What is Live Chat Queueing

Live chat queueing is a system that organizes customer inquiries or chats based on their arrival time. The system’s goal is to ensure that customers are served in the order they join the queue. When customers initiate a chat, they are placed in a virtual queue until an available agent becomes free to assist. This not only ensures a fair and orderly process but also helps agents manage their workload effectively.

One key aspect of chat queue is its ability to handle multiple chats simultaneously. By efficiently managing incoming requests, businesses can reduce customer wait times and improve their response times.

Benefits of Live Chat Queueing

Implementing a live chat queueing system can greatly benefit businesses in various ways. Firstly, it allows for better customer service by ensuring that each customer is given equal attention and assistance. The queueing system eliminates any bias or favoritism, providing a fair and equal opportunity for all customers to have their queries addressed.

Moreover, live chat queueing helps businesses streamline their customer support operations. By organizing chats based on their arrival time, agents can prioritize their workload and address inquiries in a systematic manner. This not only improves efficiency but also prevents any confusion or oversight that may occur when handling multiple customer chats simultaneously.

Queueing has the ability to reduce customer wait times. By placing customers in a virtual queue, businesses can ensure that each customer is served promptly and in the order they joined the queue. This eliminates the frustration of waiting for extended periods and enhances the overall customer experience.

Live chat queueing systems often come equipped with features such as estimated wait times and position in the queue notifications. These features provide customers with transparency and reassurance, keeping them informed about their expected wait time and their position in the queue. This proactive communication helps manage customer expectations and reduces anxiety or impatience while waiting for assistance.

Finally, live chat queueing systems can be customized to suit the specific needs and preferences of businesses. They can be integrated with other customer support tools and platforms, such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems, to provide a seamless and comprehensive support experience. This integration allows agents to access customer information and history, enabling them to provide personalized and efficient assistance.

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Live chat is key to modern contact centers, offering instant support via websites, apps, and self-service portals. It simplifies interactions and provides real-time help. Features like routing, analytics, and integration enhance customer experiences and agent efficiency. Live chat boosts engagement, speeds resolutions, and delivers personalized support, making it vital for digital customer service.

Types of Live Chat Queuing 

When it comes to live chat queueing systems, there are several types available. Each has its own advantages and use cases. Let’s dive deeper into some of the most commonly used types.

Round-Robin Queueing

The round-robin queueing algorithm is a popular choice for distributing incoming chats evenly among available agents. With this approach, each chat is assigned to the next available agent in a cyclical manner. This ensures that the workload is balanced across the team, preventing any one agent from being overwhelmed while others are underutilized.

Imagine a scenario where a customer support team has five agents. With round-robin queueing, the first chat would be assigned to Agent 1, the second chat to Agent 2, and so on. Once the last agent has been assigned a chat, the cycle starts again with Agent 1. This fair distribution of workload can be particularly beneficial for businesses with similarly skilled agents and a desire for a balanced allocation of chat volume.

Least Busy Queueing

In contrast to round-robin queueing, the least busy algorithm takes a different approach. It assigns incoming chats to the agent with the least active chats at any given time. This means that each chat is routed to an agent who has the capacity to handle it effectively, ensuring that customers receive prompt and efficient support.

Let’s say a customer support team is using the least busy queueing algorithm. If Agent 1 is currently handling three chats, Agent 2 is handling two chats, and Agent 3 is handling one chat, the next incoming chat would be assigned to Agent 3. By distributing chats to agents who are less busy, businesses can optimize their efficiency and potentially increase customer satisfaction.

Priority and Skill-Based Queueing 

While round-robin and least busy are two commonly used queueing algorithms, there are other types available as well. Some systems offer priority-based queueing, where certain chats are given higher priority based on specific criteria. For example, a VIP customer may be automatically routed to the most experienced agent. Similarly, a chat related to a critical issue may be escalated to a specialized support team. Implementing skill-based routing involves analyzing the skill sets of agents and categorizing them into different areas of expertise. This can include technical knowledge, product knowledge, language proficiency, and more. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each agent, businesses can optimize their customer support operations.

Some live chat queue systems allow for custom queueing rules, giving businesses the flexibility to tailor the queueing algorithm to their unique needs. This can include factors such as agent skill levels, language proficiency, or even geographic location.

Selecting Queue Types for Your Business

When choosing between round-robin and least busy queue types, businesses must consider their specific requirements and priorities.

Round-robin queueing is particularly suitable for businesses where all agents possess similar skills and experience levels. It ensures a fair distribution of workload, minimizing the chances of any one agent feeling overwhelmed or underutilized. Round-robin queueing works by cycling through available agents in a predetermined order. Each incoming chat is assigned to the next agent in line, ensuring that no one agent is consistently overloaded with chats while others remain idle. This approach promotes a balanced workload distribution, which can contribute to a more harmonious and efficient working environment.

However, there are situations where round-robin queueing may not be the most optimal choice. For example, if a business has agents with varying levels of expertise, assigning chats purely based on a predetermined order may not take into account the specific skills required for each chat. In such cases, the least busy queue type may be more suitable.

Least busy queueing focuses on optimizing efficiency by assigning chats to the agent with the fewest ongoing chats. This approach takes into consideration the workload of each agent and aims to distribute chats in a way that minimizes the overall wait time for customers. By prioritizing the least busy agent, businesses can ensure that chats are handled by agents who have the capacity to provide timely and quality support.

Furthermore, the least busy queue type can be particularly beneficial in situations where certain agents may be busier due to specific circumstances. For example, during peak hours or when dealing with complex customer issues, some agents may naturally have more ongoing chats. By assigning chats to the least busy agent, businesses can effectively balance the workload and prevent any single agent from becoming overwhelmed.

Requeue Timeout and Tracking

Requeue timeout is an essential feature of live chat queueing systems. It determines how long a chat request will remain in the queue before being rerouted or escalated to another level of support. Businesses should carefully consider the requeue timeout duration based on their typical response times and customer expectations. A shorter timeout may lead to increased chat abandonment rates, while a longer timeout may result in prolonged wait times and lower customer satisfaction.

