing queries. However, small sale volumes mean that more agents will eat into company profits. The good news is that live chat offers the perfect opportunity for upselling and cross-selling i.e. increasing incremental sales. When customers purchase without engaging with the brand, they may choose the least expensive option. However, live chat agents may be able to persuade them to purchase more expensive options or a few add-ons to increase the value of the sale. Monthly Website Traffic Another way to measure ROI is through monthly website traffic. However, you can look at more than just the number of visitors to measure the true effect of live chat services. Here are some of the metrics you should take into consideration when measuring ROI based on website traffic: The percentage of visitors retained from the week or month before The average length of time a customer spends on your website Most active times of day The conversation rate The bounce rate Gross Sales Margin There are many different elements to consider when looking at ROI. However, the final calculations are perhaps best described by the gross sales margin. The gross margin is calculated by subtracting the cost of goods sold from the net sales revenue. What is the purpose of the gross sales margin? It signals to a business how much of each dollar that the company makes actually remains inside the company as profit. Returning to the concept of economies of scale, it’s well to note that if a company is efficient, this dollar value will increase over time. As discussed earlier, the cost of live chat support services should not increase parallel to the revenue obtained through conversions. This helps to widen the profit gap as more and more conversions are made over time. Inc. states that 51% of customers prefer live chat so they can multitask while problem-solving, and an additional 21% prefer live chat support so problem-solving doesn’t interrupt their shopping. Moreover, when customers use live chat services, 92% are satisfied with the feature. Are you ready to implement this high-demand feature, while ensuring a high ROI? Contact Etech today to see how we can help you get started. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

Improve Customer Experience With These Live Chat Etiquettes

The Importance of Chat Etiquettes The guiding principle for successfully providing customer service via live chat is to help the customer with the task or issue he or she contacted you about. It’s irrelevant whether you are handling the processing of an order, answering a billing question, or checking the status of a return; your job is the same. You can turn even a disgruntled client into a lifelong fan of your product or service by using appropriate live chat etiquette. Implement these 10 tips and watch your customer satisfaction scores soar. Know Your Stuff If you don’t know the product or service you’re supporting, it won’t matter how polite or friendly your sound. The fastest way to frustrate your customer is to display a lack of basic knowledge. Even if you don’t immediately know the answer to the problem at hand, you should at least know how to find it. Familiarize yourself with the visitor-facing portion of the company’s website so you can quickly direct your customer to the correct place if he or she is looking for product details or the FAQ section. Don’t Lose Focus While it’s important to be friendly and personable as a part of live chat etiquette, it’s also easy to drift off course into small talk in the name of polite customer service. Remember that your goal is to fix the issue the customer contacted you about. Be ready to gently steer the conversation back to the problem at hand if things seem to be getting off track. Listen Most products and services have features that generate questions from users regularly. You may feel that you answer the same queries every day and can make assumptions based on those experiences. However, listening to the customer’s words as they describe what they are struggling with is critical. Don’t assume their problem is the same as everyone else. Tell the Truth If you make a promise to a customer, keep it. That seems like a pretty simple principle of live chat etiquette, but operators get tripped up on it often. Don’t offer something that you don’t have the authority to follow through on, and if you do make a promise, stay with it until you know it’s done. Explain Yourself Rather than just replying to a question with a yes or a no, provide an explanation for why that is the answer. Even if the customer doesn’t like the answer, he or she is more likely to accept it if they understand the reasoning behind it. Know When You’re In Over Your Head If you find yourself faced with a customer support issue that you simply cannot solve, don’t be afraid to admit that to the client. Reassure him or her that repeating the whole story won’t be necessary, and then transfer everything you’ve done so far to the more senior agent to maintain the live chat etiquette. Speak Clearly Remember that the person you are communicating with may not be knowledgeable of all the abbreviations, technical terms, and other jargon associated with your product or service. At least initially, ask basic questions in simple terms. If you establish that the customer is more advanced, then you can elevate the terminology of the conversation. Keep It, Professional While it’s tempting to lapse into less formal language using slang or shortcut spelling, resist the urge. In a professional environment, stick to proper grammar and sentence structure to build your customer’s confidence in you. Don’t Leave Your Customer Hanging If you need to put the conversation on hold to research or get more information, be sure to communicate to the other party what you are doing. If you just disappear, the customer might think something happened to the connection. There’s no such thing as overcommunicating in the world of live chat etiquette. Try to Fix It With One Chat Customers feel most confident and happiest with your service when you answer their questions or fix an issue with one call. Having to contact your company again and again with the same problem damages brand loyalty and makes the customer less likely to recommend your products because of a bad customer service experience. Remember the Impact Obviously, most consumers wish they never had to reach out for support of a product or service. But if they do need to, the best way to turn around that negative experience is to provide a customer support experience that is so good and so helpful they want to tell their friends about it. In a 2017 study by Northridge Group, 81 percent of customers surveyed reported that the quality of the support experience would be a determining factor in whether they continued to use a product or service. If you need help in establishing a world-class live chat support team, contact Etech.

Want to improve Customer Experience? These are the 3 Technologies that you should be aware of!

