5 Live Chat Myths

It may or may not come as a surprise to you that offering live chat on websites has gone from a nice luxury to a complete necessity over the last few years. This feature continues to boom in popularity day-by-day, being integrated globally by companies large and small alike. With its ease of use, quick response times, affordability, and collection of website visitor data, live chat proves to be an invaluable tool, not only for your clients, but for your company, as well.

Even with the documented success of live chat, there are those who still debate live chat versus telephone as an effective sales and support tool. That said, ChatBeacon has compiled a short list unmasking the truth behind some of the biggest myths out there.

MYTH: Customers prefer to call you.

• 77% of customers won't make a purchase if there's no live chat support.
• 44% of customers said that having a live chat specialist available during an online purchase, even if they do not need it, was one of the most important features a company can offer.
• Live chat support has the highest satisfaction rate, with 73% of customers saying they’re satisfied with their experience, surpassing all other channels. By comparison, email and phone customer satisfaction rated just 61% and 44% satisfaction, respectively.

MYTH: Live chat takes too long.

• On average, it takes 23 seconds for a live chat agent to respond to the initial chat, and only 42 seconds to solve the customer’s problem.
• 79% of customers say that they prefer live chat because of the immediacy it provides.
• ChatBeacon allows you to preset canned responses for commonly asked questions.
• With ChatBeacon’s special peak messaging feature, your agents can preview what your customers are typing in real-time, giving them ample time to start generating a response before the customer even presses ‘send.’

MYTH: Live chat is more expensive.

• Many support lines experience callers repeatedly inquiring about the exact same issue. With live chat, the customers have access to chat transcripts, providing the detailed solution to the problem, eliminating the need for multiple call backs. This saves your agents’ time, and your company’s money.
• Compared to phone support, where an agent can only handle one engagement at a time, the average live chat agent can handle 4-6 simultaneous chats at once. Six customers assisted for the price of one!
• With plans starting at $35 per agent, per month, there’s a ChatBeacon solution to fit every budget.

MYTH: Live chat doesn't work internationally.

• Live chat is the easiest way for international customers to contact you.
• Live chat encourages international sales. Rather than spending time and money calling you, international customers can simply start a chat and talk to you instantly.
• With ChatBeacon's automatic text translation into 52 languages, language barriers are a thing of the past. Now you’re talking their language.

MYTH: Live chat isn't mobile-friendly.

• The ChatBeacon chat box is fully functional on all modern browsers, including mobile browsers on smart phones and tablets. Your customers can quickly and conveniently chat with you anytime, anywhere.
• 62% of customers expect live chat to be available on mobile devices, and if available, 82% would use it.
• The ChatBeacon mobile application, ChatBeacon GO, lets you take your Agent Console on the road! Manage your webchats from the convenience of your Android device.