Recommendations for adequate live chat assistance

We tell you 6 great live chat customer service practices for your agents

These are the six best practices that any live chat support agent should follow to consistently deliver good service.

1. Manage the conversation

Just like talking on the phone, chats can get out of control. It is very useful to be able to refocus a talk on its objective. Here are some pro tips:

• Get on the same page: Make sure you and your client are talking about the same thing.
• Set expectations: Let them know if you need to walk away or if they will have to wait.
• Set boundaries: Have responses prepared for difficult situations, such as abusive clients.
• Switch channels seamlessly: If you have to switch a chat to email or phone, do it with elegance.

2. Increase Speed

In live chat, responsiveness counts a lot. It is better to share the first part of the answer and build trust with the client than to wait for the entire answer to be ready. Follow these pro tips to streamline chat support:

• Improve typing speed 
• It is not necessary to write everything every time.
• Build self-service – A well-stocked knowledge base, with text and video searches, can save a ton of time.

3. Write concisely

Live chat is not the place for long exposition. Writing clearly is a skill that can be learned. Start with these tips:

• Know your stuff: With solid product and domain knowledge, you can quickly decide what is important for this customer to know and what can safely be left out.
• Use simple language: avoid using internal names, industry jargon and marketing phrases.
• Be specific: Refer to what your customers can see for themselves, using words they will recognize.

4. Information about conversations

If you're an email support professional, you'll have learned to include all the relevant information at once to avoid long back-and-forth chains. Live chat is a conversation, so information sharing is a plus. A couple of key points:

• Ask small questions: you can get the information you need piece by piece.
• Present one idea at a time: keep it simple and short.

5. Teach your clients

Don't limit yourself to answering the specific question the client has asked you. Look for opportunities to understand what they are trying to do and why, and share your knowledge. For example, share an alternative answer that might suit you better or some configuration tips specific to your particular needs.

6. close it

Don't deceive your clients, always tell them the truth. Make sure you bring each chat to a useful and clear closing point. A good live chat ending should:

• Confirm that the client has what they need.
• Give them clear instructions (if they have to do something).
• Thank them for their time.
• Let them know how to get more help if they need it.

Improve conversations with your customers through live chat support

A high quality service It goes beyond simply providing the right information to understanding what a client is trying to achieve and you can help them achieve it.

Live chat support can speed up that process by enabling a more natural conversational style, where a trained support agent can ask the right questions at the right time and quickly direct the customer to where they need to be.

He chat support software The right live service will allow you to combine real-time chat support with self-service options and an email point of contact, allowing you to offer many different support experiences depending on customer preferences and the capabilities of your support team.

Currently we have observed how bots have been able to be present in conversations, which has been a great help for companies, since it saves time and obtains effective and concise responses. Our iKono Chat platform allows you to communicate with your customers through different channels directly with agents in your Contact Center. Learn more about iKono Chat.