Top 5 mistakes by a live chat operator  

Website Live chat Support can prove to be one of the most effective tools in boosting revenue and increasing sales. However, the same tool can result in loosing customers if not used properly, doing more harm than good. The visitor will not tolerate discourtesy, mis-information,  indifferent behaviour, or late responses from the live chat operator (Customer Service Representative). The proper ettiquete of conversation must be followed by the live chat operator in order to convert the visitors into customers. The following tips will help to improve your live chat customer support skills.

         1.      Avoid robotic coversation
 

There is nothing more annoying to the customer than a copy-paste robotic response from the operator. Some lethargic operators respond to the customer’s queries by copying and pasting long paragraphs from the script and overloading them with un-necessary information.  Remember one thing, the customer is looking for a live human 1-to-1 conversation. There is no harm in copy-paste if there is any data or statistics involved. Try to convert the long paragraphs into 2 or 3 sentences at most. If you are using canned text messages, make sure that it is edited to suit the customer’s query.

     2.      Give what the customer wants

Live chat operators sometimes don’t pay attention to the customer’s question and provide irrelevant answers in their desperation of selling the product . Be open-minded and give  answers to the point.

 Example

INAPPROPRIATE RESPONSE:

Customer: What is the cost of “Trim Max tea” ?
Operator: It costs US $12. It reduces belly fat and flushes out the extra toxic materials in our intestines which are responsible for belly fat.

APPROPRIATE RESPONSE:

Customer: What is the cost of “Trim Maxx tea” ?
Operator: The large 500 grams packet costs US $12 and small 250 grams packet costs US $8. There is special 20% discount on purchasing 2 or more large packets.
Customer: Will it help to reduce my belly fat also?
Operator: Yes. It is very effective in reducing belly fat. It keeps the digestion metabolism healthy and flushes out the extra toxic materials in our intestines which are responsible for belly fat.
 

         3.      Send Chat invitation after 5 minutes

Imagine you walk into a gift store and the suddenly a salesperson pops up to you and says, “Hello, How may I help you?”. How would you feel? Most of the people do feel bothered. That’s how the visitors feel when they receive a chat invitation as soon as they open your website. The customer might want to look around himself and choose a gift he likes. Its better to give them at least 5 to 7 minutes to have a look of the website before sending them 'chat invitation’.  

        4.      Be hospitable, polite and patient

Patience is the key factor of making sales. Its useless to debate with your customers in trying to win the argument. Who knows if they might end up purchasing your product. Remain professional if a person is giving you hard time. You always have the option of blocking the visitors if you feel that he is not worth chatting.

      5.       Try to match the customer's typing speed

Always wait for the answer before posing a second question. Not everybody is good typist as you are. Give the other person time to respond and keep the discussion slow if you feel that you are getting the responses a little late. It may be possible that the visitor would be browsing the website and would like to stay with you on conversation simultaneously, or it could be any other reason.

 See also,

1. Outsourced live Chat Operators

2. Livezilla Server Setup