Using live chat software is an essential tool in online customer service for retail businesses. In fact, it can improve on the business’s performance and its potential to gain a considerable foothold on the online market. However, this is only possible if the business uses the program properly. Below are several tips that will help any retail owner take full advantage of this feature and increase sales.

Train the Team

Much of the success in live chat will greatly depend on your crew of customer service representatives. It is necessary that the team understands how the program works so they can reduce the waiting time for callers and prevent them from getting frustrated, a common factor in most customer-related services in any platform.

Apart from understanding the features of live chat software, it would also be a good idea to let them understand the different features of the products and services the business offers. This will make it easier for them to clarify issues that any caller might have before availing of them.

Make the Experience Personal

The entire point of using live chat software is to directly interact with customers in the warmest and most human way possible. When they call at the site, it would not be a good idea to greet them in a dry, monotone voice as it kills the experience way before it starts. Also, using an automatic greeter is worse as the robotic voice can only lessen the supposed to be enjoyable experience of the caller. This will also intimidate them.

Also, it would be a good idea to hire representatives with considerable sales experience as they can subtly lead the transaction into sales while helping the customer with their problem. Also, make it a must to let the customer feel that they are being treated properly regardless in what manner they initiated the call. If done right, the customer will be satisfied and would have a higher chance of returning to the site.

Know Your Shopping Hours

Since the Internet is not relegated to only your local area, it would be best to understand that business hours could extend well beyond the 9 to 5 shift. Calls from international clients would come from time to time which means someone must be there to answer their queries to increase their chances of converting into a customer. If you are not aware of who gains access to your site and from where, you can use analytics from search engines to track down your site’s traffic. If there is a problem in making your local live chat software representatives work for extra hours, then you have the option of outsourcing your job to freelancers in different time zones. That way, your online customer service will keep on going regardless of the time.

Boost Your Social Image, Too

Whenever a client feels satisfied with their experience in the software, you can use this as a means to improve on your social media image. For instance, you can instruct the representatives to tell the customer to like your Facebook Page or give a shout out at Twitter. In short: if one client finds your services lacking, they should give feedback through the live chat feature. If otherwise, they should tell others.

Prepare for the Surge of Client Volume…