These are values Carolina Biological Supply Company holds close to its heart. It instills these principles into everything it does, from staff training to its products and services. And most of all, of course, when it comes to its customer support. 

And so, following a number of years of successful experiences with LiveHelpNow live chat service, Carolina Biological added another tool to its customer support arsenal. To help “get control of growing email volume” the company implemented the ticket management feature. 

“Email management is one of the most important pieces of software we purchased in Customer Service in my eight years with Carolina Biological,” says the Director of Customer Service, Stephen Kidder. “We implemented email management right before the Covid restrictions, and it could not have come at a better time. Customers began to use email as a major medium of communication with us. We saw our email volume grow exponentially, and it has not let up.”

With increasing digital communications across many industries, many companies can relate to the challenges Carolina Biological faced. After all, digital communication, including email, has shown a significant increase since the beginning of the pandemic. 

LiveHelpNow’s ticket management feature helped Carolina Biological organize and keep its email communications under control. Let’s see how this tool can successfully improve email communications for any company, big or small. 

Carolina Biological Supply Company: Science Education Supply Solutions

The challenges of increasing email communications might be new to Carolina Biological, but the company has seen it all during its 90-plus years – yes, 90-plus! – years of history in the business. Based in North Carolina, the company has been providing science educators and professionals with various scientific supplies for decades. 

Carolina stays in tune with the needs of science educators.  The product line is broad and deep.  The company specializes in serving the needs of science educators and students at all levels, from kindergarten to postgraduate studies.  Through it all, Carolina’s number one goal is world-class customer service.  

The company employs over 450 people, many of whom are former educators. The staff understands the unique challenges teachers face in the classroom and laboratory. The company often collaborates with teachers and institutions to create new educational products. 

With a large customer base, a large and increasing variety of products, and thousands of customers with various needs, Carolina Biological faces many challenges when it comes to customer communications. As Kidder mentioned, the pandemic increased the customer email volume, increasing the need for expanded customer support. Additionally, the pandemic changed the format of their customer support as the department now operates approximately 85% of its staff remotely.  Once again, LiveHelpNow tools came in handy during the challenging times. 

“Teachers moving to remote learning had a major change on how they chose to communicate with us. We needed email management to help us handle the increase in email communications,” Kidder says. 

Ticket Management Solution Helped Organize Email Communications

According to Kidder, the ticket management solution helped the company in one major way – organization. 

Here is how our intelligent email and ticket management inbox works. 

Intelligent Inbox

First, with the ticket management system, users have the option of creating a unified inbox.

• Customer emails turn into trackable tickets that include attached files. 
• All conversations are threaded – even those that take place through live chat, SMS, or social media messages – meaning they stay together.
• Customers can receive automated ticket status notifications that include company messaging.
• Ticket triggers can help manage support workflows manually or automatically. 
• Customizable rules and conditions pull all customer emails into one convenient dashboard.
• Email-to-ticket integration can combine web form input, ticket communications, and emails into one omnichannel stream. 
• Adding a company logo and messaging can help support branding.

“LiveHelpNow helped us organize and structure our emails, using various rules and conditions,” Kidder says. “[The solution] has allowed us to properly categorize and prioritize emails, automatically reroute emails to appropriate departments, and auto-close emails where no action is required. This has been saving us countless hours in labor costs, among other things.”

Using the solution also gave the customer support team the confidence that they were providing the best service possible.

“Since implementing email management, email processing is more efficient, resulting in reduced turnaround response times and consequently, better service for our customers,” Kidder says. “My group has done a nice job effectively utilizing the organizational features/functions and reporting capabilities LiveHelpNow has to offer.  The reporting features within LiveHelpNow give me a much more detailed look at what is coming in, when it is coming in, and how long it has been open.”  

As Kidder reports, LiveHelpNow ticket management features can help with the organization of email communication. But they offer much more than that. 

Here are some of the specific features that came in handy for Carolina Biological supply. 

Tagging Feature of Ticket Management 

With increasing email and other digital communications, companies might become overwhelmed. One solution to this common pain point is our manual and automatic tagging feature. 

While each customer interaction has its own details, many conversations relate to issues that customer service agents handle often. These could be questions about pricing, upgrades, technical, or other common inquiries.  Tagging provides valuable insights into the client base. It also categorizes communications and organizes them into manageable segments. Multiple inquiries about a specific feature customers would like to see can spark the initiative to develop such a feature or product. Chronic customer complaints about a specific issue can help come up with a solution. Tagging can help keep track of all such inquiries. 

Automatic tagging can tag interactions based on the language used within the communications. Additionally, agents can use up to five tags for cross-reference. 

“Utilizing the tagging features, we can identify the reason why customers email and chat with us,” Kidder says. “We use this data to adjust our customer service operations. For example, frequent reasons for contact led us to implement self-service options to handle several common contact reasons.”

Keyword Search Ability and Auto-Close Features

Beyond tagging, the ticket management tool provides the ability to search customer communications based on specific keywords. This feature not only helped Carolina Biological to better serve its customers but also saved the company time and money. 

Kidder explains that the company receives hundreds of automated emails from various vendors. The majority of these communications require no further actions on Carolina Biological’s part. However, in instances when the company must contact a customer about an order, these automated communications are very useful.

“Because these emails are in the same format, we look for keywords and can auto-close the majority of emails in which we do not need to contact customers,” Kidder says. “This auto-close feature we developed has saved us countless hours of meaningless work and costly labor.”

Reporting as an Important Feature of Ticket Management 

You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you have been (or where you are, for that matter.) When it comes to LiveHelpNow’s ticket management solution, the reporting feature can help discover where a company’s customer service is on the map.  

For Carolina Biological, the ticket management reporting provided some data that helped assess and improve their customer service experiences. 

“We answer all customer emails within 24 hours and most emails are answered the same day,” Kidder says.” Because of the tagging feature, we have a better understanding why customers email and chat with us. And so, we have used this data to help us identify several improvements to the customer experience.  We are also able to audit agent emails/chats for quality assurance purposes.”

As a result, the quality of Carolina Biological customer service has gone up, as customers reflect their satisfaction with NPS surveys, Kidder says. With that, the customer service team gets a boost in motivation for further improvement. 

“Our agents are willing to adapt to changes in our market and learn new technologies and software applications like LiveHelpNow to better serve our customers,” Kidder says. 

Knowledge Base and Self-Service Features

Growth inspires more growth. 

As Kidder mentioned, the ticket management solution helped Carolina Biological to discover additional customer needs. One of those is the need for self-service. 

“We are now adding the Knowledge Base function for two reasons,” he said. “First, we are utilizing the LiveHelpNow Knowledge Base to help our customer service representatives find information much easier. Second, we are looking to make the customer experience better for those customers who are looking for self-service and find answers to their questions in our knowledge base library.

Of course, we have yet to leverage all the features and functions of LiveHelp but look forward to continuing to work towards adding new features to help our agents and our customers.”

The post Ticket Management Made Easy for Carolina Biological Supply appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

“PESI is the most professionally operated educational provider I have ever dealt with,” he wrote in his correspondence to PESI staff. “If I could do all of my training through PESI I would.” James praised the company’s technology, customer support, organization, materials, and information the company provided. He was one happy customer, for sure. 

Turns out, he is not the only one.

@PESIinc Another tool to add to our tool box…Myofascial Cupping Practitioner Certification…thanks to Jes, Rock Tape, and PESI for a great continuing education course#PESISeminar #RockTape #P #SportsMedNorth #physicaltherapy pic.twitter.com/EW7npAXJID

— Jonathan Gately (@JonGately) October 11, 2019

And it is because of customer experiences like James’ and others, PESI, which has been providing adult education since 1979, is still striving. With the increasing demand for online classes, the company has been adding visual education options to its clientele. With this addition, come certain challenges such as the need for online customer support. Keeping the operations flowing while maintaining organized customer communication is key. Here is how PESI addressed these challenges while providing a smooth customer experience. 