When it comes to setting the requeue timeout, there are several factors to take into account. Firstly, consider the nature of the business and the complexity of the support requests. For example, a tech support company dealing with intricate technical issues may require a longer requeue timeout to allow their support agents enough time to provide thorough and accurate solutions.

Secondly, customer expectations play a crucial role in determining the appropriate requeue timeout. Understanding the average response time that customers expect can help businesses strike a balance between minimizing chat abandonment rates and ensuring reasonable wait times.

Furthermore, it is important to consider the workload and availability of support agents. If the support team is already overwhelmed with a high volume of chat requests, a shorter requeue timeout may be necessary to prevent further delays and ensure prompt assistance for customers.

Monitoring Analytics

In addition to the requeue timeout itself, tracking the requeues of a chat can provide valuable insights into the efficiency of the queueing system and the overall support process. By monitoring the number of times a chat is rerouted or escalated, businesses can identify any patterns or bottlenecks that may be hindering the support workflow.

For instance, if a particular support agent consistently receives chats that are rerouted multiple times, it may indicate a need for additional training or specialization in certain areas. On the other hand, if a significant number of chats are escalated to a higher level of support, it could suggest a need for more resources or improved documentation to empower frontline agents to handle a wider range of issues.

By analyzing the requeue data, businesses can make informed decisions to optimize their support processes. This may involve adjusting the requeue timeout duration, implementing targeted training programs, or allocating resources more effectively to ensure a smooth and efficient customer support experience.

To maximize the effectiveness of your live chat support system and deliver the best customer experience, you must ensure that all customer queries are attended to promptly. This is where queue monitoring features come in handy.

The queue monitoring features allow you to track real-time data regarding how many customers are waiting in line to be serviced. This data could range from the total number of people in the queue to the average wait time for customers.

One significant feature that most chat support systems provide is the alert system. This feature facilitates setting up alerts or notifications for when the queue reaches its maximum capacity or when the number of queued customers exceeds a certain limit.

This is highly advantageous for a few reasons:

1. Real-time monitoring of the situation: With this feature, you have a real-time view into the queue, which can help you identify potential gaps and strains on your resources.

2. Optimize resource allocation: By receiving alerts when queues get too long, you can swiftly allocate additional resources to manage the problem, ensuring that all customers receive timely attention.

3. Improve customer satisfaction: Reducing wait times by managing queues effectively can lead to increased customer satisfaction. Sensing a quick response, customers would feel valued and attended.

So, to manage your customers smoothly and enhance their satisfaction levels

, keep an eye on your live chat system’s queue monitoring features. Setting up alerts allows you to be notified on time when the queue nears its maximum capacity or when the number of waiting customers crosses a set threshold. This proactive approach ensures you always have a grasp on the situation and can redistribute tasks among your customer support team to balance the workload whenever necessary.

Moreover, by keeping tabs on these metrics, you can gather insightful data about your peak times and average response times. Such insights can help you make informed decisions about staffing and scheduling. For instance, if your queue becomes overloaded at the same time every day, you might consider assigning more team members during that period.

Further, quick response times and prompt problem resolution are critical factors that influence customer satisfaction. By managing your customer queue effectively, you can reduce wait times, and as a result, improve overall customer experience. Hence, implementing alert systems in your chat support queue can greatly contribute to your business’s success by enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Recommended Setting for Maximum Number of Chats per Agent

The maximum number of chats per agent setting determines how many simultaneous chats an agent can handle effectively. It is crucial to strike a balance between agent workload and customer satisfaction. Set this value too low, and agents may not feel fully utilized, leading to increased costs per resolution. Set it too high, and agents may become overwhelmed, resulting in longer response times and potentially unsatisfactory customer experiences.

When deciding on the maximum number of chats per agent, factors to consider include agent proficiency, chat complexity, average chat duration, and available agent resources. Regularly monitoring and reviewing this setting ensures that businesses can optimize their operations and maintain high-quality customer service.

Conclusion

Implementing effective live chat queueing systems is crucial for businesses aiming to deliver timely and efficient customer support. By understanding the different types of queueing algorithms, finding the right balance between round-robin and least busy queue types, and carefully configuring settings such as requeue timeout and maximum chats per agent, businesses can create a streamlined and customer-centric support experience. You may see an example of how you may configure queueing in the LIveHelpNow contact center software here.

Consider your specific business needs, team dynamics, and customer expectations when making decisions about live chat queue. Regularly evaluate and adjust the queueing system to maintain optimal performance and enhance customer satisfaction. By leveraging the power of live chat queueing, businesses can provide stellar customer support and build long-lasting relationships with their customers.

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KPI Dashboards – a new way to track contact center Key Performance Indicators. 

Imagine watching a competitive sporting event without the score. The game would literally be pointless, wouldn’t it? Scores determine winners and losers in sports and motivate players to compete. 

In customer service, success is also measured by numbers. That is why Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) play an important role. Average response time, lengths of live chats, number of dropped chats etc. are all important data points to consider. Measuring KPIs is only the beginning. Sharing the data with the entire team and using it to improve performance is of utmost importance. 

We here, at LiveHelpNow, know this well. We strive to constantly improve the software tools our clients use to help their customers. So to help contact centers measure and improve their KPIs, we created a new tool.

We hereby proudly present LiveHelpNow’s KPI Dashboards.

What are KPI Dashboards? 

Simply put, a KPI metrics dashboard is a visibility and optimization tool for contact centers and customer support operations. 

Configuring and displaying all chat and ticket data from the LiveHelpNow software, the feature can help monitor and improve contact center KPIs. With just a few clicks, contact center operators can create attractive displays with clearly displayed real-time data. 

Easily displayed on large screens for team viewing or on your personal monitor, the dashboards can compare agents’ performance, department’s CSAT scores, and average response times, as well as other important KPI metrics. The displays are fully customizable, as teams can easily configure each dashboard for specific metrics. 

Why do KPI Dashboards help improve performance?

Everyone loves to play. In fact, gamification is actually a well-known psychological strategy that does wonders for employee motivation. Especially for teams dealing with fast-paced, stressful situations on the daily basis. In such environments, gamification can help prevent agent burnout.  It works because it prompts engagement in an interactive way. Our brains love to play!

