What is Webchat?

Introduction To Webchat

Whenever you visit a website, you would hardly be able to miss a chat dialogue box. Most websites out there that wish to embrace technology and keep reinventing themselves with time would be remiss to not include a chat feature. This chat dialogue box is what is referred to as the webchat.  

The webchat can be live (Livechat). This means that the customers who visit your page can have a live conversation. Livechat will connect customers with an agent who will be able to solve their queries on the spot. If an agent isn’t available, some websites have the capability to use artificial intelligence to solve customer queries. In case of websites that do not use AI, customers queries are converted into messages and replied to once the live agent is available. 

Live web chat widget would usually go everywhere on the website. As you visit different pages on the website the live chat widget would follow. They may also present users with a series of suggested queries to click on to find relevant information. 

So the basic function of the webchat would be to address consumers’ queries and help them find the information they’re looking for.

Why Should Businesses Use Webchat?

The most obvious and important answer to this is that web chat allows for improved customer experience. How is that?  

Instant communication 

Webchat allows for instant communication. This means that the customer queries are resolved quite quickly. With the obstacles that were holding the customers back, their way, they will now experience a smoother and better experience with your business or product.

In other words, the top reason why customers prefer live chat is that it lets them get their questions answered immediately.

Better than emails 

Live chat works much better than emails because with email one might not be sure when they would receive a reply. The immediacy of live chat also contributes to better lead acquisition and better lead conversion. 

Seamless communication 

When live chat isn’t available, that is, an agent is not available to answer customer queries at the moment, another way in which it will help lead acquisition is by collecting the details of the customer and assuring them that someone will reach out to them the instant they receive the message.According to Forrester, consumers who use chat are 2.8 times more likely to convert than those who don’t.

Never a missed opportunity

If you use webchat services provided by Emitrr, and if live chat isn’t available at a particular time you can still obtain potential customer details. When users/customers visit the website and go to the chat option, they will be asked to enter their name and contact details : Phone number and email address. Once they submit the information they will automatically receive a follow up message via text. They can continue the conversation over text. 

Being available to help builds trust, even if your customers don’t need to talk right then and there.

How can businesses benefit from webchat/livechat ?

Reduce support costs

It’s no secret that customer support can be expensive. Moreover, agents that are assigned to handle customer queries can only handle one call at a time. Webchat however provides more bandwidth to handle customer queries.

As you will be able to handle several customer chats with webchat a substantially smaller team will be needed to handle customer service requests. This will in turn, cut your support costs. 

Live chat meets the preferences of new-age customers

Nowadays, customers prefer to engage in text conversations over any other mode of communication. This means that as a business it is necessary that you provide your customers with such channels of communication.

Whenever a potential customer searches for a new business they visit their respective website without fail. In these instances Live chat  becomes the leading digital contact channel for online customers.

Customers prefer to chat in real time and get their issues or queries answered as soon as possible.
When your customers are able to get in touch with you in real time, you can not only meet their expectations but also gain a competitive advantage in the market.

Some benefits of livechat include :

Faster response time –Live chat allows for faster responses even when agents aren’t available.
Reduced number of touch points – Agents can use live chat to understand the customer issues effectively and provide the right solution which will reduce the number of touch points.
First contact resolution (FCR) – The use of live chat makes it possible to organize chats better by routing them to the right agent and then provide an effective solution and improve the first contact resolution (FCR) rate. 

Use 24 X 7 AI Chatbot to always remain available

Nowadays businesses are opting to deploy chatbots so that they will be able to engage with their customers 24/7. Even when agents are not available to engage with customers, smart systems will be able to. What are these smart systems? These are Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered chatbots that can engage with customers and be able to  provide instant answers to common sales or support-related queries.

These automated live chats will not only be able to reduce operational costs but also improve operational efficiency resulting in better customer service.

Chatbot however won’t be able to handle complex queries, so using them together with human-powered support can do the task easily. Some of the benefits of automated chatbots include – 

• 24/7 customer engagement capability – Even if customers come in with queries after hours or on an off day, they can still expect to be welcomed because bots will be able to provide them with the support they need at any hour.
• More Power to Customers – With bot support customers will be able to solve their queries on their own given the right instructions.This will result in a reduction in the number of tickets.
• Lead qualification automation – You can qualify good quality leads with the help of a sales questionnaire and can also immediately direct the leads to the sales team or schedule an appointment. 
• Human intervention when needed – Even though bot support can be quite versatile, it does come with its set of limitations. In such cases human intervention may be needed. It’s best therefore that capability for human intervention be available for complex issues.

FAQs