Challenge #1: Need for Organized Customer Communication 

For over three decades, PESI has been providing continuing education credits for behavioral health, rehab, and healthcare professionals. The company has branches in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. However, recent global events and shifts in students’ expectations have significantly impacted the way PESI operates. For students looking for academic support, services like write papers for me at WritePaper can be valuable resources in managing their coursework.

Increasing Inquiries

“With the pandemic, our business has shifted to be primarily online which has increased our ticket [service requests] numbers,” says Danette Brown, PESI’s Senior Customer Service Manager. “LiveHelpNow’s software has allowed us to stay organized and address specific programs efficiently. Prior to using these tools, we employed outlook mailboxes to manage mail. That resulted in inefficiency and poor customer experience. Sometimes, the customer spoke to a different representative whenever they contacted us. There were also many instances of accidental deletion of customer communications, which LiveHelpNow’s software prevents.”

Of course, with the ability to provide classes online, PESI experienced extensive growth. With that, came more digital communications. Organized customer communications have since become a high-priority item 

“Our customers are tending to email us more than call us,” Brown says. “LiveHelpNow has allowed us to better manage emails. For example, canned responses have increased our efficiency significantly..”

Need for Easy-to-Use Organizational Tools

Other ticket management reporting and analytics tools have also contributed to more organized customer communications at PESI. 

“We regularly use Ticket System Detailed Statistics, Ticket System Performance, and Daily Live Chat Breakdown reports,” Brown says. “One of the features we find most helpful is the categorization for our different brands, it allows us to have better access to those tickets that may be more time-sensitive.”

In other words, these organizational tools help PESI staff to stay on top of customer communication needs. For example, the ticket system allows the staff to brand the automated email signatures accordingly for the various departments within the company. Comprehensive customer history no more lost tickets, and all the details in one place help agents provide the best customer experience they can. 

Merging Brands

With multiple accounts and programs, PESI had difficulties keeping customer communication organized. And so, at some point, they wanted to merge two accounts into one. 

“We needed to ensure that all the tickets and attachments would still be searchable for PESI’s agents for historical purposes,” says Annie Gray, Director of Customer Success at LiveHelpNow. “This enabled the PESI agents to have all support in one centralized location instead of in two separate accounts. This, in turn, increased productivity and efficiency and allowed for a streamlined customer support experience.”

Challenge #2: Quality Control 

Of course, organized customer communications contribute to customer satisfaction. However, PESI needed additional tools to ensure that its customers received the very best service possible. And so, the company uses quality control tools to do just that. 

One main tool is the survey information and other analytics available through the LiveHelpNow system.  “The survey information allows us to use quality control measures with our representatives,” Brown says.” Additionally, canned responses allow for raised productivity.  We see high volumes of tickets and the canned responses allow for efficient and quick responses to common customer issues.  It has also allowed us to also sort by category which has been very helpful to find specific event tickets.”

Organized Customer Communications Keep PESI on Top of Its Game 

PESI customer service team members have a lot on their plate. To serve their customers efficiently, they must know the ins and outs of accreditation boards and how continuing education works in each state. From everyday inquiries to large summit-related communications, PESI’s team provides a wide range of support for its customers. 

Students like James, who have never taken an online course, as well as younger students who expect a smooth digital experience from start to finish, can rely on PESI. That is because the company uses great tools to ensure organized customer communications and cares about every inquiry. 

The post PESI: Online Learning Meets Organized Customer Communications appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

Solution: Multi-Language Knowledge Base

The post FXChoice: LiveHelpNow Tools Maintain Customer Satisfaction appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

Well, that is absolutely not the case in the Tarrant County Clerk’s office. As it turns out, when it comes to communicating with their constituents, this high-volume customer focused organization got it all right. They are quick, efficient, and get their residents answers to their questions within minutes. But don’t take our word for it. These are some of the testimonials Tarrant County customers shared after their interactions with the Tarrant County Clerk team members. 

Tarrant County residents love the efficiency with which the government can help them. But they are not the only ones who noticed. Last June the National Association of Counties (NACo) awarded Tarrant County an achievement award. The honor recognized the innovative communication systems the County Clerk office had in place. 

So what is the secret? After all, serving over 40 communities, including Fort Worth and Arlington, Tarrant County is the third most populous county in Texas. With 165 team members the Clerk’s Office serves over 2.1 million county residents. How do they manage to perform so efficiently?

We connected with County Clerk Chief Deputy, Clint Ludwig and IT Senior Project Manager, Matthew Loughran to find out. Spoiler alert: it’s all about the tools they use and the customer service mindset the entire department has. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It all started with some forward thinking back in 2018. 

Technology to Fuel The Mission 

The world of communication evolved rapidly in the last decade. In busy residential areas, such as Tarrant County, traditional means of communication fell short, overwhelming the already busy government officials.   That is why three-time elected Tarrant County Clerk Mary Louise Nicholson wanted to offer the county residents some additional options. The County Clerk’s mission statement vows to provide “cost-effective services and a satisfying citizen experience.” Nicholson wanted to continuously live up to that statement. 

“She is very forward thinking,” Ludwig said of Nicholson and her quest to improve communications. “She was willing to leverage technology to improve customer service.”

The goal was to find a way to more efficiently connect the county residents to the various divisions of the busy county clerk department. So the County IT department worked jointly with the County Clerk team to implement a new feature on the county’s website to accomplish that goal – live chat technology. 

The idea was to maintain the traditional communication channels through phones and face-to-face interactions, while offering the county residents another option to connect. With live chat easily accessible on the website, the Clerk’s office wanted to reach the goals of more effective communications. The County Clerk leadership team aimed to reduce the call volume, enhance customer experience, and find a way to monitor and measure customer satisfaction.

In late spring of 2018 the feature went live. After over three years in operation, it helped the office to achieve those initial goals. But it also offered additional features that landed the Clerk’s office the national award, multiplied the number of happy customers, and provided many satisfying experiences. 

Humans and Bots Working Together

The results didn’t take long. In the first 90 days after the live chat implementation, the number of calls to the County Clerk’s office in some areas reduced by nearly 80%. 

[ctt template=”4″ link=”28A21″ via=”no” ]Only 90 days after implementation of live chat @TarrantCoClerk reduced the amount of calls in some areas  by nearly 80%.[/ctt]

The Clerk’s office integrated the live chat feature in every division across the organization. The system directed every resident who contacted the office to the specific division he or she looked for. For example, the Civil division answered probate and guardianship questions and passport clerks received the passport questions. This meant that a knowledgeable team member was answering each citizen’s inquiry. No run-arounds, no lengthy phone menus – just people helping people quickly and efficiently.

This was made possible by creating a balance of live chat automation features and human customer service. The live chat bot greeted and asked initial questions upon a citizen’s inquiry on the website. This allowed residents with simple questions to get immediate answers. The self-service feature proved to successfully resolve a great portion of inquiries. In fact, 50% of inquiries now resolve immediately, with no further contact or follow-up needed. And, the live chat bot is available 24/7/365 days of the year.

“We saw great value in the bot,” Ludwig said. “Much of it is just low-hanging fruit. [The questions are] repetitive and we can get the bot to handle [them]. It can free up and create capacity for team members to handle more complex, more difficult tasks.”

All that resulted in maintaining the County Clerk’s office high customer satisfaction rating. 

More benefits to improve services

In addition to automation, other benefits of live chat communications didn’t take long to appear.

The ability to review each chat’s transcript allowed the leadership team to both, ensure quality and improve training strategies. Supervisors could now see all the conversations between team members and customers. Moreover, the department could now also receive feedback from customers after their interactions via live chat. 

Another feature that came handy was the LiveHelpNow translator. Built into the live chat system, it allowed clerks to communicate with customers in any language. Real-time translation broke language barriers, which became useful in Tarrant County, as more than a fifth of the county’s population in 2018 were native Spanish speakers. (Data USA)

One unexpected benefit of live chat appeared as the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. With surrounding counties governments offices shut down, Tarrant County saw an increase in certain inquiries. Marriage licenses was one of these areas. While other county departments suspended in-person services, the County Clerk’s Office fulfilled its statutory duty and remained open at the centralized downtown location to continue providing Vitals records services.  The pandemic could not stop life’s most important events.