Customer Experience successfully drives the business to the path of growth and profit. It is the critical competitive differentiation that sets a business apart from its competitors. Here are the three technologies that are imperative for delivering the best customer experience. Said so, it is essential to understand that the technology is just the enabler and a good CX is the outcome of the consolidation of people, processes, and technology. Most importantly the company’s people are the face of CX. “A brand is defined by the Customer’s experience. The experience is delivered by the employees.” – Shep Hyken Live Chat Today’s customers don’t like to wait. They want an immediate response and what can be a better way than Live Chat! Live Chat helps to cater customer needs efficiently. It gives an open-ended platform for offering instant support and timely assistance. Various studies have shown that implementing live chat services has significantly improved customer satisfaction. In one of Inc’s article, it was stated that 92% of customers feel satisfied when they use the live chat feature. WHY? Customers find live chat to be very convenient as they can connect with an agent instantly and get real-time and personalized support. Their issues get addressed swiftly. The other best thing they find about live chat is that they can multi-task while having a conversation with the live chat agent, which they consider to be an added advantage. Artificial Intelligence It’s no secret that Artificial intelligence is flourishing and expanding its horizons every single day. With AI companies will be more efficiently and effectively be able to meet customer’s requirement and needs. HOW? For instance, data insights play a pivotal role in CX enhancement. However, customer experience data comes in the form of messy, unorganized datasets that need to be reformed into rational patterns to derive positive outcome. The tedium of pulling the data sets together and transforming them into no-complex consistent patterns is overwhelming. But for AI this is the prime stomping ground. It does it seamlessly and in a minor time frame. It’s high time that people start looking at AI with a different paradigm; it is not here to replace humans but to assist them. Combining AI and Human Intelligence can lead to seamless customer experience! Big Data Analytics Big data analytics is a game changer of the CX world. The application of this technology is transforming the way the businesses are interacting with their customers. WHERE? Big Data Analytics comes handy while analyzing the data collected from customers, and providing tailor-made solutions as per the expectations and aspiration of the customer. As showcased in a Salesforce survey 57% of customers share their personal data with companies for receiving discounts and personalized offers. Big Data Analytics helps in analyzing this humongous amount of data obtained from customers into an actionable way. It thus, aid in providing personalized services and delivering a better customer experience. Integrating these technologies into your business will help you to meet today’s customers’ expectations and to stay at the top in the battlefield of customer experience. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

The Right Ways to Combat Shopping Cart Abandonment Issues

One of the biggest challenges faced by the online retailers, who are trying to increase their online conversions, is shopping cart abdication. This is one of the most crucial problems for online businesses to overcome. Abandoned shopping carts rates are an essential metric for retailers who are worried about expanding on the web change. In the era where Customer Experience is reining the business success charts, business owners are doing everything in their capability to ensure better customer engagement and higher customer satisfaction. Yet they are not able to completely resolve the shopping cart abandonment issue. Each relinquished shopping basket speaks to missed income and offers an open door for retailers to effectively convince such clients to make up the lost deals. It also could be an indication towards a broken sales funnel. A great many dollars are contributed by organizations to streamline their sites to guarantee better client commitment and higher consumer loyalty. Now, it’s time to make a paradigm shift and look at the abandoned shopping cart issue through a different lens. Reasons for Shopping Cart Abandonment There are different possible reasons for shopping cart abandonment. The most common ones being inflated shipping costs, having less positive customer reviews, inadequate information about exchange or return policy, not having clear information on the site about shipping policy and a not so friendly user interface that makes the shopping process complex. High price, technical problems, not having flexible payment options etc. are few of the other reasons. Apart from this, there can be different reasons like extravagant transportation costs, an absence of clear data with respect to delivery or trade or an arrival strategy, examination shopping, terrible client surveys, insufficient data in FAQs, and so forth. Many customers also leave if they don’t find SSL certificates on the website or if they do not find the needed information on the website about the product. Last but not the least, many times customers also make use of shopping carts to get to know the total cost of the product, including the shipping charges for comparing it with other websites and shop on another website if found the charges to be cheaper over there. The Strategy Shift Online retailers need to deep dive a little further into the actual reasons behind the shopping cart abandonment by the user. And they should start focusing more on developing strategic moves to convert website visitors into customers. For tackling abandoned cart customers, one of the effective ways would be to use the popular email marketing technique. Online retailers can use emails to remind their customers about the abandoned carts and close the sale. A thorough reviewing of the various metrics of shopping cart abandonment is very important. Focusing more on the real reasons that offer crucial insights into the behavioral flow of shopping of the customers, pricing, preferences etc. is a game changer. Live Chat – An effective tool to reduce The Shopping Cart Abandonment Placing live chat on a website does help significantly in reducing the shopping cart abandonment rates. Customers don’t like to wait, and if they don’t find the information that they are looking for, the chances are high of them leaving. This situation could be easily avoided with a live chat. Interacting with customers via Live Chat is an effective way of building trust among your customers and a proven method of ensuring the best customer satisfaction. Offering live talk amid a pivotal checkout point, on particular pages that offer item data, or in light of predefined tenets can be of awesome help to clients as they can find solutions to their inquiries rapidly and effortlessly. Incorporating Live Chat on your website would provide the customers with timely answers to their questions and would offer instant help at crucial points. This greatly helps in gaining the trust of customers and turning them into loyal returning customers.

Why Live Chat is Imperative and Here to Stay!

