In today’s highly competitive environment, every consumer expects an above-average customer experience, and exceptional customer service is at the heart of every satisfied customer. You may have heard this before, but the success of any business depends on one important factor: customer care. 85% of customers would rather spend more money with a company that consistently delivers an excellent level of customer service.
There are two key components to exceptional customer service – highly qualified and skilled customer service agents and a solution that meets your customers’ requirements. Without both components, companies will struggle to provide customers with the customer experience they expect and demand.
People communicate with businesses through various different channels. You may think that email and voice are enough for your business, but with webchat’s popularity on the rise among younger generations, employing this channel will prove vital to your communications strategy – it’s an evolution of the traditional business phone system. Research shows that webchat has become the leading digital contact method for online customers as a staggering 46% of customers prefer webchat compared to just 29% for email and 16% for social media.
How including webchat in your customer comms strategy can benefit your business
Improve your customer experience
The top reason why customers prefer to use webchat is that they get their queries answered immediately. 79% of customers preferred to speak to an agent via webchat because they wanted a swift response. Webchat allows customers to reach out at the exact moment they have a query or a problem they need solving without having to go through the lengthy process of contacting the support team via email or phone. A good support experience means happy customers, which results in positive word-of-mouth marketing.
Increase customer acquisition and onboarding
Webchat can be a great way for prospective and new customers to connect with your brand, without having to commit to a purchase or subscribe to your services straight away. This gives prospective and new customers time to research and find out as much as possible about your business and the products and services that you offer, as well as building trust with the agent they are speaking with.
Benefit sales and ROI
Dependant on the type of business you run, webchat can also be a good channel to increase your sales. For example, if a customer were to contact an agent on webchat with an issue, the agent could build rapport with the customer whilst attempting to solve the issue. If the agent sees an opportunity, they can suggest additional products or features to the customer. According to a recent study, 38% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a company if they offer webchat support.
Offer a personalised service
Asking customers for their contact information before initiating a chat personalises the service that they will receive. With this information, your webchat agent can search for the customer’s account information via your CRM system from the contact information they have received. Your agent will be able to see any pending or open requests and provide updates to your customer. This saves time for the agent and the customer does not have to repetitively give out information.
Reduce costs and improve efficiency
Implementing webchat will be cost-effective to your business as it allows agents to handle multiple interactions simultaneously. As a result, agents can solve more customer queries in a shorter period of time, reducing reliance on resources and therefore decreasing customer service costs.
Conclusion
The old way of communicating with customers is over! Thanks to webchat, you can deliver the perfect customer experience, whether that be through one-to-one human conversations, or through automated interactions with the help of a chatbot. Webchat is now the go-to channel to engage with customers and prospects. By employing a cloud-based omnichannel solution, you easily incorporate webchat into your wider communications strategy
Learn more about the key aspects to consider when choosing a contact centre solution by downloading our eGuide: The SME guide to contact centres.
Ready to make the move to a cloud contact centre? Contact Gamma today and we’ll help you choose the right solution for your business.