“People still got married during the pandemic,” Ludwig said. “While the process required in-person appointments, residents were able to schedule their appointments through live chat.”

Additionally, many of the department team members were required to work from home during the pandemic to ensure the safety of other team members. 

“[The technology] did give us the flexibility to work from home,” Ludwig said. With the voice over internet option and the chat we were able to still assist customers from all over the county while working from home.”

Expanding on successes

After the initial implementation and the subsequent positive results, the Clerk’s office fully expanded the live chat program throughout the department. 

“We’ve been able to go from initially 10 clerks trained to more than 100 clerks across 7 departments,” Ludwig said. Customer service is part of our culture and what we do. Live chat is there and we leveraged the capability to stay flexible and provide as many answers and services as we can via the live chat options.” 

Receiving the National Achievement Award only confirmed that the county’s efforts paid off. 

“County Clerk, Mary Louise Nicholson, is very honored to receive the prestigious award on behalf of the team,” Ludwig said. “We never let down on customer service. It is a huge part of our culture here at Tarrant County – it goes from the bottom up. Customer service is our top priority. People have a preconceived notion of what we are and how we’re going to act. We’re here to serve and provide service that they don’t expect to receive from government. We do everything we can to not be the inefficient entity people expect the government to be.” 

“Customer service is everyone’s business, not just the customer service department business – that is what differentiates us from others, “ Loughran added. “It ties precisely to the mission statement and organizational philosophy.”

Having seen the benefits of live chat and its positive impacts on customer service,  other Tarrant County departments, are now looking to adopt live chat as well. The Clerk office team members are now sharing their knowledge, experiences, and best practices with other customer facing departments. Tarrant County Tax Office is now implementing live chat and the county is looking for other opportunities for expansion. 

The post Tarrant County Receives Prestigious National Award for Its Live Chat Program appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

There once was a boy. We’ll call him Billy. 

Billy loved motorcycles. On the weekends Billy would join in the races, which were fun events for him and his entire family. One Friday afternoon Billy was racing, as he always did, but one wrong move and he ended up on the ground. Don’t worry, Billy was totally fine, besides a slight bruising of his ego. But when Billy picked up his bike he realized that it was severely wrecked. Billy’s dad looked at the bike and saw that while it was fixable, it would take some work. The challenge was to get it back in shape by the next race, which was set for Saturday, the very next day. 

Billy really wanted to race again, though. His dad was trying to fix the bike for him, but some essential parts needed replacement. But to order the replacements would take time and shipping, and they just didn’t have the time. With little hope, Billy’s mom contacted a company known for its motorcycle parts – Rocky Mountain ATV/MC. What happened next surprised Billy’s mom.

First, she was able to easily text the company instead of spending hours waiting on the phone. That was helpful, as she could still attend to Billy and do other things she had to do that day while staying in touch. And second, a very nice customer service representative, named Stephanie, understood the situation completely. Stephanie went out of her way to find the exact parts Billy needed for his bike. Not only that, she was able to have them delivered to the family’s house the very next morning. That allowed Billy’s dad time to install the new parts and have the bike ready for the next race. 

Yay! Go Billy!

Behind the Scenes Winner.

We don’t know if Billy won the race that day, but we know who did. Stephanie Wilson. The customer service agent who made it all happen.  

In fact, Stephanie of Rocky Mountain ATV/MC was one of the four 2020 Best Customer Service Challenge award winners. These annual awards are given to the best of the best customer service agents based on different KPIs. Out of all the agents across all the companies in the world that use LiveHelpNow software, Stephanie was among the top four. 

She didn’t just win the award for herself. She also put her company, Rocky Mountain ATV MC, on the map among the top customer service companies, who also won the award. After the race, Billy’s mom went on for weeks, leaving reviews about the service she received. That is very valuable as customer-led storytelling is one of the best marketing a company can get. 

What’s amazing about Billy’s story is that all of the communications that day took place over text. One challenge of that type of communication is that it takes an agent additional effort to communicate empathy and understanding to the customer. Stephanie herself attests to that. 

“My biggest challenge was and still is learning how to word things on chat to make customers feel like I am here for them. I have always been a very short answered person. I am still working on this but feel like I am doing much better. Also making sure I read the customers entire concern and address all that is being asked of me.” Stephnaie Wison, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC. 

So, how did Stephanie manage to show empathy through online communications? Let’s learn together. 

First, Love The One You’re With. 

There is an important rule flight attendants go over in their pre-flight presentations. Should an emergency situation arise, passengers must put on their own oxygen masks before attempting to help others.The moral? People cannot efficiently help others if they don’t help themselves first. Like the old saying goes, “you can’t pour out of an empty cup.”

Same principle works in customer service. Our friend Stephanie explains that she is as helpful to customers as she is because she loves what she does and she loves working for Rocky Mountain ATV/MC. 

“I have been in customer service since I began working as a teen. I enjoy interacting with people and helping with their needs and wants. Also, it helps that I enjoy and love the company I work for as my team provides great support and I love the industry. You have to enjoy your job. Messaging over chat does have its challenges. Customers need to know how sincere you are about helping them.” Stephanie Wilson, Rocky Mountain ATV MC. 

Sincerity is the key here. Tired, overworked, burned out agents cannot make customers happy, because happiness is not something they have in their cups. Being happy, loving their jobs, and loving the company for which they work is what makes good agents good. Happy employees make for happy customers. 

Burn out is a common problem among customer service agents. Skilful management and effectively implemented stress coping strategies as well as having the right tools and resources can help. This is particularly true in the case of remote work as employees working from home might need extra support. 

Below is a link to a motivation-boosting guide for customer service agents. Check it out!

Related: How to Motivate Contact Center Agents: Lessons From Kindergarten

Second, Say: You’ve Got a Friend in Me.

What makes an experience stand out positively? Why do we remember one specific vacation, place, or event over others? It’s because these specific instances touch us on a deep emotional level and make us feel good. The same is true for customer experiences. Exceptional customer experience makes customers feel good because it satisfies their deep emotional needs. To create a positive customer experience, agents must connect with customers on an emotional level through empathy and understanding. 

Meeting people’s emotional needs is not an easy task. Showing empathy through online communications is especially challenging. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do that, time after time, customer after customer. It takes exceptional people skills and it takes being a true people person. 

Stephanie, little Billy’s hero, is a living example of this. She truly loves and cares for people. And it shows. Hiring positive staff with a can-do attitude and a drive to help people is one way to ensure a company’s success. 

“One of the things that makes us successful is our staff. We surround ourselves with highly skilled enthusiasts that can relate with customers and understand their situations.The one thing we always preach to our employees is that they should walk out of the door feeling good on a daily basis. If they ever feel that we fell short on helping a customer, they have the power to change that. 

“We encourage them to build a true connection with our customers beyond doing the basics. Taking care of the customers’ issues is the expectation. Building a connection is going beyond that to get to know the customers and relate to them on an individual level. Our team has really taken that to heart.” Trenton Nelson, Director of Customer Experience, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

Finally, Get By With a Little Help From (Technology) Friends. 

Video may or may not have killed the radio star, but we live in the 21st century. Technology makes the world go round. And sometimes it helps improve the human element of customer experience and show empathy through online communications. 

Remember Billy’s mom? She was thrilled that she could talk to Stephanie over text. Texting customers is becoming more popular as people prefer that channel of communication. That is not to say that focusing on customer service over text is right for every business, because it’s not. Knowing the customers, their preferred methods of communication, and offering them multiple options is what works. That is what makes Rocky Mountain ATV/MV successful in its customer service delivery. 

“In 2020 we really dug into the omnichannel experience. We wanted customers to have an amazing experience no matter their preferred method of communication – text, chat, facebook messenger, phones and email. Allowing multiple lines of communication enables our customers to decide how they would like to interact and allows us to create a second to none experience for them.” Trenton Nelson, Director of Customer Experience, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

Equipping the customer service teams with multiple tools increases productivity and efficiency. According to Nelson, allowing live chat opens up the ability for agents to interact with customers while the visitor browses the company’s website. They can help them navigate and ensure that they are picking the correct products while receiving awesome customer support. Additionally, agents can handle more than one customer with the use of chat or text technology. 

