The Difference Between Automated Live Chat and Real 24/7 Live Chat Agent Online Customer Service
At least once a week I get asked, ” What is the difference between automated live chat and having a real 24/7 live chat agent for online customer service?” My response is always the same:
Imagine calling a business on the phone and you’re instantly put into an automated phone system. They usually give you a list of options that always takes forever to go through. Or my personal favorite, it allows you to say where you want to go, only to ask you if you meant something else. And of course, luck would have it and it would transfer you to the wrong extension and your blood pressure rises rapidly. Even if you press “0″ or say “Operator”, you’re still put on hold…but again, somehow in someway, something usually doesn’t go right. The reason why? It’s automated and you cannot reason with a bunch of circuits.
Now think of the complete antithesis.
You call a different business and to your surprise an actual person answers the phone. They say hello. You say hello. They ask you, how can they help. You respond, with your intended goal of ascertaining information on a product or a service that they offer. You get what you are looking for. You say thank you. They say thank you. In a nutshell, you’re having a conversation, a real conversation between two living and breathing human beings.
The odds are that the person that went through the automated system may or may not have gotten the information that they were looking for and therefore may or may not use that service or buy that product in the future. While the other person whose call got answered by a real person will more likely have gotten the information needed in a shorter amount of time and will more likely do business with that company.
The key is to have a reliable instant contact solution.
Now make the metaphorical leap with me from making a phone call to logging onto a website. In my eyes, there isn’t a single ounce of difference besides the fact they are two different types of contact points. The result is the same.
When you log onto a website, you don’t want to wander around looking for the correct content. The content should come to you organically, and not from automated means. Just like calling a phone number, when logging onto a site you want to speak to or live chat with a real person that is knowledgeable. You want to efficiently get the content and then get off the site. No one wants to waste their own time meandering about.
Websites that have a 24/7 live chat agent are much more likely to convert a site visitor into a lead or sale. Without the agent there a website is just like an answering machine; automated and void of humanity.
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Part I: Thoughts on the Web 2.0 Convention at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.
The Web 2.0 Conference at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC is a fairly large tech conferences and convention that usually runs for 4 days. If it has to do with new emerging tech concepts or products…most likely it’s here. The first 2 days of this convention are for workshops, conferences and seminars. The main Expo Hall is closed to the general public until the last 2 days.
Part I: My personal experience attending the show today.
There were many facets of IT (Internet Technology) at the show. Much of the show was dedicated to the tangible aspects of the Internet: hardware for servers, data encryption security, self contained climate control server housing, social media analytics, phone and data infrastructure. So many companies from various sectors had booths with information, mini-presentations, etc. I did notice one important sector that was non-existent at the show; live chat companies. Live chat is rapidly becoming the true essential tool for websites as their competitive arsenal centerpiece. You would think that at an important Web 2.0 Convention in NYC, a livechat company would have a booth, but apparently not.
I must have spoken to 200-250 people today easily. Some conversations were surface, typical and frankly…fleeting. But others transcended the show itself and moved towards forging actual friendships. My perception of humanity always exceeds my amazement by the caliber of human beings that coagulate here.
People are either incredibly compassionate or ridiculously rude. I understand that people’s time is important to them, but almost knocking me over as I am talking to someone and NOT saying you’re sorry? Wow. I have a reactionary type of personality…if you treat me right, I treat you right. If the opposite happens…Vice versa.
But I digress…
I didn’t go to the show to meet people as if this was a Facebook reunion. I was there to see new technology and its perceived effects on the internet. I wanted to look into a crystal ball and see an overall view of what’s happening right now in the tech industry…and I did. I saw many, many pairs of thick eye-glasses and plenty propeller-heads spinning like one gigantic geek vortex. heh.
The 3 biggest concepts I took away from the show was:
1. Cloud Technology 2. Virtualization 3. Security
To be continued on Part II…
(Sidenote: I personally was not happy with the 200:1 Male-to-Female ratio, but hey I was there to network, not get some trim. heh.)
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