Live chat VS Call: Which is best for your business

Customer experience is one of the most important aspect of E-Commerce. Indeed, online consumers are used to get a direct contact with the seller. Online consuming pushes sellers to get creative with their contact solutions. Luckily for them, multiple solutions are available.

Today, we will focus on two specific contact points, both used by a good number of E-merchants: Live chat and Calls.

The pros and cons of live chat

The live chat is the possibility for the consumer to take advantage of a simple window to contact the E-merchant, or his team dedicated to customer relations. 

Live chat is used to manage a situation quickly, by asking short and precise questions. Customer service can therefore prioritize certain chats, and answer them when they want. Thus, contacts are easy, fast, and it does not block customer service if there are too many requests. 

To clarify consumer requests, it is even possible to create a mini-form, or propose a chatbot. This allows consumers to create specific requests. When these can be automatically managed, a well coded chatbot or a redirection to the FAQ allows you to manage questions without having to make a request to customer service. 

If the question cannot be automatically managed, customer service must be able to take direct control so as not to leave the consumer with a pending question. 

All these elements of response provided to consumers make it possible to increase your turnover, generating more sales and increasing your conversion rate. In addition to that, you increase consumer loyalty. By answering their questions, you offer a positive shopping experience, thus helping to build loyalty. In order to add more to the positive experience, live chats are used to humanize your online store. Indeed, consumers easily realize that there is a real person behind your business, and therefore used for reinsurance. 

Now let’s talk about the inconveniences. For example, if a question cannot be managed directly by the chatbot or FAQ, you or one of your employees, in charge of customer relations, will have to be online to manage the answer. In addition, when a chat is launched, the consumer expects a quick response. If the person in charge of customer relations is not online, the request cannot be settled instantly. 

Finally, some consumers may not be happy with this solution, knowing that the live chat represents an interface between the seller and the consumer, therefore not counting as live interaction for some of the online shoppers. 

The pros and cons of call

Unlike live chat, calls allow consumers to contact the E-merchant or customer relationship manager directly by voice. This makes it possible to reassure some buyers, while answering their questions directly. 

First of all, the display of a telephone number helps to give confidence to your potential customers. As mentioned for the live chat, the phone number gives proof that someone is behind your site, so it’s not a scam.

In addition, the phone is a new communication channel for your customers, who can also reach you by email. Thus, a customer who does not want to talk directly to someone will rely on sending an email, while customers who want a more direct contact will choose the phone. 

Nevertheless, there are several disadvantages to this option. Indeed, a customer relationship advisor cannot manage several requests simultaneously, as with live chat. Indeed, it would be difficult to manage two simultaneous telephone calls. 

In addition, consumers cannot reach you by phone every day, every hour of the day. As with live chat, you might say. However, requests for a live chat can be managed after the event, while calls cannot be resumed later. This means that a customer who does not have a direct answer can be frustrated, leading to a negative experience on your online store, causing you to lose a potential customer. 

Also, a contact by phone takes more time than a contact by chat. This can have the effect of cluttering up your customer service. During a rush period like the peak season at the end of the year, your customer service will quickly overflow, generating, once again, frustration among online consumers. 

Live Chat or Call: which one should you choose? 

These two solutions therefore have their advantages and disadvantages. Indeed, each of these two solutions is different, and makes it possible to manage customer relations in two different ways. If you really want to offer a positive and effective experience to your potential customers, you can still offer both solutions. 

However, it is advisable to prioritize the use of live chat, so as not to overload customer service with phone calls. 

What do you apply to your online store? Do you see any other advantages and/or disadvantages for these two solutions?

 

Image credit: Parham Marandi

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