“Customers want quick answers and we are able to do that with 3-4 customers at a time [using chat and text]. Phones limit us to one customer at a time not to mention the large increase of handle time.” Trenton Nelson, Director of Customer Experience, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

People Person in Digital World: Empathy Through Online Communications

Humans are not robots. 

A CAPTCHA program makes website visitors prove they are human by performing certain human tasks. Customers don’t need to tell an online customer service agent to point out pictures of boats to know the agent is human. They can feel it. And they don’t like it because they want to deal with humans and feel connected. 

People do business with people. Companies don’t solve problems. People do.

— Shep Hyken (@Hyken) March 16, 2021

It, then, is more disappointing to get a cold, unhelpful treatment from agents. After all, if they’re human – they should act like humans. One way to do that is to show empathy through online communications. The problem is that being personable, friendly, empathetic and, well, human can be challenging over digital channels.

How many of us experienced misunderstandings in tone and message over text with loved ones? Most of the time we get a chance to talk to the people we know and love in person at some point to clarify things. Unfortunately, we rarely get that chance to do so with customers. Customer service agents get a limited number of chances to impress the customer. 

Showing empathy through online communications is one of the key functions of a successful customer service representative. Stephanie Wilson and the whole team at Rocky Mountain ATV/MV know it well. They sincerely love their jobs, they have great people skills, and they use the right tools to help them help their customers.

And they win awards because they try hard to make all the Billys in the world happy.  

The post Showing Empathy Through Online Communications Can Win Customers (and Awards) appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

The Olympics might have been cancelled in 2020, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have world class winners. 

Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the 2020 LiveHelpNow Challenge Winners!

These customer service teams are truly the best of the best. How do we know they are the best? We developed 12 novel metrics from 50 different customer support criteria. We collect this data in real-time and compare all of our customers’ results against each other.  Here are the metrics we use:

• Customer survey results
• Visitor volume
• Proactive actions
• Average chat accept time
• Average chat time
• Operator responsiveness
• Dropped chats
• Canned content
• Chat transfers
• Operator utilization
• Operator knowledge
• Chat volume
  

Allow us to explain further:

The Challenge is a great way to introduce gamification to customer service teams and to see how they measure up. Every month we pick 100 winners – companies that score highest across all the categories. But, at the end of the year, we celebrate the top 4 scoring companies for their best-in-class service.

These businesses spread across various industries, but they have one thing in common. Their dedication to their customers. We’re thrilled and honored that our customer support software could help these companies achieve new heights of customer satisfaction. 

So, without further ado, this year the winners of our customer service awards are….drum roll, please….

Tundra Restaurant Supply

This restaurant equipment and supply company is located in Boulder, Colorado. Tundra Restaurant Supply (Tundra FMP) is the LiveHelpNow Challenge 2020 winner with fewer than ten agents. 

“At TundraFMP, we believe in creating a better customer experience, so our customers can better serve theirs. Many of us working at TundraFMP Restaurant Supply have experience working in the foodservice industry, as chefs, managers and even service technicians. We understand your needs when it comes to finding the best restaurant equipment and kitchen supplies, and we’re here to help. Our goal is to be more than just a single provider for restaurant parts, restaurant supplies and restaurant equipment—our focus is on you.”

Tundra FMP is not new to winning customer service awards. Since April 2014, the company has won six winner-of-the-year awards and taken 70 monthly wins!

When it comes to live chat, Tundra FMP team values the ability to provide support to multiple customers simultaneously. One agent can hold as many as five concurrent chats. Live chat also increases the contact channel offerings, which is another valuable addition to the team’s customer service abilities. 

“Live chat increases the customer’s ability to contact us by offering a different option than just calling in or sending an email that is answered within 24 hours. Chat interactions also give the customer the ability to multitask at their own pace.” Alex Collazos, Head of Customer Experience, Tundra Restaurant Supply. 

Nea/Vyne Dental 

Vyne Dental is our 2020 winner in the 11-25 agent category. Nea/Vyne solutions give healthcare systems, dental practices, and insurance plans and payers the ability to exchange health information in an efficient manner. They also help them to improve their revenue cycle management processes. As the company connects dental practices to insurance providers, Vyne uses live chat to connect to their customers efficiently. 

Dental professionals are busy people. Nea systems are designed to help them process insurance claims and the company’s customer service team is rocking it while using LiveHelpNow software. We’re proud to be part of such an efficient process!

This year marks the company’s seventh annual customer service awards win. It also follows 83 monthly wins the company has taken since 2014. 

Enservio

A fellow SaaS provider, Enservio offers contents claim management software, payments solutions, inventory and valuation services for property insurers. When it comes to insurance, this company knows all the ins and outs. Well, as it turns out, the same goes for its customer service. But you don’t need to take our word for it. Their customer testimonials are pretty solid. 

“I just wanted to let you know that I truly appreciated the time he took to make sure that I understood how to use the system, and to answer my questions really impressed me, and being in customer service myself, I try to give credit where credit is due. Jack Murphy went above and beyond to show a new user how to use your system in a way that is rare these days, and it did not go unrecognized.” Kris Foss, Property Claims Specialist, Enservio Client. 

Winner in our 25-50 agents category, Enservio has been shining with its customer service for years. This is the company’s fifth annual customer service awards win and it follows 72 monthly wins. 

Parts Authority

We’ve saved the biggest winner for last. It’s not easy to score high when so many agents are working in the mix. Yet, Parts Authority took the 2020 award in the category of 50+ agents. Way to go!

The company’s slogan is, “The answer is Yes!” And their customer service team means it, too. Headquartered in Long Island, New York, Parts Authority has been a national distributor of automotive replacement parts, tools, equipment and transmissions since 1972.

The 2020 win is the company’s second annual and follows its 24 monthly wins. 

“Parts Authority’s catalog of over 3 million parts covering more than 125 million applications, ensures our customer partners receive the parts they want, when they want them.  What makes Parts Authority different is OUR TEAM.  Parts Authority has a team of professionally trained, experienced countermen to assist in finding the right parts and the right brand for each application.”

Congratulations to Our Winners on Their Customer Service Awards!

Following the initial announcement of our 2020 winners, we connected with the customer service teams to congratulate them personally (safely, over Zoom, of course). It was great to see the faces behind the awards and learn more about their daily operations using our software. We’re looking forward to many more years of service and to seeing some more great accomplishments from these outstanding customer service agents!

The post The. Best. In. The World: LiveHelpNow Challenge Winners Take 2020 Customer Service Awards appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

Of course, no one knew that a pandemic was about to swipe across the globe yet. So everyone went on about business as usual. 

At California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) Admissions and Recruitment department, however, some changes were underway. The staff in the department was looking into some technology to help serve the growing number of applicants. Located in Fresno, California, the school has been known for its diversity. The U.S. Department of Education designates the university as both a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. With such a classification, prospective students from near and far needed an easy and seamless way to connect with their future college. 

Live Chat: Students Are Customers

Live chat, while a few years ago only widely used in the eCommerce space, has been becoming quite popular among universities. According to the 2019 International Student Survey 75% of students utilize real-time chat after accepting an offer. Additionally,  58% use real-time chat at all stages. In addition to students, universities serve staff, faculty, high school counselors, outside college counselors and community members. As educational institutions see and treat all of their communities as customers, they begin to implement more customer service-oriented tools. 

So the Fresno State Admissions and Recruitment department decided to give live chat a try. 

Then COVID-19 restrictions came into play. While Fresno State did not anticipate the events of 2020 when signing up for live chat, the new tool came in handy to say the least. 

“Coincidentally, when we implemented LiveHelpNow Chat onto our website in February 2020, it helped us to prepare for what came in March. We launched the chat in early February. When we were forced to close our in-person services in March due to COVID-19, we were already set to tackle new challenges. Thus, when one avenue [of face-to-face communications] was eliminated, LiveHelpNow chat paved a way for us to have a new service for our students.” (Pang Thao, Admissions Customer Services Team lead)

Counseling and Customer Service: One and the Same

While Fresno State Admissions and Recruitment expanded its means of communication, utilizing tools like Cisco 200-301 CCNA Practice Test Dumps to enhance services.