The digital age has brought today’s customers into an era of immediacy. Have a question? Simply ask a question about the AI device in your home or car, and it will be happy to look up the answer for you. Just remembered you need to call your mom. No need to stop what you are doing, simply tell your phone to dial mom. Oh, and what about that milk you forgot to pick up on the way home? Many are now able to order milk online and have it delivered within an hour’s time. This immediacy is one of the reasons that live chat is so very important, and why it is here to stay. In this era of “right now”, customers are losing patience with the dated ways of reaching out to a business for assistance, to place an order or to ask a question. Calls that have too many options for customers to select from are often ended before they ever reach the intended destination. And let’s not even talk about being placed on hold. Today’s customers want action and resolution almost as quickly as a thought pops into their minds. Live Chat is Convenient A 2016 report on the mobile habits of customers found that over half expect to be able to get customer service around the clock. And while staffing a contact center all hours of the day and night is possible, a live chat that is always available on your website can vastly reduce the number of employees who need to try and sound wide awake at 3 am. Through a live chat feature, customers can have questions answered, get assistance with ordering and even get a phone number for further assistance if needed. Not only do customers benefit from 24/7 availability, but more than 90% of customers report that they are satisfied after a live chat interaction. For this “now generation”, convenience is key to customer retention. Live Chat Can Cut Costs Though customer satisfaction rates are key for a successful contact center, the cost of those rates must be constantly evaluated to make sure the benefits are still worth the ongoing effort. Live chat has been found to be very successful at helping a contact center remain effective while cutting costs. This is due, in part, to the fact that one chat agent can successfully help more than one customer at a time. Telephone agents who tried juggling a few customers at a time by putting each on hold between responses would certainly not garner the same customer satisfaction rates. The fact that chat agents are linked digitally to chat customers is even more beneficial as they are able to send over pdf files or links as needed during the conversation instead of the less cost-effective process of a telephone agent trying to explain to a customer exactly how and where to find the correct information. Chat Increases Sales Historically, customers who wanted to purchase an item would stroll into a retail location and engage with an employee to find out more about the item. A website without chat today is much like a retail location without helpful employees. In fact, it is almost like a store with one stodgy employee who refuses to leave the cashier stand to offer help. Studies show that between 10 and 50 percent of those who visit a retail website use the chat feature. This interaction is what seems to drive conversions and dramatically improved sales. Chat Helps in Monitoring Customer Pain Points With the right chat support software, configured and installed for your specific company, live chat can be a place that also monitors customer pain points in an effort to eliminate them altogether. Chat software from Etech Global has been proven to not only monitor pain points but increase CSAT rates and lower costs as well. Take time to make sure the employees in your contact center have the ability to meet the needs of this generation, which often means immediately.

Live Chat Best Practices to Deliver Superior Customer Service

With the Internet being the primary source of shopping and finding information before making a purchase, offering a customer-friendly browsing experience is paramount for any business website. A common feature on websites today is the live chat service. Live chat service gives customers the opportunity to ask questions before making a purchase and address concerns efficiently. From a business standpoint, chat support service allows you to strike while the iron is hot and encourage visitors to make a purchase immediately. If you don’t already have an online chat support service, check out this blog post about the best live chat software. If you already have live chat services in place, here are some of the best practices for delivering superior customer service. Breathe and Smile Before Chatting Regardless of if a person can see you or not, your tone can become abrupt or ambiguous during text conversations; if you are feeling frustrated or stressed. The simple act of taking a deep breath and smiling before beginning a conversation can help you transition into customer service mode If the conversation becomes difficult or the customer is disgruntled, feel free to take five seconds to breathe and reset again before typing. Being in live chat customer service can be challenging, but the last thing you want is to display your frustration to the customer. Even worse, you might carry those feelings over to your next conversation. Take a Moment to Proofread Before Hitting Send You may feel rushed as you try to assist a customer. This can result in misunderstanding the issue at hand or making unnecessary grammatical errors. Many people experience the frustration of noticing a mistake immediately after hitting send. Take a moment to scan your words and even read them aloud to yourself before sending. This will ensure that you appear competent and thoughtful. Keep the Customer Informed and Be Courteous Solving a problem can sometimes be a timely, arduous process. If you know that something will take ten minutes, let the customer know. Thank them for their patience and apologize for the inconvenience. Repeatedly validating the importance of their time and reiterating your appreciation of them as a customer can help keep their morale up during the call. Think of it from their perspective. If a potential customer is asking questions about a product, they will be more likely to make a purchase if they feel that their business is appreciated. If the customer is experiencing a problem, knowing that you are working to correct the mistake will make them more likely to buy from you again, despite the issue. Be Human Your advantage over an automated program is that you have the ability to make a human connection. Take this opportunity to build a rapport. If a potential customer is wondering if an item will be a good gift for her daughter’s fifth birthday, don’t just say yes or no; comment on how exciting that experience will be for her! Alternatively, if you have someone who is worried the item they purchased won’t arrive before they need it, empathize with them. Let them know that you understand their frustration and do everything in your power to rectify the situation. Making a human connection in a technology-dominate world is immensely powerful and memorable. To deliver superior customer service via live chat service, it is important to remember that your job is to help the person on the other end of the chatbox to the best of your ability. This blog was first published on LinkedIn