We have seen this work through our LiveHelpNow Challenge. Based on 12 novel metrics from 50 different customer support criteria, the Challenge collects real-time data and compares all of our customers’ results against each other. Then, at the end of each month as well as at the end of the year we pick Challenge winners, the best of the best in customer service.

The KPI Dashboards feature employs gamification principles to motivate and engage contact center agents with leaderboards and score comparisons. As a beautiful and effective tool that can deliver insights to improve the performance of a team, Dashboards can help save time and money as they eliminate the need to invest in expensive business analytics tools. The visual display is intended to simplify analysis and reduce the time to process information from hours to seconds.

It’s difficult to improve something without measuring it. KPI Dashboards help not only measure, but display real-time results, motivating contact center agents to compete against each other and their own historical numbers. The results can boost the entire team’s performance. 

How can teams get started with KPI Dashboards?

As with other tools within LiveHelpNow suite, companies have the option of signing up for a free trial. For 14 days teams can explore the tool to see for themselves how it works and what value it brings to the business. Once a team signs up for a trial, it can follow simple steps to configure their custom KPI Dashboards. 

Ready? Set! Go!

Are you tired of sifting through dozen of Contact Center reports and too much data to find the real-time information you need? Start a free 14-day trial by going to Analytics > Executive (left menu) > KPI Dashboards in your LiveHelpNow admin panel. 

When you’re ready to subscribe, head to My Account > Services > and add KPI Dashboards. Your account will be billed just $75 per month which will allow all your admins to create unlimited KPI Dashboards.

For step-by-step instruction on Dashboard set-up, please click here.

The post LiveHelpNow Introduces KPI Dashboards, a Tool to Monitor Agent Performance appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

The global digital marketing market is expected to grow from $667 billion in 2024 to $786.2 billion by 2026. AI plays a major role in this growth, especially by saving time and creating content. It makes marketing smarter and more efficient. In this article, we’ll explore 30 ways AI helps businesses grow and keeps customers happy.

1. Personalized Customer Experiences

Think about your favorite shopping website knowing exactly what you want before you even search for it. That’s AI at work, tailoring content and suggestions based on your behavior. It’s like having a personal shopper who knows your tastes inside and out. And customers love it—72% of them expect companies to provide personalized experiences. If you want to keep them engaged, AI is your go-to for understanding their preferences and serving up exactly what they’re looking for.

2. Accurate Sales Predictions

Wouldn’t it be great to know what’s going to sell next month or next year? AI is like your own crystal ball. It digs through mountains of data to predict sales trends so you can prepare. Whether it’s stocking up on bestsellers or managing your budget more effectively, AI ensures you’re ready for what’s coming. No more guesswork—just data-driven decisions.

3. Automate Repetitive Tasks

Nobody enjoys spending hours scheduling social media posts or sending out the same emails over and over again. AI can take care of those repetitive tasks, freeing up your time for the fun stuff—like brainstorming your next big campaign. With AI handling the boring bits, you get to focus on creativity and strategy, where your expertise really shines.

4. Understand Customer Needs

AI can almost read your customers’ minds—or at least predict what they want next. By analyzing past behavior, AI decodes what products or services will catch their attention. It’s like having an assistant who whispers in your ear, “They’re going to love this.” This kind of insight lets you tailor your messaging and offers to be spot-on every time. 

5. Targeting the Right Audience

What if you could make sure that your ads only reached the people most likely to buy from you? AI makes that possible by analyzing data and helping you target the right audience. This means your marketing dollars go further, and you get to focus on the customers who matter most. Better targeting equals better results—every time.

6. Adjusting Prices Instantly

In today’s fast-paced market, prices need to be flexible. AI helps you stay competitive by adjusting your prices in real-time based on demand, competitor pricing, and market conditions. It’s like having a team of analysts working around the clock to make sure your prices are always just right—maximizing profits without missing a beat.

7. 24/7 Chat Support

AI chatbots don’t sleep, and neither does your customer service. Offering round-the-clock support, AI chatbots can handle customer queries, complaints, or requests for information—even when your human staff is off the clock. This constant availability keeps your customers happy and your business running smoothly, day and night.

8. Creating Content Quickly

Imagine having a content creation assistant that never takes a break. AI tools can whip up high-quality blog posts, social media content, and even videos in a fraction of the time it would take a human. Not only does this speed up your workflow, but it also helps boost your SEO rankings with fresh, relevant content that keeps customers coming back for more.

9. Better Search Engine Rankings

Speaking of SEO, AI can help you dominate search engine rankings. By analyzing which keywords work best, AI ensures that your content is optimized and easy to find. Higher rankings mean more visibility, and more visibility means more customers finding their way to your site.

10. Smart Ad Placement

Ever wonder why some ads seem to follow you around the internet? That’s AI at work, analyzing your online behavior and ensuring ads are placed where they’ll have the most impact. It’s like having a marketing expert who knows exactly when and where to show your ads to get the best results.

11. Cutting Marketing Costs

AI doesn’t just make your marketing smarter—it makes it cheaper too. By automating tasks, optimizing campaigns, and predicting what will work, AI helps you cut down on wasted spend. It’s like having a financial advisor who ensures every marketing dollar you spend is put to good use.

12. Analyzing Competitors

AI isn’t just about looking inward; it helps you keep tabs on your competition too. For example, using a data visualization tool like BlazeSQL AI, you can track competitor trends and uncover actionable insights from complex datasets, giving you a competitive edge. By monitoring their activities, AI gives you insights into what they’re doing right—and where they’re falling short. This keeps you ahead of the game, ready to capitalize on trends before your competitors even see them coming.

13. Personalized Email Campaigns

Sending generic emails? That’s so last year. AI helps you create personalized email campaigns that speak directly to each customer’s preferences and behaviors. And it works—personalized emails have been shown to increase revenue by up to 760%. That’s the power of knowing what your customers want before they do.

14. Instant Customer Help

In a world where everyone wants answers now, AI-powered chatbots are a lifesaver. They provide instant responses to customer queries, solving problems in real-time without making anyone wait. Your customers get the help they need, and you get to keep them happy. Win-win!