Admissions and Recruitment team lead, Pang Thao, has a master’s degree in counseling from Fresno State. In her current role in the Admissions department of her alma mater, she’s able to apply counseling techniques throughout all communication. She trains her entire team to do the same. Using basic counseling techniques allows her team to enhance services at a higher level. Here, empathy and compassion come first and that sets the team apart. 

“It is more than just the, ‘Hi how may I help you?’ service. We often use one of the core conditions known as “empathy” (counseling skill), which allows us to fully put ourselves into the students’ shoes and truly feel the feelings of what the student is going through. Therefore, we can acknowledge their feelings, and this helps make the session personal.  Most importantly, being able to reflect and acknowledge someone’s feelings allows us to show how much we care. As a result, on many occasions we are able to build a rapport and keep contact with our students.”(Pang Thao, Admissions Customer Services Team lead)

This approach builds on the notion of efficient customer service that both increases student satisfaction and motivates the customer service staff. With empathy as the main focus and live chat to help it along, Fresno State Admissions and Recruitment team faced the challenges of the pandemic successfully. Then, the staff discovered another way live chat changed their operations for the better. 

Communication for All: No One Left Behind at Fresno State

Sometime after the initial live chat implementation, the Admissions department got a surprising piece of feedback. A student with a disability left a comment in the rating section after a live chat interaction. 

“As a Disabled Students Programs and Services student around these hard times, it’s easy for us to get lost and become non-guided. Using this chat tool is the best method idea I haven’t seen in a long time. All my questions were answered immediately, without hesitations” (Fresno State Student)

The Admissions team was excited to learn that not only was it service students that previously used face-to-face or an alternative way of communications. Now students previously unable to visit the Admission and Recruitment office received an additional option to contact the office. An option they did not have before. After reading this comment from the survey statistics, the Admissions team sent it to the university’s digital accessibility office. The staff in that department was thrilled with the result. As it turned out, live chat allowed the university to serve even more students, even within its local communities. 

“Many of our students enjoy using the LiveHelpNow chat that we offer on our website. A specific example is helping a student who is hard of hearing or deaf. Usually when we help a student who is hard of hearing or deaf in person, we use a UbiDuo to communicate with them. Now with our in-person services no longer available due to COVID-19, the chat has become a helpful tool.” (Pang Thao, Admissions Customer Services Team lead)

Why do students, especially those with disabilities, enjoy the chat service so much? Because it addresses their needs in a way that is both personal and respectful of their needs. Personalization and respect are two of psychological principles that, if applied, make customer experience great. 

Faster, Stronger, Better

Fresno State live chat experience has not been just about who has used the chat. It has also been about how it has allowed staff to deliver better services. 

“LiveHelpNow allows us to serve multiple students at the same time and at a greater volume. Students don’t have to stay on the phone as they would typically do and navigate through the various selections to get their answer. The chat provides direct access to the student in real time thus increasing the number of students that we are able to serve on any given day.” (Pang Thao, Admissions Customer Services Team lead)

The metrics support the story. Fresno State Admissions and Recruitment launched live chat in February of 2020. Since then the department saw a decline in the number of calls the office received. 

According to internal data the department received fewer calls post chat implementation. During the busiest month of July the difference was as much as 30% fewer calls.

Of course, with the pandemic throwing a curve at everyone it’s difficult to say if the live chat implementation alone caused the shift. Nevertheless, the change allowed for quicker, more efficient customer service for the students and staff. Fewer calls and more chats means that the customer service team can serve more students. The chat system also provides additional tools such as ticket management, canned responses, and the knowledge base system.  All of these tools aid staff in helping students throughout different interaction scenarios, Thao says. 

Spreading the word

Even if they tried, the Admissions couldn’t keep their new live chat tool as a secret weapon. Soon after implementation the word got out. 

“Other departments saw the need to implement LiveHelpNow chat to their websites. Since our department was one of the first to implement the chat, other areas reached out to us for training and guidance on how to use LiveHelpNow.” (Pang Thao, Admissions Customer Services Team lead)

And not only does Thao’s team know all the in and outs of the system to show its colleagues in other departments. The Admission department is really rocking it. Since the system’s implementation, the team has won the LiveHelpChallenge Award every month. The Challenge rates agents’ performance against other companies and customer service representatives in various categories. How does Fresno State keep coming on top time after time? Thao says it’s those empathy skills. 

Staying up to date and efficient in their operation, especially during the pandemic, can be difficult, but the team has figured out how to stay on top of its game, Thao says. 

“There are constant updates and changes that happen in the Admissions and Recruitment office at Fresno State. Not being able to meet up in-person to discuss important updates and info is quite challenging. Therefore, it is important that I update my team on all Admissions and Recruitment information through email and through one-on-one Zoom meetings for any clarifications that we need to make on a daily to weekly basis.” (Pang Thao, Admissions Customer Services Team lead)

Communication is a top priority at Fresno state – between team members as well as between students and the administration. 

Fresno State Students Are Better Off With Live Chat

In 2020 Fresno State enrollment hit its all-time record of 25,300 students. Despite the pandemic, students continue to enroll. The new incoming class of 3,700 first-year students and nearly 2,800 transfer students is the largest in the university’s history. With more students the University strives to continue to provide excellent customer service. And with the right tools, open minds, and a whole lot of empathy they are soaring to award-winning heights. 

The post Fresno State Navigates the Pandemic to Better Serve Students appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

That is what happened to a company in Virginia. One morning there was a problem with a large order of material the business purchased. It just wasn’t performing as expected. Phifer, the supplier of the product, answered the dissatisfied customer’s call at 9 am that morning. After learning about the issue, Phifer’s representatives discussed it internally. They then decided that the best course of action would be to go see the customer in a face-to-face meeting.

The problem was that Phifer’s headquarters were located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The company in question was in Virginia. Well, that didn’t stop Phifer. The company chartered a business jet and arrived at the customer’s facility by 1 p.m. that afternoon. Impressive? We’d say so! And so did the customer, who remained one of Phifer’s top clients for years after. 

Wired for Outstanding Customer Service

This instance is not an isolated incident. Phifer Incorporated is the world’s largest manufacturer of insect screening products. The company also manufactures woven fabrics for use in exterior and interior shades, outdoor furniture, pillows and cushions. Its aluminum wire and engineered woven mesh find use in a variety of industrial applications. And Phifer’s high-quality, domestically manufactured products intertwine with superior customer service. Phifer’s team is always dedicated to delivering its products to customers whenever they need them, no matter what it takes. 

“We recently had a customer trying to break into a new market segment. They needed to turn around a production order for a very well- known automotive manufacturer in one week to meet the deadlines placed upon them. We were able to make a custom patterned  fabric production run of 700 yards in eight days. Our normal lead times during that time were six to eight weeks. Normally, an average lead time would never be less than four weeks. Our manufacturing team did a great job of getting it through our system to help our customer.” (Gregg Terry, Director of Marketing, Phifer)

Family Ties

In 1952 J. Reese Phifer established Phifer Incorporated in Tuscaloosa as a weaver of aluminum insect screening. The company is still privately owned by the third generation of the family with a very traditional approach to business. The organization employs over 1,000 people, about 35% of whom have over 20 years of service.  

Today, the company is the world’s largest producer of aluminum and fiberglass insect screening products. Phifer sells its products to distributors throughout the world with offices and subsidiaries located in Italy, India and Asia. Throughout the years, the company’s weaving expertise has broadened and expanded to include a wide variety of woven fabrics. Phifer’s interior sun control and exterior sun control fabrics offer heat reduction at window areas for both commercial and residential applications. Phifer also manufactures woven products for specialty markets including pet care, filtration, contract furniture, wall covering, automotive, ventilation, reinforcement, awning and marine.

Phifer’s commitment to its customers extends to its commitment to protect the environment. The company offers a broad range of products to reduce solar heat gain, to preserve interior surfaces and materials, to improve the indoor air quality of home and work environments, and to protect natural resources by conserving energy. 

