When LiveChat is, in fact, DeadChat

Five key mistakes when you implement webchat

Five key mistakes to avoid when you implement webchat:

The lights are on but no-one’s at home

There is nothing worse than seeing the ‘Would you like some help?’ button on a website, clicking to ask for help and immediately getting a message back saying that there is no-one available. It makes the customer feel slighted. Adjust your webchat configuration so that chats are only offered when the system is manned.

Lost in translation

Don’t implement multilingual webchat unless you have a multi-lingual team. We speak over 20 languages so engage with customers in their native language, but clients who have used auto-translate in the past have shared many horror stories about misunderstandings and mistakes that have arisen from auto-translate.

Don’t look desperate

Don’t jump on every visitor who comes to your site the moment they arrive on the home page. It is really annoying, seems desperate, and is totally counterproductive. It will also cost you more in resources. We’d suggest initially that you don’t reach out to visitors but provide a ‘Can we help’ button for them to engage with you when they want to. You can set the parameters of that using your system’s templated options. You will need to fine-tune your set up on a ‘test and measure’ basis, but we’d suggest that you start off by offering chat to those who are on your site for 1 minute or on key pages such as pricing or downloads for 15 seconds. Repeat visitors also warrant the offer of help but, once again, leave it for 15 or 20-seconds before offering.

I don’t know, but I know a man who does

Be honest and don’t be afraid to say that you yourself don’t know the answer to every technical question. Explain that you will have to refer to a colleague. Then either transfer the chat to someone who knows the answer if your setup permits, or say that you will find out and contact them with the answer. It is a good idea to take their phone number or email address at this point.

Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition

Don’t put barriers in the way of engagement. Ask only for the bare minimum of contact information (first name and email address) to enable a customer to start a chat. If you ask them for their full name, phone number, job title and inside leg measurement, you will just alienate them and they will either put their name as Mickey Mouse and their phone number as 999 or they will go to your competitor’s site. Rest assured that, if you end up arranging some follow up activity such as providing a brochure or costs, they will be happy to give you the rest of their contact information at that point. So just ask for their name and email address ‘in case we get disconnected’.

And, if you do get disconnected, reach out to them. It’s really frustrating, as a customer, to explain what you need, get cut off and then have to start all over again. This is especially true when we are all working from home with flaky domestic broadband. It’s much better customer service to drop them a line if you lose them, so they can re-engage.