Your business needs live chat, just not the way you think

1. Today's buyers want real-time engagement

Just like calling, web chat isn’t asynchronous. This means the customer needs to stay within the browser to maintain access to the chat. As a consequence, that requires instant responses from you. That doesn’t leave much time to simultaneously answer new incoming queries, resulting in longer waiting times. 

Not to mention what happens in case the internet connection is lost, if the PC is shut down if the customer accidentally closes the browser or tab. In that case, the entire chat will be lost. And as chat history often isn’t saved, a customer will need to then explain his or her query all over again. And what happens when customers don’t have time to sit around and wait for a response. Or how about when your employees go home for the day? Not very customer friendly, is it? 

2. Mobile-first. Mobile-friendly

In this day and age, explaining the importance of mobile in the life of the consumer won’t be necessary. That means that customer-centric support needs to be mobile-friendly. Live chat is not mobile-friendly. Web chat typically does not offer the many mobile benefits customers became accustomed to. For example, easy access to multimedia. In addition, keeping a browser open to keep track of new notifications in the chat, high-jacking the mobile phone, isn’t the most user-friendly thing to do. Especially considering messages via Apple Messages for Business or WhatsApp will show a notification even when the screen is locked. Moreover, you’ll allow customers to carry on with their days while waiting for your reply. That immediately has a positive effect on the customer’s patience. 

3. No need to spend a fortune

As I briefly mentioned earlier, live chat is considered a cheaper alternative to calling. However, that does not mean live chat is the most cost-efficient way to go. Data shows that webchat costs about 3 times more per interaction that customer care via messaging apps. Not only can you connect messaging channels at attractive rates, but you’ll also save money on FTE. And that’s not even touching on the improved usability for consumers, resulting in a higher NPS and ROI. 

The solution: Offer live chat via messaging channels

When turning to messaging channels for customer care, all information is contained within one chat, and users can respond whenever it is convenient to them with full access to their chat history. The main benefit of live chat via messaging apps is you can handle multiple conversations at the same time. Being asynchronous, customers can respond via messaging channels whenever it suits them. This way, your customer care becomes more accessible and intuitive than ever before. So how then do you combine the benefits of live chat with messaging channels? By offering live chat via those messaging channels. 

We offer a ready to use HTML-code you can add to any website. With this code, your customers will have 3 ways to start the conversation on WhatsApp and Apple Messages for Business.

1. Visiting your website on desktop or tablet, the chat pop-up will show a QR-code. By scanning this code with their mobile phone, customers will automatically open a chat with your customer care agent.
2. When visiting your website on desktop or tablet, the customer can also choose to (instead of scanning the QR code) use WhatsApp Web or Apple Messages for Business instead. This way, they can start the conversation on their desktop or tablet.
3. When the customer visits your website on his mobile device, clicking the chat option will automatically open the messaging channel. Starting a conversation will be as easy as chatting with their friends! 

More information on adding chat >

Did you know that, with our Customer Contact tool, handling conversations from all incoming messaging channels is even more efficient? Enrich the chat with images, videos, locations, selection menus, questions, and answers flows. And let CM Bot handle a strict script of sending messages. Want to discover live chat via messaging channels yourself? Visit CM.com and open the live chat in the right-bottom corner.