There is an abundant user take up of online contact methods to communicate with companies off all sizes, yes, even your company size! With each individual choosing to do it on the device of their choosing, t is no surprise that call centres are rapidly becoming contact centres with the need to answer not only voice inquiries, but also to answer email and chat inquires, and those who are also choosing to, social media and responding to comments on blogs.
WebChat is now reported to be the online communication tool of choice. It is second only to Voice. This abundant take up and use of web chat is leading to industry change and if your call centre hasn’t yet adapted, you are quickly going to fall behind the competition. It is proven that if your contact centre is diversified in how it can handle your clients customers, then you will not only grow your customer base, but you will also retain and add value to your existing clients by offering more points of contact presence therefore allowing you to bill for more interactions.
Your agent costs can be reduced significantly when your centre engages in web chat. One agent can manage many web chats and email communications all from one interface, the latest on the market being the Avaya IPOCC (IP Office Contact Centre). With the IPOCC package you obtain a brilliant voice management platform combined with web chat and email, as well as a preview dialler to call back missed calls and to queue calls that are generated via the web chat interactions. Chat is no longer just about saving money, it is quickly becoming the tool that assists in conversions, ease of access and client management for companies around the globe.
Why chat?
If you are wondering what you need to integrate chat into your business, well cost effectiveness and reducing your response times to contact are the obvious reasons. Handling multiple enquiries at the same time is only the start. Most business already have a website, and are already using email as a primary tool of communications. Where live web chat fits in is that it provides instantaneous response times to potential buyers. Live chat can make self service easier, answer tough questions to an early stage lead and it can be embedded into every page on your website which creates a sense of ready to do business each step of the way.
No IVR’s, no queuing, written responses, clear communication paths, improved customer satisfaction, single click routing to experts and further more, you are communicating with your clients the way they want to making it even more priceless. Customers see it as an innovative communication tool, especially in the tech savvy generation X’s and Y’s! It will set your business apart from the competition.
To add to the improved satisfaction rates from customers and the reduced costs in the call centre, studies have shown improved conversion rates to boot! On average, 80% of website visitors never turn into a customer. Too much info, not enough info, not enough time ar wall reasons people leave a website. If you can give the customer a way to interact which may lead them to find the answers and start the contact loop, then you are going to dramatically improve the statistics of website conversions. Having said this, there is still nothing quite as good as a well designed website!
The ability to resolve customer issues, reassure a buyer, intercept a customer journey to add that special touch is a priceless addition to a good website. The fact the customer is in an proactive and information hungry state suggests that they will be even more open to find a trusted source for contact and go to for the final purchase. Reducing basket abandonment and increasing conversion rates on an commerce site for example are a scratch on the surface of improvements, chatting is also shown to increase customer spend by up to 50% as they understand the features and benefits of products and services more.
If WebChat integration into your contact centre sounds like something you would like to investigate further, feel free to contact us today on 1300 887 495, request a call from the right hand column and have one of our experts contact you. You can also call our Contact Centre solution experts John on 0409 489 510 or Mark on 0409 180 536 and lets ‘chat’!
