Why Live Chat Is A Viable Customer Service Channel

There are plenty of ways that the internet has revolutionized doing business. It has changed the way businesses recruit best-fit candidates, thanks to online job postings. It’s even changed the way we work, allowing employees to be flexible not only with their location but with their hours. Customer service has been affected too, giving customers more freedom and channels to reach out to businesses with questions—and get immediate answers—through services such as email, social media, and live chat.

Although it’s a relatively new addition to the customer service world, live chat is almost universally well received by customers and support reps. This is because of the advantages that the channel offers. For instance;
  • It gives busy people the option to skip being on hold as well as multi-task while they’re still chatting with customer service reps.
  • Also, the time lag between responses gives the service rep a greater ability to search for the right solution or answers for the customer, thus making them even more productive and efficient in their jobs.

Chat also gives both users the opportunity to engage emotionally via emojis, smileys, and gif. These benefits make Live chat a win-win channel for customer service.

Woman chatting
Image: Shutterstock
The infographic below highlights important Live chat statistics that would empower you to utilize this channel in the most efficient and productive ways which improve customer engagement and satisfaction.

Click To Enlarge

According to Customer service & experience expert, Shep Hyken – “Live chat is a channel that’s very comfortable for customers. They accept it, it’s quick, they typically aren’t waiting on hold like when they are making a phone call so they are happy to use this medium. I think all stats and facts are pointing to high acceptance of using live chat”

Live chat is a great customer service channel & customers are gradually adopting it as a good way to connect with businesses and get results. For companies in which the website is a major customer touch-point (such as e-commerce) websites, Live chat becomes a game changer that can reduce cart abandonment rates, drive sales and improve the buyer experience. 

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Kelechi Okeke