Setting up live chat is one thing, getting it up and running in the right way is another.
For an ecommerce brand looking to engage its customers through live chat support, questions such as the following are common;
- How long should we be active on chat?
- Should we turn off chat during non-office hours?
- What are the consequences of not being around when customers need to chat live?
- What are customer expectations when it comes to live chat support?
A lot of things come into play and you can’t just guess or “do it your way.” This write-up will discuss what matters to customers and what’s practical when it comes to live chat schedules.
Making decisions based on customer needs and expectations is a better way to go about things than tossing a coin.
Why Your Website’s Live Chat Should be Active Almost all The Time
Being active round-the-clock all-year round may not be feasible, but still businesses should try to be available for their customers for as long as possible.
Here are 3 reasons why;
- Shoppers contact you and nothing makes them happier than knowing they’ll always find help when they reach out. It builds customer trust.
- Clients hate to wait too long for a reply, long waits ruin customer experience and causes churn.
- Proactive support can lead to positive reviews, referrals repeat buying and more
Ecommerce is no longer “slow business” as it used to be. With customers demanding same-day shipping same-day delivery we can’t wait to answer to today’s queries tomorrow.
Yes! Same or next-day delivery is 2020’s big agenda so if you need to strap on seat belt if you thought you can still “take it easy” with live chat support.
What to Consider When Planning Your Live Chat Schedule
Here are the factors to consider when planning your live chat activity hours.
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Ticket Volumes when your Chat is off
The ticket volumes you receive when chat is turned off can help you learn times when your clients need you most.
These tickets represent those who looked for you when you were away and can help you decide active live chat support hours.
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When clients try to reach you in numbers
You probably offer support through multiple channels, analyze the hours when requests are actively flowing in through all your support platforms.
These are the times when you should consider turning on active live chat support.
Plus, visiting times may vary from business to business. While one company may receive an inflow of customers late in the evening, others will need to offer more support throughout the day when more shoppers are sending in requests.
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24-hour Web Traffic Analysis
Use Google Analytics to look into what traffic looks like in your website for every 24 hours.
A 24-hour Web Traffic Analysis may give you good insight on when you experience the most visits.
You may notice a few hours which you never imagined were a buzz of activities in your store and make tweaks in your live chat schedule.
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Track High and Low Sales Sprees
You’ll obviously need to be available for longer if you anticipate a high number of customers like during holiday seasons.
More customers means more problems to solve so you need to prepare your agents to offer live chat support longer than usual or onboard more agents.
The Verdict
Like it or not, live chat is increasingly becoming a useful tool in resolving customer queries and it turns out that you have to be active for as long as your clients need you to enjoy its full benefit.
Whether you outsource chat operations, take charge as the business owner or prepare a crew of support staff to hold the fort for you, just figure out how to be there for your customers.
And if you offer same-day shipping same-day delivery, be ready to be live all the time.