Binding Service and Convenience with Live Chat

From the humble beginnings some 60 years ago to today’s global success, Phifer kept one thing constant. True to its family roots, the team’s commitment to its customers remained deeply personal. 

In the Spring of 2017 the company was launching a new website. In addition to fresh layout and vivid product features, the website got a facelift in the customer service department. With the addition of LiveHelpNow live chat and ticketing system, Phifer gave its customers an additional channel of contact. 

We also wanted to reduce the number of inbound phone calls from consumers who Phifer does not sell direct but who often contact us with questions that we can now answer via the chat system. (Gregg Terry, Director of Marketing, Phifer)

While Phifer does not sell its products directly to consumers, the company often gets questions from product users. Servicing these inquiries ultimately increases demand for its products from consumers. With improved and efficient customer service the company can also direct customers to retail outlets that sold Phifer products. 

Likewise, direct buyers use the system to ask for support. For them, live chat also serves as another way to receive leads from Phifer, creating more opportunity to increase their business and, in turn, Phifer’s, too. 

Tools to Increase Efficiency

Every business has different customer service needs and different tools that can help them service their customer base. For Phifer, LiveHelpNow’s canned response feature has proven to help save a lot of their customers’ time.

“Hands down, the canned responses are the most helpful.  Our most common question is ‘Where can I buy Phifer products?’ So, we created a canned response [for our agents] to be able to respond quickly and efficiently. Additionally, we have created a form for consumers to complete their contact information for sample and literature requests. This has been very useful for the operators and consumers also! LiveHelp’s own Live Chat service is also very helpful to our admins. We use it often! Bianca is the best!” (Gregg Terry, Director of Marketing, Phifer)

In the future, Phifer plans to improve its efficiency in the system and take advantage of other LiveHelpNow features not used at this time. That’s great to hear as we’re releasing a new operator panel in 2020 with some great improvements in store!

Related: New Year, New Us: LiveHelpNow Introduces New User Panel

Real People and Real Results

Using efficient, modern, and convenient customer service tools helped Phifer’s business. But it would not make a difference if it weren’t for decades-long excellent customer service tradition already in place. Phifer strives for reliable, trusted supply, quality products and deep customer loyalty.  It has always been the company’s policy to have real people answer all customer inquiries. 

With live chat, Phifer’s agents gained a way to answer questions within the first communication with a customer. As any customer support professional will testify, First Contact Resolution is essential for successful customer satisfaction. 

“In any session where we answer a question for a customer or consumer, we have solved their problem immediately, many times in seconds.  In our fast paced world, people want answers NOW and we strive to deliver answers quickly and accurately.” (Gregg Terry, Director of Marketing, Phifer)

And we don’t need to take anyone’s word for it. LiveHelpNow’s analytical reports give companies a way to measure the changes live chat and other LiveHelpNow tools bring to their business. Moreover, these reports can help measure the efficiency of customer service overall as well as that of each individual agent. Phifer has solid Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to show for their increasing customer service success. 

For example, from 2019 to 2020 the number of live chats Phifer’s agents handled skyrocketed and rose by 50%, from 2151 to 3253. Average chat time reduced from 8:30 to 7:29 in the course of that year and dropped chats decreased from 104 to 95.  Of the team’s six trained staff, the top operator handled 1,118 of our 3,253 chat sessions in 2020.  

Winning the Customer Service Challenge

These numbers show how Phifer’s team is improving and bringing great benefits to the business. Some of these metrics stand out so vividly, the company continues to win LiveHelpNow Challenge time after time. A competitive comparison of twelve novel metrics from 50 different criteria, the Challenge helps our clients see where they stand among competition. Additionally, it gives them an incentive to continuously improve. Monthly and annual winners receive awards of excellence, a badge they can proudly share with their customers in addition to the excellent customer service they provide. 

“We made it a priority to train staff in the system and, due to operator shortages related to COVID-19 issues, managers actually worked as operators, thus, sending a message of how important it was to service the chat inquiries no matter what the situation may be.” (Gregg Terry, Director of Marketing, Phifer)

In 2020, Phifer won the LiveHelpNow Challenge for nine consecutive months, from April to December. The customer service team was also one of the 2020 annual winners. 

From Screens to Bird Houses Phifer’s Products are Woven Into Everyday Life

LiveHelpNow’s software is a critical component since it provides us with an additional option to service our customers.  We want to make sure we can service them where they are most comfortable…..some prefer to call us, some prefer to fill out a form on our website, some prefer to send Direct Messages via our social media platforms, some prefer email. In 2020, over 3,200 preferred to chat with us! (Gregg Terry, Director of Marketing, Phifer)

And who wouldn’t want to chat with this great team that feels like a family? They seem like a fun little bunch. Their holiday message to their customers alone is watch rewatching any time of the year. 

 And as if we needed any more evidence to the team’s awesomeness, here is what Phifer has installed around its plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Our guess is that the birds love these creations – and Phifer’s customer service – just as much as the human customers love Phifer’s products. 

After all, Phifer’s team members’ love for what they do is in their very fibers. 

The post Phifer Weaves Excellency into Customer Support Using Live Chat appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

Our store, Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo in Warrington, PA, dresses thousands of brides, grooms, bridesmaids, groomsmen and prom-goers every year.

A few years ago, we sought to up our game by implementing an online live chat service on our website. We wanted our customers to have another easy method of communicating with us.  

Fortunately, we had realized that we were now living in an age of immediate gratification.  We knew customers expected information and answers right away.

As we began our research, we stumbled upon LiveHelpNow’s live chat services. LiveHelpNow immediately stood out to us because its features include the ability to text a business’s landline number. 

We thought, ”WAIT!  WHAT?! We can actually give our customers the option of texting our business’s landline telephone number to communicate with us?”  

”WAIT!  WHAT?! We can actually give our customers the option of texting our business’s landline telephone number to communicate with us?”

To us, this capability was a game changer.  Because, who calls anymore?! Most of our customers preferred to text and the rest wanted to speak to us through online chat. 

LiveHelpNow’s SMS and live chat features would allow us to provide our customers with just that! 

We couldn’t deny that LiveHelpNow was the perfect customer service solution for us.

Since then, we have provided a level of service way above our customers’ expectations and have gained an edge that other stores just do not have.

How Live Chat Text Messaging Changed The Way We Do Business

Finally, the day came when we received our first online chat from a bride.

Before we knew it, not just one bride, but ALL of our brides started using text messaging and live chat to speak with us, and they loved it!  

Our brides and grooms even write about our live chat and texting service in their online reviews. 

Many customers often mention that Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo has a special touch that no other bridal or tuxedo store offers simply because we offer these convenient, yet personal forms of communication.

In an emotional business such as ours, we believe that being accessible to our customers at any moment is incredibly important. We really enjoy offering this added level of service.

How Live Chat Saved A Special Day…More Than Once

Live chat and live chat text messaging has allowed us to head off emergencies, go the extra mile, and earn an amazing reputation as a store that truly cares about our customers.

Here are just a few of Darianna’s success stories that illustrate why we couldn’t imagine running our business without live chat and live chat text messaging:

• • • • • A groomsman was coming from out of town to pick up his tuxedo.  His flight was canceled, and he texted our store telephone number to notify us of his very late arrival.  We were able to make arrangements to open the store after hours to accommodate him. He and his wife were incredibly grateful, and LiveHelpNow allowed for another glowing review.
        • One day when we were shopping in Wegman’s supermarket, we received a chat from our website via text message. It was a website visitor from Doha, Qatar.  When we responded, we learned that it was a woman who was originally from Montreal. She was teaching english in Doha, and was set to marry a man from our area. She liked the line of Madi Lane Bridal wedding dresses that we carried and was led to our website because of that particular designer. Originally, she had planned to shop for a wedding dress in Montreal with her mother. But, she changed her entire wedding shopping plans once she spoke to us over live chat. She made an appointment with us and had her mother fly to Philadelphia, so she could try on Darianna’s Madi Lane Bridal wedding dresses.  Chalk it up to live chat for a long distance induced “yes to the dress” moment!
          

