Wondering why do customers prefer to use live chat when they need any help? There are some reasons for such a choice that you can find in this article. It will help to optimize customer service issues and improve the user experience.
More and more modern customers prefer to communicate with their favorite brands and companies via live chat. Why is this happening? There are several reasons why users prefer this form of interaction. Understanding these reasons can be a starting point for your customers’ experience optimization, so let’s discover them.
Top Reasons Why People Prefer Live Chat Support Over a Phone Call
So, let’s find out why live chat is becoming the preferred communication choice among customers.
Ability to Get an Instant Response
One of the reasons why users prefer live chat communication is the speed of getting the right answer. Communicating with a company over the phone often means spending time getting the information they need. First, the client may encounter the fact that the line is busy. Secondly, the client can wait until the specialist provides them with the right answer to the question.
Since a live chat allows managers to process requests from multiple clients, this greatly speeds up the speed of responding. Therefore, for most users, it is much easier to get the information they need through live chat.
What’s more, most live chats are automated with the help of chatbots. They are artificial intelligence algorithms that are pre-programmed to answer typical questions automatically, like checking the order status or informing on working hours. AI-powered automation allows for getting an instant response, delivering more convenience and saving the operational costs of a company.
Familiar Interface
The constant use of websites and instant messengers has also influenced the preference for customer communication. Today, most users prefer to use online communication rather than telephone conversations. When a user makes an order on the site, it is easier for them to ask the necessary questions in the same place. Since most people are accustomed to online communication, live chat is becoming a common form of interacting with a brand.
Opportunity to Getting 24/7 Support
Often, users place an order for goods or services late in the evening or at night. Accordingly, they do not receive a confirmation phone call at such times, while a live chat allows them to get answers to all their questions online 24/7. This is another reason why customers prefer using live chat. The live chat opens up an opportunity to interact at any time and get the answer at a preferred time of the day or night.
Emotional Issue
One more reason why customers may prefer the use of live chat has psychological nature. Someone may be embarrassed to call the company to get answers to their questions. This is especially true for the younger generation who can’t imagine their lives without instant messengers and social media.
Therefore, using a live chat is the most convenient way. As well as with social networks, online communication removes some psychological barriers. So, many customers decide to communicate through live chat to remove any discomfort and use a convenient way to communicate.
Ease of Use
Live chats are also easier to use compared to making a call. While pressing a few bottoms on a smartphone screen also doesn’t seem so hard, writing a quick message into a live chat popup is still easier and more convenient. What’s more, you don’t have to put the effort in order to get in touch with a company via a chatbot. Most modern chatbots also have pre-developed messages with standard and most frequent questions the customers may have. The only thing you have to do is to click and get an instant answer.
It’s Free
It is also important to note that live chat communication does not imply any costs for the buyer. A phone call can be costly and is often the reason why customers are so reluctant to contact the company.
Therefore, if the user sees that they will have to pay for a phone call, then this can become a problem. The live chat, in turn, is free to use. Live chat allows customers to get the information they need at no cost.
And there is one more great piece of news for companies thinking about embedding a chatbot into their customer support system. Chatbot development is pretty easy and more than affordable, while the payoff from such a simple solution will be great. eCommerce chatbots, for example, come as Application Programming Interfaces (API), so the only thing you have to do is to embed a chatbot into a website. Plus, there is always room for customization but for this goal, you will have to ask an expert to write some custom code.
Lack of Emotional Pressure
The reason why clients do not like to communicate with managers is they don’t want to feel pressured. In most cases, call center representatives are obliged to offer and sell one more good or service, and sometimes, they do it aggressively. Such upsell attempts can be pretty annoying, so this is another reason why customers don’t like to communicate over the phone.
Live chat, instead, is a customer-focused tool that minimizes pressure on the customer. Therefore, most prefer live chat not to face marketing tricks but to get help that will relate exclusively to their question. The customers know that the live chat will get an opportunity to pass any pressure and get a direct answer without any unnecessary data.
No Irritation
Calls from company managers often cause outrage among consumers. The reasons for this may be different, so the presence of a live chat is a salvation for those clients who, for some reason, do not like to talk on the phone with managers.
The live chat is an opportunity to make a choice, to control the process. The client controls the communication process on a psychological level, so they do not experience any discomfort in communication.
Advanced Technologies Behind
The development of conversational AI gave a rise to a new trend in live chatting with brands and companies. We are talking about a voice assistant that modern customers also find engaging and effective to use. In addition to the opportunity to get an answer quickly, the chatbots of a new generation are capable of making simple operations, for example, sending a money transfer or checking the balance of an account.
More advanced conversational chatbots which are powered by deep machine learning can even provide users with custom advice. For example, financial institutions use them to help customers make wise investing or saving decisions.
In a nutshell, the power of chatbots and the importance of live chats is expected to grow across industries, while eCommerce and fintech are the ones with the largest share of companies using them for day-to-day communication with the customers.
How to Work with Live Chat Properly?
According to research, in the case when the customer service is delightful, 78% of consumers will place an order again. In terms of user experience, online technical support can be called an ideal communication channel. It is ready to provide site visitors with any assistance with the choice of goods and placing an order. However, as with any other communication tool, the company must take care to organize communication with potential customers in the most comfortable way for them, as well as to make the user experience more personalized.
In today’s world, business is more than just selling goods and services. Today, emotional connection and shared values are sometimes more important for the client than the cost and sometimes the quality of the product. When looking for the right product/service, a modern client is more likely to choose the company whose concept and beliefs resonate with their ones.
In other words, in the brand, the client is looking for a “like-minded person” with whom it would be nice to associate themselves. There is no better way to bring humanity to a brand than to communicate most naturally with customers through live chat.
It is an ideal tool for communicating values, beliefs, and brand positioning. They should be embedded in the manner of communication and the reactions that the bot uses in dialogue with the client. Companies should focus on providing their customers with the best service in the context of live chat. The user experience is vital when it comes to customer support, while a live chat is one of the greatest tools to establish effective communication with customers, making it automated.
Wrapping Up
When you know the reasons why customers prefer live chat over phone calls, optimizing your customer service strategy becomes easier. Use these insights to improve the customer experience and make the process of communication with customers more effective.