Which is better for your business : Phone Support or Live Chat?

The digital revolution allowed businesses to expand their brands globally during the 1990s. The global web makes it simple for businesses to access the global market. Companies saw that their customers were starting to ask more and more inquiries as they expanded their market share. Customers weren’t simply asking questions; they also expected the businesses they were doing business with to respond to them more quickly. Companies had to start putting more and more emphasis on this area as the demand on the customer service team started to rise. In the beginning, phone support worked well enough to address consumer questions and offer assistance, but as more customers started calling for assistance, wait times for businesses began to rise.No one wanted to wait more than a few minutes to receive the assistance or information they needed, since times were changing. Instead of continuing to wait on hold, they would select the next option.

The foundation was laid for the development of live chat, the next phase in customer service. Since clients could access live chat on the business website, live chat support became crucial for customer service. Real-time communication allows for the handling of numerous consumers at once by an agent, reducing wait times. Effective communication changed as a result of the live chat’s quick responses and accessibility.

62% of customers anticipated businesses to respond to emails within half a day more than three years ago. The current percentage is 79%. In a similar vein, 3 years ago, 66% of customers thought that calling a company would promptly solve their concerns.

Customer demands are always shifting. No one channel can satisfy all of the needs of clients. Like you and your staff, your customers use a variety of media in their everyday lives. In-depth conversations can be had during phone calls, instant messages can be used to convey quick updates, and social media can be utilised to share experiences. These expectations are also carried over into their interactions with customer service.

What are the benefits of Live Chat?

1. Cost:The ability to serve several clients at once and offer round-the-clock coverage aid in reducing the cost of customer care.

2. Proactive support: The agents can actively approach the clients and assist them in minimising their problems.

3. Less frustrated customers: Less waiting time, an immediate sense of connection with the business, and quick resolution all help customers feel satisfied and develop loyalty.

4. Improved data collection: Through a feedback form at the end of the session, live chat enables you to gather customer feedback in real-time.

5. Improved revenue collection: Your team can start conversations with visitors who have been on a page for a predetermined amount of time by using live chat solutions to track real-time consumer behaviour and boost the likelihood that they will make a transaction. Additionally, connecting your Chat to a CRM application enables you to find upsell chances and enhance your sales tactics.

What are the benefits of Phone Support?

1. Instant resolution: Like live Chat, phone assistance offers quick resolutions to your customers’ problems. Escalations from live Chat can be handled by phone assistance for a win-win outcome.
2. Direct contact with brands: Phone assistance offers quick resolutions to your customers’ problems, much like live Chat. Escalations from live Chat can be taken care of by phone assistance, creating a win-win situation.
3. Get a better knowledge of customer reactions: In order to provide customers with a personalised experience, customer care personnel can analyse consumer behaviour during contact.

A few things to consider

• 8 out of 10 customers leave companies due to poor service
• Agent assisted support is preferred 67% of the time.
• Self-service is preferred by only 33% of customers.

Live Chat excels at providing the personalised service and agent interaction that consumers want and expect without the protracted hold times of phone assistance. Customers can easily use a support channel offered by your business. They already use the website for your business, therefore it won’t be difficult for them to use the Chat. Nowadays, clients prefer websites over physical stores and are continuously browsing the web; as a result, businesses should reach them where they are already: on your website. Live Chat can help in this situation because it eliminates the physical distance between the customer and the employee.

You must provide the best calibre of service to your clients, customers, or prospects if your business services them. Speaking with a live person on the phone is still a common alternative and, in some cases, the only one for those without technical know-how, despite the development of contact centres and the advent of new support channels. Even though you might have to wait on hold for a while, phone conversations offer the sense of autonomy that many people yearn for. When compared to live chat, phone support is lacking. One customer can only be spoken to at a time by an agent. Phone assistance can be useful for customer care when used properly. Instead of becoming the main form of communication, voice is developing as an escalation.

The power of Live Chat to let your business provide real-time customer care gives the term “service” a whole new meaning. In addition, live Chat has a number of unique benefits that set it apart from phone support. A live chat service is beneficial for organisations in a variety of situations.

• Live chat services are advantageous for online businesses that generate larger order values and sales.
• Customers of a subscription-based online business may have several inquiries that require prompt responses from live chat services.
• Live chat services are necessary for a company that only uses mobile applications to respond quickly to client questions.
• By providing live chat help on their website, businesses may reduce the cost of customer service.
• Using live chat, a firm can create leads that turn potential website visitors into paying clients.

Similar to live chat support, phone support can be advantageous for a business in a number of ways. Let’s examine a few of them now.

• Businesses that wish to build an emotional connection with their customers may find voice support to be beneficial.
• For businesses to provide individualised service to VIP clients, phone assistance must be included in their customer communication channels.
• To handle complex customer issues, businesses having both a physical location and an online presence can benefit from phone support.
• Voice is changing from being a key means of communication to becoming an escalation tool.

E-commerce, retail, telecom, and service-based businesses can rely on primary live chat support with phone help for escalation because their client volumes are higher.

Conclusion

It goes without saying that the customer service tools available today are not universal. The organisation and the client can benefit in different ways from different communication channels, such as live chat customer service, phone customer service, and customer service chatbots. Live Chat and the phone are the two most obvious ways to provide highly customised, on-demand customer support. Both enable a tight interaction between the consumer and the agent as well as the opportunity for customers to express a problem or ask a question and quickly obtain a response. Live Chat and phone help both allow customers to get answers to their questions quickly, but there are a few key distinctions that can affect when and how you use them.

When comparing phone assistance to live chat help, live chat support comes out on top when considering cost, reach, speed, ease of use, adaptability, data collection, and many other factors. Accordingly, live Chat would be the appropriate help system given the information at hand. For the greatest service when there is an escalation, Live Chat can also be used in conjunction with other channels, such as phone support.