          Get as excited about your dress shopping experience as Caroline! Make your appointment at Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo: call/text 215-491-8500 or visit us online at https://t.co/WFDNo5Ths7 pic.twitter.com/EVE7tWhtu1

          — Darianna Bridal (@DariannaBridal) September 22, 2019

        • A bride texted us from her cocktail hour with an emergency. They had rented formalwear from Darianna, and notified us that the sole of one of her husband’s shoes had just come loose. They had 35 minutes until their first dance. We were there in 25 minutes with a new pair of shoes. We saved their day, but live chat saved our reputation.
        • Many of our brides have anxiously chatted or texted us at night after business hours (i.e. Did she order white or ivory? Did we place the order for the veil? Did she order a size 8 or a size 10? Will her dress still fit if she gained 4 lbs.? Did her fiance pick the bow tie or the long tie? Did her mother-in-law change her father-in-law’s tie color?, etc.). Each and every bride has gone to sleep with her questions answered and grateful for the opportunity to be in immediate contact with us.

      • — Darianna Prom (@DariannaProm) April 9, 2018

        • Unable to make a direct phone call to us, a bride in Florida sent us a live chat from her place of business. She was desperately looking for a dress from an exclusive designer that we carry in a specific size for a wedding that was only 3 months away. We were able to procure the dress for her, and I’m not sure we would have had the sale if it weren’t for the live chat. She couldn’t make phone calls, but she could chat!
        • A year ago, we received a text message to our store’s telephone number from a father of a prom attendee.  The high school student lost his bow tie and needed it for photos starting shortly. We were able to bring him a bow tie.  He later found the bow tie in the bottom of his garment bag but, at the moment it counted, we were able to make sure a high school memory was properly recorded in photos.

The Texts (and Chats) Heard ‘Round the World

We also have many wedding guests we have dressed who live in other countries.  The live chat feature on our website has allowed us to communicate with customers in Brazil, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, China and England and more! 

Thankfully, LiveHelpNow has proved to be a convenient and more affordable way for the customer and our business to make arrangements for choosing attire, obtaining tuxedo measurements and accepting electronic payments for services.  

More importantly, this service also allows us to build a strong relationship with our customers even when they are 5,000+ miles away.

Being able to answer chats and text messages on a computer and via LiveHelpNow’s app on our smartphones is priceless.   In fact, it even makes it possible for us to go on vacation, and STILL be in communication with our customers. 

Our business is open 7 days a week, but there are times when we try to get away, really far away.  While our staff takes care of our store, we have answered chats and texts on our iPhones while vacationing in Thailand, Italy, Hong Kong, Maui, Puerto Rico, and Grand Teton.  

This feature of the service is seamless. We are able to efficiently answer questions, book appointments and, all the while, our customers have no idea where we are. 

Live Chat Texting Messaging Proud

Wherever and whenever we can, we like to give shout outs to our live chat text messaging capability. 

We frequently mention the ability to chat or text us within our Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, and Google My Business posts. 

Next to our phone number on our website, you will see “Call or Text”:

We have even placed the words “Call or Text” above the telephone number on our front door. 

This has resulted in many text messages from newly engaged brides after seeing that they can text us while waiting for a table at one of the neighboring restaurants. 

And of course, we wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t have “Call or Text” on the back of our Darianna-mobile!

The point is that we could not imagine being without this amazing service. 

Without it, Darianna would lose the opportunity to immediately capture business and the ability to be in immediate contact with our customers. 

We love this service as much as our customers do, and we can truly see the impact of improved appointments and revenue.

We live in a very competitive world, and LiveHelpNow is a very simple and inexpensive way to communicate with the customer and build a relationship before our competitors do. 

It has made us appear like a large business with a high level of customer service options, but without the large price tag.

Thus, we highly recommend having an online chat service and a text messaging service. 

Have a question about how we use this service?  Go ahead, text us: 215-491-8500! Or start an online chat with us by going to: www.dariannabridal.com.  Wendy and Franco, the owners of Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo, will personally answer you!

For more business tips and customer service advice like LiveHelpNow on Facebook or follow our business page on LinkedIn.

The post Here Comes the Bride… and She’s Using Live Chat Text Messaging appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

They’ve also been committed to engaging with their customers through personal and effective customer service. 

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Swanson’s Wellness Advocate & Online Correspondence Supervisor, Deanne Trieglaff, to find out how the company has continued to deliver award-winning customer service despite an unprecedented increase in online customer inquiries.

Deanne Trieglaff, Wellness Advocate & Online Correspondence Supervisor

Q: Your team has won numerous LiveHelpNow Challenge awards for providing excellence in customer service with live chat. What do you attribute to your continuous success?

A: Well, having the right talent in place to support our brand is huge. At Swanson Health, we’ve hired motivated, eager, compassionate personnel who help to support the growth of our company by supporting our business through personable and effective customer service. 

Q: So, what is your approach for training your staff to use the LiveHelpNow chat software to provide the exceptional customer service they deliver consistently? 

A: Initially, our agents (before they’re promoted to chat) have to go through a successful 7-week program with phones. And, that is even prior to their first engagement with a customer. And, they need to be exceptional with that [first] engagement with a customer. 

68% of customers said the service rep was key to a positive service experience. 62% said that this was also due to the rep's knowledge or resourcefulness. @AmericanExpress
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After that goes well, and they acquire the skills and the experience, they go through another two-week training for online correspondence for chat. We also do emails as well. So, in those additional two weeks, we ensure that they are still bringing that Swanson brand personality into written correspondence and doing it well with knowledge, positivity, and being simple and concise and real with the customers. 

We ensure that they are still bringing that Swanson brand personality into written correspondence and doing it well with knowledge, positivity, and being simple and concise and real with the customers. 

We used to run off of a lot of form letters, and the customers can read between the lines. You know…they want a personality, and they want to create a face behind the image. So, we really make sure that we bring in that good talent that can do that.

Q: Approximately 2 years ago, Swanson left its initial live chat provider and made the switch to LiveHelpNow. What was the reason for the switch? Was there something missing with the previous provider? Or were there benefits to be gained by switching to LHN? 

A: Switching to LHN was like a game-changer for us. 

Our previous provider was really just what I would call “sterile.” They had the functionality of it just being chat. And, it was what it was. We couldn’t modify what the chat icon looked like. If we needed assistance, we had to reach out to them. And, so here we are waiting for a 3rd party to do something that we may have needed to do right now.

So, switching to LHN and having all these advanced features…and first of all, the implementation was effortless. Which was huge! From an admin point-of-view, and being able to make those necessary changes to what the chat icon looks like, and [being able to decipher] if my agents should be taking two chats or can they take four…that’s not working well….let me switch on the fly back to two. So, just having that ability to do things as needed and then having all of those other additional components. 

We have a lot of customers who are international. So, just that translate feature is amazing. It used to be impossible…we used to run [conversations] through Google Translate. Sometimes [customers] might have been upset, and we’re reading it as a happy comment because Google Translate didn’t translate it as well as it should have. But, LHN’s translate component has been fabulous. We’ve never run into that issue as we did with Google Translate.

71.5% of customer service managers reported an increase in customer satisfaction scores when they were able to speak with a customer in he or she’s native language. 58.4% said it increased customers’ loyalty to the brand. (ICMI)
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Q: Since you have implemented live chat on the Swanson website, what type of impact has it had on the company’s sales/revenue?

A: So, our chat button is available to customers to help them tackle a wide variety of support needs. They are coming on chats to look for help with a product or to track a package…that kind of thing. So, while we know that it has added a lot of value you and impacted sales, our real focus for measuring success is how it ultimately provides another channel for our customers to engage with us. 

Related Post: Live Chat Implementation – 6 Steps to Success

Q: So, how does your staff feel about using the LiveHelpNow software to chat with and assist customers?

A: So, as technology continues to make advancements, we have seen a substantial growth in our chat numbers. Just from 2017 to 2018, we have experienced 137% growth in numbers just with chat.