Increasing Your Social Traffic With Live Chat

While you might already be perfectly aware of the existence of live chat, you might not be too well versed on how to use the tool to effectively increase your company’s social media traffic. Like most things in life, there’s a right way and a wrong way to utilize live chatting while promoting organic marketing. Learn how to better serve your customers rather than serve as an annoyance to them. The Social Toolbar Some live chat app developers have created a social toolbar for direct use in helpdesk apps and live chats. The social toolbar is intended to link social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook directly into chat widgets. Besides following your company’s Twitter page directly from the chat widget, customers also have the option of linking your company’s Facebook page directly from the chat widget. Both options allow for natural marketing with a minimum amount of effort and pressure, which you and your customers are sure to enjoy. Now you don’t have to go out of your way to market and advertise your company or services, and customers can learn more about your company as well as the products and services you offer simply through your chat widget. Subtlety at Its Best Another great thing about the social media toolbar is that it works just as well with your customized themes, giving you the same benefits with a different layout that’s more in line with your preferences and company. Since consumers are using multiple methods of communication on multiple devices, it’s important to mention that the toolbar works the same on smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops. No matter where your customers are or which device they’re using, they’ll have full use of your live chat capabilities. Integration Benefits When used on Twitter, the social toolbar can: Bring in more followers Improve the scope of your marketing Help you better interact with customers and potential customers in their natural online environment Let you share informational posts and content When used on Facebook, the toolbar can: Get you more likes Supplement your Facebook app Help you perfect your services and products by giving you more info about your customer’s desires Improve the trust between your company and your customers Rather than look at the most traditional and popular ways to increase your company’s social media traffic, look at the issue from a different angle. Customers have more options than ever when it comes to the businesses they support and turn to for specific products and services. Live chatting and social media toolbars are useful and effective ways to communicate with your customers and take better care of them, but they’re also great ways to improve your brand as well as your reputation. Additional Benefits Live chat can also increase your conversion rate. One of the main reasons customers go elsewhere to do their shopping is that a company has a confusing checkout process or a complicated shopping experience. With live chat, customers can get immediate assistance rather than further frustrate themselves as they scour the company’s website in search of help. Not only can this encourage the customer to leave a positive review of the company on social media, it can also make it easier on the company’s call center and customer services department. Boost your social traffic and your company’s reputation with the power of live chat. When done right, you can soon become the company buzzing on everyone’s lips and fingertips.

Top 4 Benefits of a Pre-Chat Survey in Live Chat

A pre-chat survey enables the collection of visitor information prior to the chat session beginning and quickly route the session to the agent most qualified to manage the chat. It is beneficial in service and support scenarios because visitors already expect to provide initial information to have their issue resolved. Some sample pre-chat survey questions include: Name Email address User ID or account Order or ticket number When customers request live chat services, they should be able to provide some preliminary data in a pre-chat survey to set the course of the chat session. For example, they can provide their name and a quick description of what they need. At that point, the chat agent is prepared to enter the discussion with solutions regarding the customer’s concerns. Role of Pre-Chat Surveys Pre-chat surveys serve a significant role in supporting your customers. It is the earliest chance to obtain precise information from a client, so it is important to design pre-chat survey questions that count. Pre-chat surveys help you to get to know your customers better. By customizing the questions, you can improve the responses and enhance case resolution. The top four benefits of designing a pre-chat survey include: Handle situations that begin with a pre-chat survey immediately. Thoughtfully designing questions provide a plethora of additional information, eliminating the need to for details once the live chat starts. You can also add options that enable customers to select particular department they want to reach. For example, if they need to change the shipping address for their order, they can go straight to the section that handles address changes without waiting for an agent to get them to that area. Pre-chat surveys produce meaningful discussions. When businesses utilize custom-tailored surveys, the chat lengths decrease significantly. The more information available, the shorter the chats, and the faster that cases can be resolved. Questions are easier to answer with the availability of a pre-chat survey. Not all problems can be solved in one chat because some are just too complex or are too involved to handle via chat. However, custom pre-chat surveys are an extremely successful method for resolving complex situations quickly. More satisfied customers. Anything might be helpful during live chats should be included in the pre-chat survey design. Nonetheless, you need to limit the number of questions. Make sure to ask only about the most noteworthy details that are vital to swiftly resolving issues. The sweet spot is no more than five precise questions, including name and email address. Aside from the issues, the survey should also include a brief welcome message and an invitation to chat. Select questions that help quickly extract the details you need to help solve a problem. What’s more, all the information agents gather is useful even after the chat ends. For instance, you can offer to send a copy of the chat transcript to the customer. Also, by establishing up customized variables, you can display information about your clients directly using live chat software to provide more for your agents to work with when answering customers’ questions.

