With the increasing popularity of live chat on websites to increase sales and deliver top quality customer service, you will likely have to choose whether you plan to provide this function for your business in-house or via outsourcing. Live chat is a type of online chat that appears in a computer web browser or in mobile applications, typically in the form of a small pop-up screen through which a visitor to a website can exchange text messages with a chat operator on the website in real-time.
Online live chat is now the leading contact source within the online environment, with 42% of customers using chat versus email (23%) or other social media forums (16%), according to J.D. Power. Also, recent surveys conducted by Harris Research found that 53% of customers prefer to receive this service before contacting a company. Companies that use live chat have found that it leads to less cart abandonment, increased order size, and better online customer reviews – especially when businesses have the service available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Of the companies that are now offering live chat to their customers, many have chosen to outsource the service for many reasons, including:
- Provides the Ability to Start Right Away – With the strong sales and customer service satisfaction boost that live chat delivers, most businesses want to deploy this function as soon as possible. Live chat providers offer a way to do this much more quickly than if you needed to hire and train staff and purchase software for this purpose.
- Provides the Ability to Experiment with a New Service without Hiring Additional Staff – As popular as live chat is, you may not find that it works for your business. Working with a live chat company offers you the ability to try the tactic for minimal investment using their professional staff and top-quality resources.
- Outsourcing Live Chat is Less Expensive than Hiring More Staff – You receive professional services for minimal investment because you don’t have to pay extra salaries and benefits. There also are no training or software investment costs.
- Scalability – You can scale your live chat services coverage up or down as needed much more easily than if you use your own employees to cover this function.
- Flexibility to Change Live Chat Service Hours – You can change the hours of live chat service coverage much easier than if you use employees to cover this function.
- Professional Service Delivery – When you outsource your live chat services, you are working with professionals who are highly experienced in working with this method of communication and who are likely using state-of-the-art technology to deliver results. This eliminates your learning curve.
The Intercept of Florida Difference Works for Live Chat
Our live chat and virtual receptionist services may be just what your business needs to take it to the next level. Intercept of Florida has earned a reputation for quality, responsible, and consistent contact center solutions for businesses in a variety of industries. Contact us today to find out more about how we can help you optimize your customer service with live chat.