Adopting Chat in a Business Setting
by Nick Hershberger
by Nick Hershberger
The Internet is
a powerful medium to get instantaneous results. Consequently, users have come
to expect feedback and assistance the moment the need is recognized. To respond to the immediate nature of doing business on the web, many companies have included
a chat feature to give customer assistance is real time. Providing chat to
customers comes with many benefits.
#1: Customers Want to Connect With a Real Person
When shopping on the web, it is easy
for a consumer to be confused by the website, have question about a product, or
want additional information about a promotion. The nature of shopping online
affords a feeling of discontinuity between the services of the company and the
consumer’s needs. Providing chat bridges this gap, allowing users to engage with
customer service workers. Forrester Research conducted a study that determined
that 44% of online customers say that having questions answered by a live
person is one of the most important features a service can offer.
Chatting provides an additional
communication channel for a business. For some users, this channel may be
preferable over email and telephone customer service. Information can be delivered
instantaneously and the business has an opportunity to make a personal
connection with the user. Recently, I chatted with a customer service
representative at the Home Depot about purchasing a refrigerator. The customer
service representative answered all of my questions and spared me a trip to the
store.
Since users can get quality
assistance from a real person in a short amount of time, the chances of
completing the sale of products is increased. Customer service representatives
can guide the process for locating items and aid in the checkout
process. According to the Baymard Institute, a 67.45% of online shopping carts
are abandoned. Of those surveyed 20% left because of confusion with the site, which
a problem chat assistance could potentially solve.
Businesses are always looking for
ways to stand out in a crowd. One way that a business can gain an edge over
competitors is to provide chatting service. I personally look for this feature
when I choose a business to patronize. I bank with Pinnacle Bank in Lincoln,
Nebraska. One reason I choose this institution is the access to chatting
services. It is my preferred method to communicate with customer service
individuals. West Gate Bank, another bank in my area, lost out on my business
because they do not include this communication option.
If the company
chooses to implement chat support, a couple of considerations should be
measured. First, in order to provide instant support, a chat line must be
adequately staffed. Responses to inquiries should be quick and concise. Customer
service personnel should be trained to write and communicate successfully during
a chat session and all the usual customer service hallmarks, like friendly
service and pleasantries, should be observed.
At the end of
the day, adding chat can add real value to any business.
Sound off: What
do you think about chatting? Do you chat with businesses? If so, which ones?
Source:
http://www.shopify.com/blog/8484093-why-online-retailers-are-losing-67-45-of-sales-and-what-to-do-about-it#ixzz2yt3wHqw2
Nick,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on this article. I believe that a real person, instead of a computer, makes customers much more happier with their business experience. If I make a call somewhere and a computer picks up the phone and I have to push 1 for this option and 2 for this option, it just frustrates me. A couple examples; the other day I was trying to hook up a land line to my house and I was literally on hold for over an hour after talking to a computer. I ended up just hanging up and finding a different company to go through, so that business lost my service because they had a computer talking instead of a real person.
I use to work as a receptionist at a large corporation and I would answer, on average, 700 calls per day. I distinctively remember one guy who said, "Oh my gosh! you have no idea how happy I am to hear a real person talking!" He went on to say thank you so much for being a real person and was just so happy that I was a person and not a computer.
In today's world if we want an answer, we want it now, and I think that if more and more businesses get rid of the computer and spend a couple extra bucks on a real person, their profit would increase over time.
There's another benefit to using chat messages for businesses and that is clarity. A person's body languages can send mix messages that contradicts their words. An example of this, is a situation where a customer is not happy with a product or a service. In person, the customer is aggravated and allows emotions to emphasize the problem. Online, the customer has to identify the problem (without allowing emotions to be involved). On the other hand, there are body languages that gives more details to the situation, such as a case of a customer in which a salesperson has to determine if the customer wants help or not. I was amazed when a representative from Windstream took care of my problem by using chat messages. As a customer, I identified symptoms of the problem I was experiencing, letting them know what stage I was, and they solved the issue. Another benefit is that the company was able to save the conversation for improvement purposes as well as for legalities.
ReplyDeleteAgree! Good insights.
DeleteI, too, have also used the chat option when I was searching for a product and had some questions. Having the chat option made my experience shopping online very enjoyable and wanting to go back to that site to make another purchase. Like you have mentioned, there are many benefits, for a business, to have the chat option on their website. One of the benefits that I really like about the chat option is that I have the chance to shop online while I feel like I could be in a store. What I mean by that is that even though I am online, I still have that opportunity to talk with a real person that makes me feel like I am at the store talking with somebody. I would rather talk to someone online when I am shopping online rather than having to stop what I am doing and drive to a store just to talk to someone at the store. The chat option allows people with more convenience because not everybody has the time to always go to a store to shop for what they need.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Using a chat option is a great way for businesses to add an additional part to their customer service. People do want to talk to an actual person. So if they can chat with someone when they had questions over a messenger customers might feel more comfortable. Instead of listening to a recording.
ReplyDeleteGood topic and discussion Nick! Yes, I have used online chat via retailer websites many times, and usually with success. I like being able to spell out the details of my question, including any serial numbers or specific concerns. For the more complicated questions, I feel like it actually works better than having to verbally and accurately express a question to a customer service representative over the telephone.
ReplyDeleteYou mention a couple considerations for businesses wanting to incorporate an online chat into their website features. I totally agree with your point about the chat feature being adequately staffed. I have been on site chats and told that someone would be with me shortly, and after half of an hour, nothing happened – with multiple attempts. Certainly not a good reflection on that business and a detriment to doing business with that company in the future.
You also mentioned that staff should be properly trained to communicate in the online chat environment. We all know about the limitations of text communications versus in-person or other verbal communications where we can hear voice inflexion and so on. A customer service person without the proper training may not understand the negative impact of only providing curt or short answers without explanation.
Additionally, it is important that chat personnel have access to all of the company resources for answers. I have been on chats where the representative has told me that they either did not know the answer to my question, did not have the ability to look up the answer, or the people she’d need to ask about that were not available. Very frustrating of course.
Finally, I have found that some website’s online chat offers can be very annoying, popping up repeatedly as the website is reviewed. I think the chat function should be located where it is easy to see and access, but visitors should not be harassed by the offer to chat.
Great discussion!
David