Providing the BEST Customer Satisfaction through Chat Services

Live chat makes interacting with existing and potential customers much more efficient. Studies have found when companies implement live chat services, it significantly improves customer satisfaction because of the ability to assist customers as soon as an issue arises. In today’s world we want our issues handled swiftly, accurately, and conveniently, and chat offers this. But, if the customer service provided through live chat does not meet customer expectations, we have a problem. The customer is now more likely to abandon your website and instantly click over to one of your competitors. According to a poll by Andersen Consulting, almost 62% of Internet consumers said they would purchase more products online if live customer support were available. Exceeding customer expectations will ultimately accomplish two things; improve the customer satisfaction and create a loyal customer base. When you have created these two attributes your customers will not only return to your website, they will become your own personal brand advocates. Here are some tips to quickly respond to customers and improve the overall customer satisfaction levels: Ensure quick and fast communication With the constantly changing communication world we live in, customers use a variety of communication channels such as email, chat, phone, SMS, Fax, and social media to get in contact with companies. The main thing people are looking for though is speed. They want their questions answered immediately. Chat is a very attractive medium because it provides quick and accurate information in real-time. When a customer asks a question and the agent is able to read and answer the question within seconds, customer satisfaction levels increase dramatically. For U.S.online shoppers, 21% give their communication preference to live chat. Further, according to the Live Chat Effectiveness V5 Report 2012, 79% of online shoppers say they prefer live chat as it helps to get their questions answered immediately because it helps to save time.¹ Get detailed information about customers You have to understand your customer. Understanding your customer allows companies to be more efficient in serving and improving their customer satisfaction. Information should be gathered on customer shopping preferences, products they like, and their opinions on product pricing in order to help aid in raising customer satisfaction levels. Gathering such information will also help provide valuable insights into customer behaviors. Continuous improvement It goes without saying that in order to be successful the agents need to be well trained. But, in order to stay successful, they need to have continuous improvement and training. Continuously updating their product knowledge and skills will enable them to provide exceptional customer service. Adhering to QA standards and practices will improve agent performance and process efficiency thereby enhancing customer satisfaction. Excellent customer satisfaction will help create a loyal customer base that will come to purchase again and again. These customers are also going to refer companies in their social circles through positive word of mouth and that is something that truly invaluable.

Redefining Shopping Cart Abandonment In Face Of New Challenges

Abandoned shopping cart rates are a crucial metric for retailers who are concerned about increasing online conversion. Thousands of dollars are invested by businesses to optimize their websites to ensure better customer engagement and higher customer satisfaction. Shopping cart abandonment remains the most touchy issue online retailers’ face despite taking every possible step to counter it. Each abandoned shopping cart represents missed revenue and offers an opportunity for retailers to actively persuade such customers to make up the lost sales. There are many reasons for customers to abandon shopping carts during the shopping process without making a transaction. Some customers give more preference to higher security by looking for SSL certificates on the website, some leave as they can not properly navigate through the website, and others may leave due to poor website design. There can be various other reasons like exorbitant shipping costs, lack of clear information regarding shipping or exchange or a return policy, comparison shopping, bad customer reviews, inadequate information in FAQs, etc. Many consumers even use shopping carts to know the exact price of all items in cart including shipping charges; compare them with other websites, and finally abandoning the cart to actually purchase the items from the store. Time to Rethink the Strategy Nowadays many consumers are using smartphones, tablets, and handheld devices to shop online. During their shopping process, they often add items to the cart but turn to more conventional mediums like PC or Laptop to make a purchase. Online retailers must reassess their notion regarding reasons behind shopping cart abandonment and rethink their strategy to turn website visitors into customers. One idea of reaching out to consumers who abandoned their shopping carts could be to effectively use email marketing to remind the customers about their abandoned carts and close the sale. Incorporating live chat on a website can also significantly reduce the shopping cart abandonment rates as customers receive live help at crucial points instantly. Offering live chat during a crucial checkout point, on specific pages that offer product information, or based on predefined rules can be of great help to customers as they can get answers to their questions quickly and easily. Customers will naturally feel more satisfied which can turn them into loyal returning customers. Because there are a number of reasons behind shopping cart abandonment, the metrics used to judge shopping behavior can be changed to focus on real reasons that can provide crucial insights into customer shopping behavior, preferences, pricing, etc.

Live Chat Helps To Efficiently Cater To Customer Needs

Maintaining a strong online presence is key for virtually any kind of business as it helps in efficiently targeting and converting online consumers. A couple of years ago it used to be looked at as fancy or high-tech to have a chat on a website, whereas today, its almost looked down upon if one does not have a chat feature on the page. Online chat helps to solve the queries of the customers quickly, accurately, and efficiently thereby increasing the customer satisfaction and online conversion rates. Some of the advantages offered by online chat include: Prompt customer service Many times when using traditional customer support service like phone or email, customers have to wait for long periods of time to speak or hear back from a customer service representative. We all know how frustrating and time consuming this is. Sometimes it can be so long that by the time a live person even gets on the phone or you finally get a response back, I’ve forgotten what my initial problem was! Online chat offers prompt and efficient service to the customers. Customers get their answers in real-time as the interaction with the chat agent is entirely live. Reduction in costs Online chat is one of the most cost-effective options for businesses to provide customer service. Unlike other mediums of providing customer support such as phone or voice, where agents can handle only one customer at a time, online chat offers immense flexibility to where the chat agent can efficiently handle 2 or more customers at a single time. This directly affects the companies operational cost and cost per interaction by getting more out of each and every chat agent. High Customer Satisfaction Online chat helps to provide prompt customer service which in turn significantly increases customer satisfaction. Happy customers create a strong base of loyal customers who return again and again to purchase from the website. Providing online chat during some crucial stages like checkout phase greatly improves customer satisfaction and helps in shortening the sales cycle. Online chat helps to increase the profitability of the businesses by boosting the online sales figures. It leaves a positive impression in the minds of the customer by providing personalized and superior customer experience.