15. Detecting Fraud Quickly

AI has a keen eye for spotting anything suspicious. Whether it’s identifying fake clicks or stopping fraudulent transactions, AI helps protect your business from harmful behavior. It’s like having a digital security guard on duty 24/7, keeping an eye on things and catching problems before they get out of hand.

16. Grouping Similar Customers

AI helps you segment your audience into specific groups based on their behavior, making it easier to tailor your marketing to their needs. It’s like having a map that shows you exactly where your customers are and what they’re looking for, helping you deliver just the right message at the right time.

17. Curating Relevant Content

What if you could always share the most relevant content with your audience? AI helps you do just that by curating content that resonates with your customers. Whether it’s news, blogs, or videos, AI ensures you’re sharing what they care about, keeping them engaged and coming back for more.

18. Tracking Campaign Success

Ever wonder how well your marketing campaigns are really doing? AI takes out the guesswork by analyzing campaign performance in real-time. It’s like having an analytics expert who tracks everything for you, so you can tweak your strategy on the fly and make sure you’re getting the best possible results. No more waiting for the end of the quarter to see if something’s working—you’ll know right away.

19. Improving Website Experience

AI can completely transform the way users interact with your website. By analyzing visitor behavior, it customizes the content, layout, and navigation to make the experience smoother and more enjoyable. Think of it as having a digital concierge for each visitor, guiding them through your site and ensuring they find exactly what they’re looking for.

20. Boosting Sales Conversions

AI doesn’t just help people find what they need—it nudges them to buy. By recommending products based on previous behavior and offering timely discounts or reminders, AI encourages customers to hit that ‘Buy’ button. It’s like having a personal shopper who knows just when to suggest the perfect product, boosting your sales effortlessly.

21. Monitoring Social Media

Keeping track of social media conversations can feel like drinking from a fire hose—there’s just so much happening. But AI helps you monitor social media trends, mentions, and conversations in real-time. It’s like having ears everywhere, helping you stay on top of what people are saying about your brand so you can jump in when necessary or catch trends early.

22. Analyzing Customer Feedback

Ever feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of customer feedback? AI can sift through reviews, social media comments, and surveys to identify patterns and insights. It’s like having a team of analysts reading every comment for you and delivering only the most important takeaways. This way, you can make informed decisions on how to improve your products or services.

23. Optimizing for Voice Search

With more people using voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, optimizing for voice search is becoming a must. AI ensures that your content is voice-search friendly, helping your business show up when people ask their devices for recommendations. It’s like teaching your business to speak the same language as your customers’ devices, so they can find you easily.

24. Real-Time Reports

Waiting weeks for performance reports is a thing of the past. AI generates real-time reports that give you up-to-the-minute insights into how your marketing efforts are performing. Whether it’s tracking clicks, conversions, or sales, AI provides the information you need to make quick decisions. It’s like having a live feed of your business’s performance at your fingertips.

25. Measuring ROI Accurately

How do you know if your marketing is actually paying off? AI takes the guesswork out by calculating your return on investment (ROI) with precision. It breaks down exactly where your dollars are going and how much you’re getting back, making sure every cent is working hard for your business.

26. Analyzing Video Content

Videos are powerful, but they’re not always easy to analyze. AI can dive deep into your video content, recognizing faces, objects, and even emotions to help you understand what resonates most with viewers. It’s like having a film critic and a data scientist in one, helping you create videos that capture attention and drive engagement.

27. Testing Marketing Strategies

Running A/B tests used to take a lot of time, but AI makes the process quick and efficient. It automatically tests different strategies to see which ones work best with your audience, allowing you to optimize your campaigns on the go. It’s like having a marketing assistant constantly tweaking and refining your approach for maximum impact.

28. Integrating Multiple Channels

AI connects the dots between all your marketing channels, whether it’s your website, social media, or email campaigns. By integrating data from all these platforms, AI helps you create a seamless and cohesive omnichannel experience. It’s like conducting an orchestra where every instrument (or channel) plays in harmony to create a beautiful performance.

29. Using Resources Wisely

AI doesn’t just help with marketing—it helps you use your resources more efficiently. By automating tasks, identifying cost-saving opportunities, and optimizing your campaigns, AI ensures that you’re getting the most out of your budget. It’s like having a financial planner dedicated to making sure every dollar you spend is working as hard as possible.

30. Keeping Customers Loyal

AI goes beyond just making the sale—it helps you keep customers coming back for more. By predicting what they’ll need next and offering personalized discounts or rewards, AI helps build long-term relationships. It’s like having a loyalty program that’s tailor-made for each customer, keeping them happy and loyal to your brand for the long haul.

Conclusion

AI is transforming digital marketing, helping businesses not just keep pace but stand out in a crowded space. It automates tasks, creates personal experiences, and improves efficiency. AI cuts costs and raises customer satisfaction. As it advances, AI’s role in marketing will expand, redefining how companies connect with people.

Ready to see how AI can take your business to the next level? From automating tasks to creating personalized customer experiences, AI is the game-changer you’ve been waiting for. Don’t miss out on the benefits—explore LiveHelpNow’s AI chatbot, Hue, powered by ChatGPT. It’s designed to boost efficiency and customer satisfaction in ways you never thought possible. Get started today and watch your business thrive!

The post 30 Benefits of AI You Need to Know by the End of 2024 appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

Super handy for managing your booking channels, right? But here’s the catch—channel managers handle the basics well, but their communication features can fall short. This is where live chat software shines. Even if your channel manager has messaging tools, live chat can boost communication in several ways.

What is a Channel Manager?

Handling listings on Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and VRBO can be tough. A channel manager helps by syncing availability, prices, and bookings in real-time. It keeps your details current and correct. This prevents double bookings and manual mistakes. Managing multiple properties across OTAs becomes simple and stress-free.

Customization that Fits Your Business, Not Just Your Listings

Look, built-in chat tools are nice to have, but they’re often pretty generic. They work for most, but is “most” really enough for you? Live chat software, on the other hand, lets you customize everything—from how you respond to inquiries to integrating with your CRM and tenant records.

