Live chat support is a great alternative to email and phone support because it’s faster and allows you the ability to solve customers’ problems in real-time. But what is a customer support live chat, exactly? The simple live chat definition is that it’s a live discussion between two people over the Internet, in this case between a customer service representative and a person seeking information about a company. Unlike a chatbot, which is automated and can only offer canned responses, live chat support involves a real person on the other end, a human being typing back to you and working with you to find the solution you need. If you’re using a live answering system for your phone line, it could be a good idea to invest in live chat support as well, especially if your business is aimed toward a younger demographic. Younger customers in particular often prefer to communicate through text instead of by phone, and live chat can offer the same fast responses as a phone call.
What Is a Customer Live Chat, and How Does it Compare to Messaging Apps?
Social media DMs and messaging apps have gained traction as business support channels because they’re commonly used tools for conversations, and they allow users to save what’s been written and continue the dialogue at their convenience. However, this can also be a drawback; often, even a simple conversation can end up going on for days before the problem gets sorted out. But with live chat support, a description of the problem and its solution happens in real time; responses happen within a few moments of each other, and the issue can be solved in minutes.
What Is Live Chat Support Capable Of?
You can do a lot of the same actions over live chat that you can over the phone, like making and adjusting appointments, answering questions, and helping to alleviate issues that customers may have with their service or product.
What Is Chat Support in a Call Center?
Live chat support can be offered alongside phone support in a call center or on its own. Customer chat support may be provided by any available agent who’s been trained to serve the business in question. If a message comes in from a customer, chat support agents will get a notification through a customer service platform or chat software that brings up the message. Agents are typically expected to respond in a short period of time, but the ease of chat support means that they can help multiple customers at once, as opposed to only helping one person at a time over the phone. Since a real person is responding to each of these messages, customers get dedicated and personalized support from a real person who can help the customer achieve exactly what they came on the chat for at their own convenience.
What Is Support via Live Chat Going to Cost?
When you work with VoiceNation, you’ll find that live chat support is surprisingly affordable! There are no administrative fees or setup charges, and prices are based on bundles of chats, so you’ll only have to pay for what you use. There’s also no extra cost for 24/7 service, including nights, weekends, and holidays. Contact us for a free trial today to see if our live chat service is right for you!