Top Reasons You Haven’t Added Live Chat to Your Website

Businesses and educational institutions alike have taken to the internet to build their presence and drive customers to their doors, all in an effort to bring in additional revenue in a cost-effective manner. However, many website visitors feel disconnected from help when they have questions. A phone call can involve long hold times and transfers, while email can take days for a response, with several exchanges required to reach a resolution. More and more, consumers want instant, accurate answers to their questions and concerns. Those same consumers tend to prefer to do business with someone who can provide fast, accurate answers as soon as they have questions. Live chat enabled websites allow businesses to provide quick, convenient responses in a way that also positively impact the bottom line. I have a store, a website, a Facebook page, an 800 number, and email. Isn’t that enough? Actually, no. In your store, you have sales and service personnel to assist the customer and make a sale. You have people who answer the phone and email, assist the customer, and make more sales. Hopefully, you also have someone monitoring your company Facebook page responding to customer comments in order to protect your brand, help your customers and increase sales. A recent Forrester study showed a 19% increase in Average Order Value for a company offering chat-assisted sales versus the typical ecommerce transaction. So, if you have a website, wouldn’t you also want to provide a way for consumers to ask for assistance in completing a sale? You wouldn’t open a store without salespeople, would you? It’s not really that important to MY customers, is it? Many businesses see increased interest in chat, but believe their customers will always prefer to talk to a live person. It is important to meet with your clients where and when they want to talk with you, on the communication channel that best meets their needs of the moment. When a customer is on your website, on the cusp of a purchase decision, the ability to respond to their questions and immediately remove any barriers is crucial to your brand and your ability to make the sale while improving your customer’s overall satisfaction. According to a July 2012 study by Boldchat, two-thirds of online consumers have engaged in a live chat, up from 50% in 2009. After experiencing chat, most consumers prefer sites that have it available over those that do not. Live and proactive chat are effective tools that provide assistance with online ordering, technical support, enrollment, service, appointment setting, retail banking and much more. It’s all about providing timely and reliable customer service, increasing sales and building loyalty. Only a few of my competitors seem to be using it, so why should I worry about it? A recent survey by The E-tailing Group indicated 47% of online retailers surveyed were using live chat (up from 43% in 2010), and a growing portion were moving to proactive chat (21% in 2012, up from 12% in 2011). “Someone was visiting our site and asked me to tell him what we did better than our competitors. I asked in return “Were you able to chat with any of them today online?”. He said “no :)”, signed up, and paid for our service that day. :)” – Josh Ledgard, KickoffLabs.com, 2011 I was bombarded with pop-up chat invitations on a website I visited once (and only once). I don’t want that for my website. It would anger my customers and hurt my brand. Any company with a site with that problem today should listen closely to the voice of their customers and take action to improve their processes. A properly implemented chat tool works well for almost any brand. The key lies in preparing a plan with clearly defined goals, and using the right rules to target your invitations to the most valuable potential customers based on THEIR behavior on YOUR website. That means reviewing performance and tweaking rules to reduce intrusiveness and increase effectiveness should be an on-going part of your business processes. The immediate help provided by a well-tuned proactive chat platform and well-trained agents has proven to increase order completions by as much as 18%. This way you avoid angering your customers, reduce unprofitable communications, and meet the right customer in the right place at the right time (when they actually want your help AND are ready to spend). From a marketing perspective, there just doesn’t seem to be any added value to spending on chat. So, what’s the point? With chat, you have the ability to read chat transcripts in real time allowing you to gather actionable data for analyzing. Chat rules and related web analytics allow an unprecedented opportunity to gather a tremendous amount of information about your customers so that you can most effectively bend your efforts to high-value customers based on historical and current website behaviors. I am not confident chat can really reduce abandoned shopping carts on my website. Chat provides your online customers with an expert to talk to, right away. It allows your agent to answer customer questions and increase their comfort level to shorten the sales cycle. Your agent can do competitor comparisons and price-matching FOR the customer, allowing you the opportunity to proactively get the sale through enhanced customer care, discounts, free S&H, without allowing the customer to leave and then hoping they come back. I’m not too sure about how to manage this. Can my phone agents do chat as well? Yes, but it may come as no surprise that the skill sets for voice and chat agents are quite different. Rather than stretching voice agents to do double duty, it is usually better to use dedicated chat agents with the proper skills and appropriate training. You may want to start small and let the traffic dictate your growth. I don’t have time for all this. It sounds complicated. There are reliable contact centers who can guide you to a straightforward evaluation of your needs and