That means you’re not just managing properties; you’re managing relationships. When tenants or buyers message you, you’re pulling up their entire history through your property management system, handling requests more efficiently, and making them feel like a priority (because they are). Plus, you can tweak the chat system to match your business’s brand—down to the tone of the messages.

AI-Powered Chatbots: More Than Just Automation

“Automation” might sound like a fancy buzzword, but it’s more than that. Sure, your channel manager might offer a little automation—maybe some preset replies or a booking confirmation here and there, but it’s crucial to sync with your PMS. But live chat software? It takes automation to a whole new level.

With AI-driven chatbots, you’re not just responding to basic inquiries—you’re answering complex questions, guiding tenants through multi-step processes (think lease signings!), and handling requests 24/7. No more dropping the ball because you can’t respond fast enough. AI learns and improves as it goes, meaning fewer headaches for you and faster solutions for your tenants.

Trending Now

AI and AR are transforming real estate, improving business operations and client experiences. AI streamlines data analysis, trend forecasting, and property management. AR provides tools like 3D renderings and virtual tours, helping buyers visualize properties better. Though concerns about privacy and risks exist, most major U.S. brokerages have adopted these technologies, including channel management software, for better efficiency and engagement. In the end, technology enhances real estate, but success still relies on human relationships and trust.

Connecting All the Dots: Real Omnichannel Support

Here’s the deal—your channel manager probably focuses on property listing platforms like Airbnb or Booking.com, and that’s awesome. But what about your website? Your social media channels? What if someone wants to message you through Facebook or send a text?

That’s where live chat software shines. It connects all your communication channels in one place. So whether your tenant reaches out on your website, Instagram, or a property platform, you’re managing everything from a single dashboard. No missed messages. No frantic platform-hopping. Just one seamless experience.

24/7 Availability: Because Tenants Don’t Always Wait

Let’s face it—tenants don’t just need you from 9 to 5. Emergencies happen. Questions come up at the worst times. And while your channel manager’s chat might shut down after business hours, live chat software with AI chatbots works around the clock. Your tenants get the help they need, and you don’t lose sleep.

Need a quick fix for a maintenance request at 2 AM? Done. Someone needs to know if an apartment is still available? The chatbot’s on it. You get peace of mind, and your tenants get service that feels 24/7, even if your team isn’t.

Advanced Analytics: More Than Just Counting Inquiries

Numbers matter, but it’s not just about how many inquiries you’re getting. It’s about what you do with that information. With live chat software, you get detailed insights—response times, satisfaction ratings, and more. You can track how well your team is doing, what your tenants are asking for the most, and how you can improve.

And here’s the kicker—AI can predict tenant behavior. It can show you patterns, helping you tweak your processes, improve your communication, and offer a better experience overall. That’s the kind of data you can actually use.

Conclusion: The Best of Both Worlds

Channel managers are great at what they do. They’re designed to handle the heavy lifting of property listings, bookings, and basic communication. But when it comes to keeping up with tenant expectations and managing complex interactions across multiple platforms, live chat software offers the extra edge.

It’s like having a rock-solid foundation (your channel manager) but deciding to build a beautiful, functional house on top (live chat). Why settle for basic when you can make things easier, faster, and more efficient? With live chat software, you’re not just responding to tenants—you’re enhancing your business.

Ready to take your property management communication to the next level? Check out LiveHelpNow’s Live Chat Software for powerful features like AI-driven chatbots, omnichannel support, and 24/7 availability. You can even sign-up for a 30-day free trial.

Don’t miss the opportunity to enhance your communication strategy—get started today!

The post Beyond the Basics: How Live Chat Enhances Communication for Property Managers Using Channel Managers appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

Turning Browsers into Buyers (Even at 3 AM)

Imagine a potential customer browsing your website late at night. They have questions but no one is there to help. Without 24/7 support, they might leave or forget you.

With 24/7 chat, someone steps in to guide them. It’s not just about being available—it’s about seizing opportunities. 44% of customers say live support is crucial. Without it, you could lose sales.

In-house 24/7 support can be costly compared to our comprehensive support options. But outsourced solutions offer an affordable way to ensure no lead is ignored, no matter the time.

Omnichannel: Because Your Customers Are Everywhere

Let’s be real—people use many ways to communicate. Some prefer chat, others email, and some reach out on social media or text. Limiting service to business hours and one channel restricts connection.

With 24/7/365 support across multiple platforms, your business is always ready. Whether customers prefer chat, email, or messaging, help is available when they need it—thanks to a social media customer service platform that can handle all customer inquiries.. For more efficient service, a Help Desk Ticketing System can streamline your customer support, improving both the speed and quality of responses.

This flexibility boosts customer satisfaction. It’s not just about being there—it’s about being there on their terms. And that can greatly increase customer loyalty.

Addressing Customer Concerns in Real-Time

Here’s the situation: a customer has a problem with your product. They ask for help, but it’s after hours. Now they’re frustrated, waiting until the next day. Not ideal, right?

With 24/7/365 support, they get help right away. Instead of feeling ignored, they know your business is always there for them. This builds trust and satisfaction.

Solving issues fast also stops them from growing worse. A quick resolution keeps customers loyal, while long waits can push them away.

Honesty in Service: Tailored Support for Every Business

Not every business needs the same level of support. Some need basic 24/7 help for common questions, while others require more hands-on assistance. The good news? There’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

For simple needs, shared agents can handle FAQs and guide customers through basic processes. They’re trained on your business and can escalate issues as needed.

For more personalized support, dedicated agents trained on your systems offer deeper service. They act as an extension of your team, but at a lower cost.

The key is finding the right fit. Whether full-time or part-time, there’s a solution that ensures your customers always get the help they need.

Navigating Part-Time vs. Full-Time Needs

You might wonder, “Do I really need 24/7/365 support?” It depends on your customers and the experience you want to provide.

For some, part-time help or shared support keeps things running smoothly. If you need specialists but can’t hire full-time, outsourcing might be a smart option. You get skilled help during key hours without the full-time cost.

But if inquiries keep coming after hours or you want to ensure no customer is left waiting, 24/7/365 support can help you grow without losing touch with customer care. It’s all about finding the right balance for your business.