So, we’re taking those people away from the phones and away from mailing in their orders…and now they want this immediate feedback. So, implementing the LHN chat model has only helped us maintain our goals of efficiency while offering another tool or channel for our customers to get in touch with us. Based off 2018 to 2019, we have seen another 19% growth in chat. But, we’re also seeing our mail orders go down, etc. People are beginning to use the technology that’s available to them.

Q: So, does your staff find the software easy to use? Do you get any feedback from them?

A: Yeah…number one it’s so easy to use the platform. You know…it’s not like ‘where do I go?’ or ‘who’s coming in?’. The ghost (a.k.a. whisper technology) feature is good. When it comes to quality assurance, we love that feature…being able to hop on and help someone…being able to transfer a chat if it’s an escalation and that type of thing. The auto-tagging feature…that has been a great help to us in defining what type of chats are coming in. So, every piece of it has just been clear, concise and seamless and easy-to-use.

Q: How do your customers feel about having the option to live chat with your staff? Have they given any type of feedback regarding their chat interactions?

A: We’ve used the satisfaction surveys since day one when implemented LHN, and our feedback from customers has been overwhelmingly positive. They just appreciate that tool…that it’s easy-to-use and its efficient. And, then adding the bot, which gives them the resources right at their fingertips instead of having to use an agent, has just been another added plus. 

A recent @NuanceEnt study found that 67% of respondents said they prefer self-service over speaking to a company representative.
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Q: Swanson uses LHN’s SMS chat feature which allows customers to text for help. These texts come into Swanson as live chats. How does your staff feel about this feature? How do your customers feel about it? 

A: It’s been interesting. That one was a little bit of a learning curve just because we weren’t sure how it was going to go. We deal with a generation that’s a tad bit older. While we do have some Millennial customers, we deal [mostly] with the Generation X. 

So, it’s just been another channel available for those people that have their phone in their hand all day long or nearby. It was just another channel and another benefit…to let them engage with us and make it a seamless experience.  

78% of consumers polled wished they could text a business, but most businesses don’t have this option available. @IntelContacts
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Q: Once you implemented live chat on Swanson’s website, about how long did it take for you to notice that it was having a positive effect? 

A: That was right away because it had an immediate impact. Initially, we added the trigger chats to specific [website] pages or [tracked] how long someone was on the website, so we could initiate a chat to help them out if they needed that reassurance or something to get them moving along to [make] an order. And, along with auto-tagging it gave us the insight on…‘What are our customers looking for? What are they chatting about? Do we need to make some changes on the website if they’re encountering this specific problem all the time? Or, is there are product that’s trending and should we really point that out and draw more attention to it?’ We really didn’t get that from our other provider, so every aspect of this tool has just really provided us with a great benefit. 

Q: Where did you notice it having the biggest effect first? Sales? Lead Generation? Customer Satisfaction? 

A: Yes. The customer satisfaction hands down. You know…that’s what we’re here for is to reassure those customers…help them out from a service standpoint. And, having that chat feature available and ready for them to use to seek assistance right away and get in touch with someone. 

Typically, on average we see from initiation of the chat to getting to an agent is 30 seconds or less. So, just our ability to make that [quick] connection with the customers. 

80% of American consumers point to speed, convenience, knowledgeable help, and friendly service as the most important elements of positive customer experience. @PwC
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And, then, the opportunity for the agents to see that positive feedback in the post-survey…that’s a huge thing for them, too. It keeps them going and gives them initiative to keep their service leveled-up, so that they can keep providing it over and over again. So, that’s another impact that we see…is those positive remarks coming in, and then, the agents just kind of exuding that positivity. And then, it just rolls on and on in their work, and then socially inside the building.

Related Post: 20 Ways To Make The Live Chat Experience More Personal

Q: Why do you think live chat customer service is working so well for Swanson? 

A: #1 hands down it’s the ease of the tool. From an effortless install to having the self-explanatory operator panel to complete each correspondence…it’s just so easy to use. And,  so, [because] it’s user-friendly on the customer side and on our side. 

Q: What LiveHelpNow live chat software features do you and your staff find the most useful or helpful? And, why? 

A: The [chat]bot…for sure. The ‘bot completely made an impact on our service level. We have seen an average of 39% of the traffic hitting the ‘bot and effectively handling 39% of our incoming traffic. So, additionally, that has eased up the time with an agent, so that we can focus on the other duties that we need to do or another incoming chat. So, that is for one, one of the biggest things.

The ‘bot completely made an impact on our service level. We have seen an average of 39% of the traffic hitting the ‘bot and effectively handling 39% of our incoming traffic.

Then, the ease of the ‘bot implementation. I will say that the staff at LHN made it completely fabulous, effortless. So, I can’t say enough about them either because they really were great to work with, and they got it up and running within a day once we gave them the opportunity. 

Q: Your team uses the auto-tagging feature a lot. How does this help your team?

A: So, prior to the ‘bot the auto-tagging feature helped us determine what type of contact was coming in. You know…is there a product that’s trending?…that sort of thing. It also assisted us in figuring out what options we should put on the ‘bot once we started that. It helped us to determine what should be in our menu platform for the ‘bot and then continual changes thereafter. 

Or, if a customer is selecting “other,”…that auto-tagging is helping us to figure out: What are these others? Are they just selecting other? Could they have selected a different category? Or, do we need to update the ‘bot and change another menu selection.

Q: We partially touched on this previously, but did you see any positive or negative impact after rolling out Live Help Bot (LiveHelpNow’s chatbot)? 

A: All positive. The ‘bot picked up 39% of our traffic, which would have otherwise been distributed to an agent, and, in the end, decreases efficiencies. Currently, we have an average of 30 seconds from chat initiation to the chat so…yeah…it’s just been all positive, all the way around. 

Q: What would be your advice for other call centers implementing live chat in their organizations to make sure it is done properly and efficiently? 

A: Yes. Well, it would depend on what the company wants to get out of the chat. But, what I can say is that here at Swanson Health it has totally met our expectations 100% from what we wanted to see from a chat feature. And, the advances that you guys keep doing has only enhanced what we can do with the chat option and the ‘bots. So, you guys are keeping up with technology, which only helps the user in the end. So, we have become more efficient and the agents continue to love the tool because it’s so easy and effortless. We are 100% behind LHN and love it.

Key Takeaways:

• Swanson’s success is due in part to its extensive employee training program, which ensures their teams’ resourcefulness, professionalism, and knowledge. In fact, 68% of customers said the service rep was key to a recent positive service experience. 62% said that this was also due in part to the rep’s knowledge or resourcefulness. (American Express)
• Swanson made the switch to LiveHelpNow live chat software because of its advanced functionality, ease-of-use, and innovative features. One of the features that was of particular benefit was language translation. A study by the International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) found that 71.5% of customer service managers reported an increase in customer satisfaction scores when they were able to speak with a customer in he or she’s native language. 58.4% said it increased customers’ loyalty to the brand.
• LiveHelpNow has assisted Swanson successfully manage a period of rapid growth in their chat engagement numbers.  From 2017 to 2018, they experienced 137% growth in numbers just with chat.
• Swanson’s customers thoroughly enjoy the self-service option of interacting with LiveHelpNow’s Live Help Bot.  Studies have found that 67% of respondents said they prefer self-service over speaking to a company representative. (Zendesk)
• Both the Swanson customers and Swanson’s staff love having LHN’s SMS chat feature as an additional avenue of communication. 78% of consumers polled wished they could text a business, but most businesses don’t have this option available. (Intelligent Contacts)
• On average, from chat initiation to connecting an agent, the wait time is 30 seconds or less. Swanson’s ability to make a quick connection with its customers has a positive impact on their customer satisfaction scores. 80% of American consumers point to speed, convenience, knowledgeable help, and friendly service as the most important elements of positive customer experience. (PwC)
• Swanson feels LHN’s live chat ‘bot is the software’s most helpful feature because the ‘bot has had a huge impact on their service level. Live Help Bot is effectively handling 39% of their incoming chat traffic, which has cut down on customer wait times and freed up Swanson’s agents to deal with more complicated tasks and inquiries.

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The post How Swanson Health Delivered Superior Customer Service During 137% Growth in Chats appeared first on LiveHelpNow.