Live Chat: From Humble beginnings to Revolutionary Growth

In the earlier days of e-commerce, the idea of being able to go online to a website and make a purchase from one’s own home, rather than going to a store, was quite astounding. Not only was this convenient in the sense that one could shop from their home, but to be able to shop with no sales pressure was also a welcomed change. Initially, the trade-off of customer service for convenience seemed fair and consumers were willing to forgo one for the other. Soon however, e-commerce was no longer the novelty it once was, and along with a more experienced and savvy consumer base, had come the demand for better customer service online. As rumblings for better customer service got louder, a visionary group of call center managers began to answer those demands in the form of Live Chat software and support. Etech Global Services was at the forefront of this effort, pioneering live chat service and support that more than a decade later, has completely revolutionized the customer service industry. In the early days I would often ask, “Can you imagine a potential customer entering your store and not having a sale clerk available to answer their questions, accessorize their items or walk them through the purchase if needed?” I could not but yet that is exactly what millions of eRetailers do each and every day. Here’s a look at some of the benefits of Live Chat Services: Increased Customer Satisfaction Levels Increased Online Sales Conversions Detailed Analytics on close rates, sales per hour, average revenue and more Reduced costs in the contact center (less calls, more chats handled at once) Did you know? 43% of consumers 18-39 find online chat preferable to talking on the phone Average wait time for a Chat to start is 3 seconds Average time an operator spends on a chat from start to finish is 6-12 minutes Satisfaction rates with Live Chat are 85-92% We partner with our clients to deliver proactive live chat services that meet their revenue goals. Our clients who use Live Chat have seen the following results: 20% increase in Sales. 25% reduction in inbound call costs. 90%+ CSAT top two boxes on Customer Service Chats. 80%+ CSAT top two boxes on Sales Chats. If you’ve been considering offering a Live Chat option on your website, contact Etech Global Services today. We can walk you through the process quickly and easily and put you on your way to reaping all the benefits Live Chat can offer. This Blog entry was written by Matt Rocco, President and General Manager of Etech Global Services. If you would like to learn more about Etech and our contact center technology and service solutions, please contact us at info@etechgs.com.

3 Tips to Maximize First Contact Resolution on Live Chat

As a business owner, you want to do everything possible to take proper care of your customers and resolve any issues they might have. One of the best ways to do this is through first contact resolution. This is essentially a concept in which problems are taken care of the first time a customer reaches out to you through live chat. Learn three ways to make the most of this method and better ensure your customers remain with your company for the long haul. Do Your Part to Shape the Customer’s Expectations One of the first things to do after learning and verifying a customer problem is informing the individual of how long it will take to take care of the issue. While it’s understandable you want to resolve a problem as quickly as possible, providing exemplary customer service means taking care of the entire problem the first time rather than resolving only a portion of it, which can draw a customer’s anger or even result in his or her leaving your company for one of your competitors. When you do give a customer an estimate of how long the resolution will take, try to add a few extra minutes, that way you under promise and over deliver, which customers love. Remain Two Steps Ahead Imagine how nice it is to have your needs anticipated, saving time and making things much more efficient. When it comes to maximizing customer experience and first contact resolution, being proactive means pulling up the customer’s profile to see her or his membership details, account number and the like. Profile info can give you an idea of why the person is calling and narrow down potential solutions. Because customers might be doing something else while chatting online, it’s also a good idea to check up on them during long stretches of silence rather than have them ask if you’re still there. Not only is this a way to remain attentive, it also reduces the chances of the customer forgetting he or she is in a chat session only to “call” back with the same problem. Finally, being proactive also means making sure the right person is handling the customer’s problem. Doing so helps keep unnecessary transfers at bay, which people hate because they often must repeat their information and their issue to the new agent. Use All the Tools in Your Chat Arsenal Live chat technology and software have come a long way, and it pays to understand the full capabilities of whatever program you’re using. Make sure your customer service agents are fully versed in the features of your chat software and know how to use those features. For instance, you might be able to share a screenshot with a customer, take a glimpse at the customer’s screen or keep membership details in the corner of the chat window for easy referencing. Achieving first contact resolution is made much easier with the right information and a few suggestions. Make sure you and your agents are working together to keep customers happy and your business operating as smoothly as possible. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Leveraging Your Live Chat: A QA-Based Approach

Live web chat is one of the most advanced channels in customer contact centers, and is a critical medium to provide unparalleled levels of customer service. While traditional nonverbal cues such as tone of voice, pauses in speech and other aspects are missing from these types of interactions, developing unique quality standards for live agents is a must. And for that reason, quality monitoring live chat interactions is vital. Personalization Is Key Scripted responses are useful in any contact center, but agents must be permitted to be personable and to tool their chats uniquely to the needs and sensibilities of each client. It’s alright for an initial acknowledgement of the customer’s presence to be pre-written, but allowing the rest of the communication to flow naturally and be extemporaneous is more likely to make clients feel valued. Offer Other Channels as Alternatives Live chat is incredibly convenient for many people. However, the agent should trust his or her judgement in cases when the request is complex, lengthy or involved. Other contact methods should be offered if this is the case. Listening Applies to Text-Based Interactions, Too In the quality monitoring process for live chat, it’s imperative to observe a representative’s listening skills. True, conversations are not being exchanged through an auditory medium. However, bringing an interaction to life with interpersonal exchanges, as well as empathizing with the client, are key tools for an agent to build rapport and trust. Paying attention here is crucial. Go Beyond the Metrics While speed to answer, length of interaction, and first call resolution statistics are useful for web-based contact, be careful not to fall prey to “tunnel vision.” The ultimate priority is customer satisfaction. Double-checking to make sure the inquiry has been answered is vital, and providing the client with additional information in case further support is needed is helpful. Equip Your Agents While professional writing skills should always be a priority, it’s even truer for live chat representatives. Agents must clearly communicate with the written word, and proper spelling, punctuation and grammar; uphold a professional image. Also, staff should be trained to quickly determine what the customers need and resolve the problem promptly, while maintaining a warm rapport. Quality Assurance for Continuous Improvement All of these practices work to improve live chat sessions. Meanwhile, it’s helpful to think of the quality monitoring process not only as a diagnostic but as a tool for crafting the interactions. Watching how clients respond in a text-based environment provides a lot of information on how to create standards, train staff, and focus on improvement. The end goal is a personalized, positive experience for customers. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