Honest Conversations Lead to Better Outcomes

Hiring an outsourced team isn’t just about covering hours—it’s about keeping your business running smoothly, day and night. Open communication is key to success.

Be clear about your needs. Discuss expected hours, response times, and workload. If something isn’t working, ask questions and give feedback. Small tweaks can improve performance.

Honesty is a two-way street. Be upfront about your business needs, and expect the same from your support team. This ensures a seamless experience for both you and your customers.

The Bottom Line: 24/7/365 Support Is a Game-Changer

Still unsure about 24/7/365 support? Your customers are always online and ready to connect. Round-the-clock support keeps you available anytime.

It’s about more than meeting needs—it’s about exceeding them. When customers can reach you anytime, trust grows. Trust leads to more sales, loyalty, and referrals.

Make 24/7 support your secret weapon. You’ll see more conversions, happier customers, and a stronger reputation.

Trending Now

24/7 customer support ensures businesses are always ready to help, no matter the time or place. This service provides real-time solutions, improving the customer experience and building trust. With constant availability, businesses can solve issues right away, reducing frustration and downtime thanks to 24/7 Live Chat Support. Offering this level of real-time assistance boosts satisfaction and keeps companies competitive in a global market where immediate help is expected.

Conclusion

Looking for a solution to keep your business running 24/7/365? LiveHelpNow has you covered. Our round-the-clock support ensures you never miss a chance to engage—day or night.

Our trained agents handle inquiries across multiple channels, keeping your business responsive and your customers happy. Whether you need shared or dedicated agents, we customize solutions to fit your needs.

Want to see the difference? Start your free trial today—no strings attached. Experience exceptional service, anytime your customers need it.

The post Why 24/7/365 Support is the Secret Weapon Your Business Needs to Win Customers appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

• Easy scheduling of medical appointments
• Reduced waiting time
• Fast symptom assessment and treatment
• Efficient invoicing
• Personal assistance

AI-driven chatbots enable the healthcare industry to save time and money. Such digital healthcare services also improve patient diagnoses and outcomes. Let’s take a look at how.

1. Rapid Symptom Assessment

Determining the symptoms that a patient presents with is the first step towards successful treatment. A symptom checker bot such as Conversa can ask patients relevant questions and understand symptoms like a real doctor. It can then automate care. For example, a triage chatbot can help identify high-risk patients and then put them in contact with the appropriate healthcare provider and medical team. The result is invaluable preventive care and high-quality care for patients.

This ability to help with patient triage was especially critical during the worst of the COVID pandemic. Conversational chatbots integrated with Primary Care EMR were able to guide patients to crucial information and tell them how to get help via artificial intelligence. Using a small practice EMR can help providers securely manage patient data while ensuring HIPAA compliance. They also aided patients in finding vaccination locations.

Healthcare chatbots enable caregivers to access important symptom details before meeting the patient. This provides doctors and healthcare institutions with a clearer understanding of the patient’s current health status. It also gives them the opportunity to create a rapid, effective treatment plan that reduces hospital visits and admissions, supported by the best EHR for mental health private practice.

2. Patient Information Collection

It takes time and effort to acquire patient data. The digital customer experience hastens this process. Patients can easily provide their name, address, contact number, symptoms, etc. to the chatbot. This frees up time for nurses and doctors to provide much-needed care instead of gathering information. Plus, the chatbot can save this data. This simplifies patient admissions, the tracking of symptoms, and record-keeping.

3. Fast, Easy Appointment Scheduling

One of the tougher challenges in the healthcare industry is to book appointments. How many times have you had difficulty getting through to an appointment scheduler at your own doctor’s office? Medical practices are hectic environments and it’s not unusual to be put on hold or forgotten altogether when trying to make an appointment. Modern medical facilities are addressing these inefficiencies through healthcare application development that streamlines the entire appointment scheduling process.

Healthcare organizations can also leverage advanced EMS scheduling software to streamline appointments for emergency medical services, ensuring timely and efficient care. Plus, chatbots can be designed to work with CRM systems to help track visits and make upcoming appointments. For those enrolled in medicare advantage plans Healthpilot, chatbots can simplify scheduling by coordinating with plan-specific provider networks. They can even plan for follow-up appointments and process co-payments. They can even plan for follow-up appointments and process co-payments.

4. Rapid Responses to Common Questions

Why waste the limited time of a nurse or receptionist when AI solutions can answer commonly-asked questions and provide prompt medical advice? These include inquiries about business hours, office location, insurance processing, and more. Unlike human operators, conversational artificial intelligence is available 24/7. Chatbots can also provide personalized answers to basic medical questions (e.g., medication dosages) by accessing a given patient’s data. There’s no need to depend on a doctor’s availability to get the answers patients seek. Automated conversation flow that answers common health questions is an effective alternative.

5. Providing Patients with Targeted Healthcare Information

Many questions can come up before and after a medical procedure or routine visit to your doctor’s office. Often you’ll find yourself asking the same question more than once.

These are important questions but don’t necessarily need a doctor or nurse to answer them. For example, a chatbot can walk you through post-operative care. It can also let you know what symptoms to expect and when to contact your doctor. Chatbots can record conversations and report the nature of your questions to your provider. Plus, they are available 24/7 so you can ask questions at your own convenience and be transferred to a live agent if needed. They can even provide insurance details and support insurance services. Studies show healthcare chatbots improve patient satisfaction.

6. Easily Accessible Lab Report Information

Accessing and keeping track of your lab results can be difficult. Even if the nurse or doctor handed you a printout at the end of your appointment, it’s easy to misplace or discard that information. But with AI-enabled conversational healthcare, you can easily access the information you need. Chatbots can even locate testing centers or pathology laboratories for you. Plus, they can report on test pricing and forward your most recent lab results to a new provider. The result is greater efficiency, reduced administrative and printing costs, and saved time.

7. Enhanced Patient Engagement

Patient engagement is the key to improved customer experience and outcomes. A patient who is not engaged in his or her healthcare is three times more likely to suffer from untreated medical issues. That same patient is about twice as likely to delay much-needed care.

