Online chat has turned into a serious contact center function. But customers aren’t as pleased with it as the other channels. Here’s why:
For one, many companies ask an existing customer service group to take on the chat role, say online commerce experts at Bold Software. That leads to more multitasking and less focus on customer satisfaction.
The second problem with chat: Many companies assign it to lower-cost, less-tenured agents, who might be savvy with the platform but not so much with customer service skills.
Instead, companies want to leverage chat as a way to improve the customer experience, especially since more and more customers are willing to try it, according to research by 1to1Media.
Two ways:
- Work with IT to track customer website visits. Then apply existing rules to the amount of resources that should be put into real-time online chat.
- Connect on a personal level. FAQ responses won’t work in chat because customers don’t feel like they’re dealing with a person. Chats can be a little less formal, but remain professional.
