Many businesses find that outsourcing live chat support to a third party is the most cost-effective way to provide live customer service. Whether you need more customer service, increase customer satisfaction, or want to make your business more transparent, there are several reasons to consider outsource live chat support to this service. These include cost, Brand voice, infrastructural challenges, and metrics.
Cost-effectiveness of Outsource Live Chat Support
A dedicated live chat service provider can help your business increase response rates while improving customer service. While the traditional voice call process can take time, live chat services will quickly resolve your customer’s queries and provide enhanced customer service. An outsourcing vendor’s live chat support team is highly skilled and specialized in this service. They will have the knowledge and expertise to respond to customer queries in a timely and helpful manner.
Many companies opt for live chat support to cut costs. It’s estimated that live chat is seventeen to thirty percent more cost-effective than traditional customer contact services. Additionally, the initial implementation costs of chat support will be far lower than that of maintaining and running a call center. Moreover, most providers will include the cost of training chat support representatives.
Outsourcing live chat support can help your company retain existing customers and attract new ones. It can also improve customer loyalty. Customers feel more connected with businesses when they get prompt and helpful responses.
Brand Voice of Outsource Live Chat Support
When outsourcing live chat support, it’s essential to maintain your brand voice across all channels. Your brand voice should reflect the personality of your company. Consistency will help establish a sense of trust with customers. Here are some tips for maintaining your brand voice: Aim to be above and beyond the competition by providing the best possible customer experience.
Your brand voice communicates your company’s commitment to its customers and helps them decide whether to trust you. Therefore, it’s essential that your live chat support vendor consistently follows that brand voice to make sure your customers know you’re a trustworthy, reliable business. Otherwise, they could hurt your relationship with your customers. Also, ensuring your live chat support vendor follows your brand voice can help your customers feel they’re dealing with a single company instead of many.
Outsourcing live chat support is not an ideal solution for every business. While it helps you save on cost, you may compromise on customer service. For one, outsourced agents have limited access to customer information, which limits their ability to personalize support interactions. In addition, outsourced agents are less flexible than internal agents and less likely to go the extra mile to help your customers.
Infrastructural Challenges of Outsource Live Chat Support
Many businesses struggle with the infrastructural issues involved in implementing in-house chat support teams. This could be a lack of space, technology, or even the capital to invest in the most effective live chat software. However, outsourcing live chat support services to a company with the appropriate infrastructure and expertise can help them avoid these problems and enjoy a more significant customer experience.
While outsourcing live chat support can save your business money, it can create several challenges:
- You may have to lay off some current staff members. Though it will cut labor costs, this can cause severe workplace disruption.
- You’ll need to find suitable operators for the new team.
- You’ll have to train your employees, which is a significant challenge and will ultimately affect your output.
If you choose to set up an in-house team, it will be easier to capture customer feedback. However, you’ll also need to be sure your team is up to date with the latest trends in live chat.
Outsourcing live chat support allows your business to focus on its core activities and reduce costs. The team can handle demanding customers and maintain a professional tone throughout the conversation. The team’s professional attitude will translate into increased conversions for your business. Furthermore, outsourcing live chat operators will allow you to devote more time to other essential aspects of your business.
Metrics of Outsource Live Chat Support
Measuring specific metrics is essential when outsourcing live chat support to ensure your investment is maximized. The first contact resolution rate is one critical metric, which can be measured by calculating the percentage of web chats that are fully resolved. This metric will tell you whether your customer service agents are successfully approaching customers correctly and can be used to determine the training required to ensure the highest level of customer service.
Another metric to monitor is the average wait time between the time a visitor initiates a live chat and when the live chat agent responds to that chat. A lower average time means a better live chat experience for your customer. Measuring wait time is essential to assess your operation, as it helps you know which agents need additional training or resources.
The number of solved and pending chats is another metric to measure. This information helps support staff know which topics need additional attention and can also give insight into the most common issues. It can also provide the focus for training and fixing problems. You can improve your live chat performance and increase customer satisfaction with this information.