6 Secrets to Live Chat Efficiency

Once you’ve added live chat to your websites, don’t stop looking for ways to improve the customer experience. While there is no magic formula you can use to make everything about your business’ online presence perfect, here are some ways you can improve the efficiency of your company’s live web chat services. Establish Chat Priority : Establish a system that allows chats to be answered right away. That system should also have some kind of survey or a brief set of questions for customers to answer to ensure their chats are routed to the right agents. Chat agents that handle multiple chats should be able to establish priority to ensure that each one is handled efficiently and properly. Minimize Chat Times : Your agents may occasionally get a customer who has concerns that require them to engage longer than usual, but that doesn’t mean that all chats should take a long time to resolve. Implement measures to help your agents to minimize the amount of time it takes for them to address and resolve customers issues. Minimizing chat times can decrease response times and prevent long wait times. Live Web Chat Training is Important : The best chat agents are those who undergo regular training and are always looking for ways to improve. In your quest to achieve the perfect balance between live chat agent productivity and efficiency, you need to invest in your agents’ skills by providing training and support. Don’t expect them to automatically know what to do and how to respond to different types of customer scenarios. Doing so can be counterproductive to them and your organization. Train your agents to enhance their soft skills and you’ll see an improvement in their responses to customers and reduce the amount of time it takes them to resolve customer concerns. Integrate Web Chat into Your CRM : Your online chat team can become more efficient if you train them to capture customer information and update it as needed in your CRM. This makes it much easier for them to cater to the needs of your customers when they return at a later date for service or assistance. Canned Responses : Even if your agents are required to be able to type 100 wpm, canned responses can greatly reduce their response times. One of your goals may be to provide customers with a more personable experience, but it certainly doesn’t hurt for your agents to use canned responses. In fact, these responses can provide your agents with additional time to provide customers with the resolutions they seek. Workstation Setup : All of the shortcuts and canned responses in the world cannot reduce response time and increase agent productivity like having a dual monitor setup for each workstation. It’s easier on your agents’ eyes, their hands and facilitates a more immediate acknowledgment of customers to improve the overall efficiency of your organization’s live chat services. While the key to improving chat efficiency isn’t rocket science, it does require you to have a good chat solution. Etech Global Services recommends for you to periodically evaluate the tools, processes and agents you have in place so you can better determine their effectiveness and make improvements as needed. This blog was first published on LinkedIN

3 Easy Steps to Improve Customer Service Through Live Chat

Customers are doing more online shopping than ever. Many of them are turning to the internet because they want to be more in control of their transactions. They do not necessarily want to interact with people on the phone and in person. Internet Retailer reports that improved wireless networks and mobile devices are the driving force behind online sales, which are expected to increase by 56 percent from 2015 in the next five years. Businesses that are looking to take advantage of this trend need to do more than create spectacular websites. They need to implement measures that allow them to improve online customer experience. Etech Global Services offers the following suggestions for companies who are looking to use online customer service to corner the market. Accessibility is Crucial : Customers expect a lot from any website they intend to do business with. Whether they are searching for information or looking to place an order, your live web chat tools should not be hidden or obscure. Chat support should also be easily accessible. Your chat boxes should be as intuitive as your websites. They should appear as soon as customers access your sites and they should be easily noticeable and accessible if they are closed accidentally or intentionally. Many customers are not looking to engage with anyone when they are online. However, when they need answers, live chat is often the first source of assistance they seek. Speed Up Response Times : The rate and efficiency at which your online agents respond to customers are very important. So is the amount of time it takes for them to resolve issues. One of the biggest incentives for consumers to do business online is that it allows them to get things done expeditiously on their time. They do not have to pick up a phone and wait to be serviced. Instead, they can get on their tablets, cellphones and other electronic devices to get the services and products they need whenever they want. Regardless of how well your websites are put together, live web chat tools can drastically improve overall customer experience with your online business. As long as assistance is provided in a quick and efficient manner, you’ll gain more customers and increase consumer loyalty. Provide Ongoing Chat Agent Training and Support : Agent training is just as important as the quality of the live chat software you are using. Agents need to undergo continuous training in order for them to maintain their efficiency and productivity. They need to know how to anticipate the needs of customers and how to deliver the necessary results right away. They should also have access to support in case they run into customer situations where they are not knowledgeable enough or equipped to handle them. Live web chat is one of the most effective tools that businesses have in the online world. It helps to bridge the gap and improve the relationship between customers and businesses in a multitude of ways. When leveraged properly, live chat can be a very powerful weapon that can enhance customer service to improve your business’ bottom-line. This blog post published in LinkedIn By Jim Iyoob

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