Patient outreach is the answer but takes time and cuts into limited resources. Patient engagement chatbots can give patients the information they need for improved care. They can also forward personalized information via the patient’s preferred means of communication. The chatbot can keep a patient engaged by delivering the answers they need in the format they need them.

8. Collecting Patient Feedback

Patient feedback is an essential aspect of improving healthcare services. After all, who has a better understanding of their medical experience and ways to improve it than a patient? Healthcare chatbots help doctors learn what patients think of their practice or hospital. And they can learn it in real time via both quantitative and qualitative feedback. So doctors can address individual patient concerns and improve the patient experience.

9. Improved Team Coordination

Today’s care management teams are busier than ever before. This makes it tough to keep track of resources. But, with a bot, team members who want to check equipment availability and status can just ask that bot to retrieve this data from the system. Operations and resource information is available at their fingertips. The result? Improved team coordination, fewer delays, and happier patients.

Also, healthcare bots enable provider teams to swiftly access accurate patient information. This includes prescriptions, reports, allergies, and appointments. The provider has the critical information needed to perform patient care when it’s needed.

10. Targeted Wellness Programs

Wellness programs can only be successful if enough patients enroll in them. A healthcare chatbot with natural language understanding and processing capabilities and sentiment analysis understands what users want. It can then use this information to recommend the right healthcare program for the appropriate patient.

11. Service Hours Scalability

Scalability is the key to success in almost any business. That’s certainly true of the healthcare sector. For example, what happens when the support infrastructure isn’t able to handle a sudden rush of patient phone calls? A healthcare chatbot can help meet this customer support challenge. How? By handling conversations that would otherwise require a staff member. Plus, the chatbot is available to answer questions and make appointments at any time of day or night.

12. Counseling

Sometimes people are more comfortable speaking to a healthcare chatbot than a fellow human being. Why? Because patients can unburden themselves without fear of judgment or alienating the listener. Put simply, chatbots are good listeners and sometimes that’s exactly the kind of mental health assistance a patient needs. Plus, with NLP, healthcare chatbots can offer the patient context-based, therapeutic responses.

Conclusion: Healthcare Chatbots Bring Innovation to Medical Communications

Healthcare chatbots are still evolving. More advanced healthcare chatbot solutions will emerge to serve patients as technology improves. They will identify symptoms and help manage chronic health issues like diabetes. And they will monitor the health status of patients and even call for help during emergencies.

At LiveHelpNow, we’ve been at the forefront of chatbot technology since the beginning. We look forward to developing the healthcare chatbot technology of tomorrow.

The post 12 Ways that Healthcare Chatbots are Improving Medicine appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

Please complete the following easy steps to integrate your LiveHelpNow live chat user info into your Capsule CRM People & Organizations list.

Login

1. Login to your Capsule CRM account, click on your name on the top right of the screen and then click “My Preferences” in the dropdown.

API Authentication Token

2. With the “API Authentication Token” option selected (1), copy the API Token from this screen (2).

LiveHelpNow Account Login

3. Login to your LiveHelpNow account and go to Admin Panel->My Account->Integrations->Eventing API

A. Click on “Add Event”

B. Select “ChatOpened” event

C. Select “JSON” for Event Type

D. Select “POST” for Event Verb

HTTP Basic Authentication

4. In the HTTP Basic Authentication User name field, enter the API Token you copied from your Capsule CRM account in Step #2.  In the password field, type “x” in the space provided. No values are required in the Headers fields.

Note: There is no password required, however, Capsule CRM recommends not leaving the field blank and populating it with an “x” to meet this requirement. 

Payload Field

5. Enter the following into the payload field:

{
"person": {
"contacts": {
"email": {
"emailAddress": "$$Email$$"
}
},
"firstName": "$$FirstName$$",
"lastName": "$$LastName$$"
}
}

Please Note: The $$$FirstName$$$ and $$$LastName$$$ labels in the Payload syntax above assume you are collecting the chat user’s Name in the Pre-Chat Requested Information in LiveHelpNow mapped to “FullName” CRM Field. 

The $$$Email$$$ label in the Payload syntax above assumes you are collecting the chat user’s email address in the Pre-Chat Requested Information in LiveHelpNow mapped to “Email” CRM Field. 

These settings are located at Admin Panel->Chat System->Customization->Pre-chat requirements

In order to ensure data is pushed to Capsule CRM from all LiveHelpNow chat users, it is highly recommended you define the name and email address as required. This is done by selecting “yes” from the dropdown in the Required column for the email field in the Pre-Chat Requested Information settings.  

URL Address

6. In the URL field, enter the following address:

https://XXX.capsulecrm.com/api/person

Replace XXX with your custom Capsule CRM URL.

If you do not already know your custom Capsule CRM URL, you can locate it by clicking on the Gear Icon on the top right of the screen when logged into Capsule CRM:

Your Custom URL is located on the Account page under the “Web Address of your account”

Event Failed Notification

7. Add an email address to the Event Failed Notification(s)” field

Event

8. Make sure the box next to Enabled is checked, and click Add Event to save.

Your saved event should look like this:

All done!

9. You’re all done! As your chat users start new chat sessions, you should now see the info provided from their Pre-Chat Questions in your Capsule CRM People & Organizations page!

See more LiveHelpNow live chat system integrations

The post LiveHelpNow Live Chat Capsule CRM Integration appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

Here’s the reality: many of these issues can be addressed with one straightforward solution—live chat. Whether it’s live chat for education or student chat rooms, real-time support transforms how universities and colleges interact with their communities. It provides immediate answers, cutting out the frustration of lengthy phone calls or drawn-out email exchanges.

Live chat helps schools connect with people exactly when they need it most. It offers a seamless way to provide support and make information accessible, ensuring students and alumni alike feel supported.

Let’s explore how university live chat can simplify college life for everyone involved.

Make a Great First Impression on Prospective Students

When someone’s checking out a school, the first place they’ll go is the website. But let’s be real—most university websites are packed with so much information that it’s hard to find what you’re looking for. That’s where live chat for colleges comes in.

Picture this: A potential student is browsing your site and has questions about admissions deadlines or application requirements. Instead of digging through FAQs or waiting on hold, they open a chat window and get instant answers from an admissions rep. That’s the kind of first impression that sticks.

Take the College of Charleston, for example. They’ve made live chat for universities a centerpiece of their admissions page, letting students and even parents ask about financial aid, housing, or campus safety right away. And here’s the kicker—live chat doesn’t just help answer questions. The built-in analytics can show you where prospective students drop off your site, helping you fine-tune your pages to keep them engaged.

Help Current Students Navigate College Life

Let’s talk about the students who are already enrolled. Did you know about half of all college students switch majors at least once? It’s true—and when they do, it usually means a mess of reworking schedules, meeting with advisors, and figuring out how to stay on track to graduate.

With chat for students, they can ask quick questions, get advice, and even chat with professors without leaving their dorm room. If students find themselves overwhelmed, they can also quickly ask for help, like, “write me a paper,” allowing them to focus on other pressing academic tasks.Academic advisors, for their part, can handle multiple chats at once, which means they can help more students in less time. Win-win, right?

Take the Stress Out of Research

University libraries are packed with resources—sometimes too many. For students tackling a big paper or project, knowing where to start can feel impossible. That’s where online chat rooms for students come in.

Imagine a stressed-out student opening a chat to ask a librarian for help finding sources, citing a tricky reference, or even accessing resources like the Microsoft AZ-900 Practice Test Dumps. In minutes, they’re pointed in the right direction and ready to get to work. Schools like the University of Pennsylvania are already doing this, using IM, text messaging, and live chat for education to guide students through their research.

Keep Alumni Connected

Here’s a fact: Alumni donations are a big deal for schools. They fund scholarships, programs, and even new buildings. But alumni often lose touch with their alma maters because it’s hard to get updates or find out how to donate.

With live chat for colleges, graduates can pop onto the website, ask their questions, and reconnect without jumping through hoops. Whether they want updates on a favorite professor or information about contributing to a scholarship fund, having a chat option makes it easy—and schools that make it easy tend to get more donations.

Trending Now

An article by Inside Indiana Business highlights how Netfor, a customer support outsourcing company, uses AI to enhance interactions through its Real-Time Interaction Guidance (RTIG) tool. This system analyzes calls and chats in real-time, detecting emotional cues, “trigger words,” and conversational patterns to coach agents instantly.

RTIG offers actionable advice, such as promoting active listening or providing relevant details, enabling agents to resolve issues efficiently and shorten calls. The tool not only boosts customer satisfaction but also reduces costs, streamlines processes, and improves supervisor oversight with immediate feedback instead of delayed coaching.

This innovation showcases how AI drives tangible improvements in customer service, fostering stronger relationships and greater operational efficiency.

Why Live Chat Is a Must-Have

Let’s not sugarcoat it—education is a competitive space, and standing out isn’t easy. But tools like university live chat and online chat rooms for students give schools an edge. They make it easier for prospective students to apply, help current students stay on track, and keep alumni in the loop.

In the end, it’s all about connection. When schools make support accessible and convenient, everyone benefits. Students are happier, alumni feel valued, and universities get the reputation boost they need to stay ahead.

Make every interaction count. Elevate your institution’s communication and support with LiveHelpNow live chat for universities. Get started today and see how LiveHelpNow can transform your campus support system.

The post How Colleges Can Benefit from Live Chat appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

Live chat for sales purposes is becoming a part of the online shopping experience as research point indicates that interacting with a visitor on a site real time can boost conversions.

But merely installing a chat software and assigning an intern or a low level employee is not going to make your cash register go ka-ching.

Selling online is still selling with the added obstacle of salespersons not being able to rely on non-verbal cues during interaction with prospects to make their case.

If you want live chat to make a positive difference to your sales figures you will have to invest in sales training for your operators.

You will also have to look out for traits like savviness with technology and ability to connect online without the benefit of body language.
And while a single blog post is not enough to cover the intricacies of selling successfully through chat here are a few pointers to get you started.

1. Understand your business

This point is crucial and can’t be stated enough. More than anything else, if you want to start a conversation which culminates in your visitor giving you their money the person doing the chatting on your end has to know each and every part of your business. They have to understand what services or products you offer, what is the pricing and what is the best fit for the visitor’s needs.

Think of them as real life shopping assistants. Would you buy an expensive lens from a camera store if the guy at the counter didn’t know what was in stock or doesn’t ask what kind of camera you have?

2. Understand your customers

Selling anything also requires that you need to understand the motivations of your customers. In the context of online selling you have to understand what drives visitors to your page, which pages are the stickiest, what are the top referring pages and keywords and what prompts visitors to click away.

If you are running an online store you have to be particularly careful about shopping cart abandonment and attempt to understand the reasons behind it. If you are talking with your customers via chat, try asking open ended questions that are not designed to sell- sometimes you will get insights that outweigh the value of a single sale.

3. Know when to start a chat

All visitors on your site are not equal. Some are just browsing idly, some are shopping around and comparing and some are primed to buy but have difficulty in making up their minds. Knowing who is what is how you run an efficient live chat for sales selling machine.

When you send out a invite for a chat don’t send it to anyone who is on your site for 10 minutes or more. Use the tracking features on your chat software and target those visitors that are on pages that have calls to action (Our Live Chat System provides you real time information about all visitors).

So, if you are selling a software ping the visitors who have been on the demo page or are browsing the plans and pricing page. If you are running an online store, ping those who are on a product page for sometime but not yet clicked on the shopping cart button. These are the people who can convert.

4. Don’t be pushy

While taking initiative and being proactive is well and good, too much of it can be a bad thing. Because of the nature of chat a virtual store assistant does not have the benefit of interpreting body language when interacting with site visitors.

Therefore virtual sales assistants have to extra sensitive to visitor responses. If a polite question asking whether they need any assistance is declined or ignored, the rep has to withdraw themselves from the conversation immediately while assuring the visitor that they will be around if needed.

5. Personalize connections

People like talking to people, period. And when it comes to buying, people like going to a place where they are recognized. That’s why you have your favorite coffee shop.

Online, you can take this concept by personalizing your interactions with your visitors. Contrary to what you might think, facelessness of the medium is not that much of a obstacle in establishing one on one relationships. You can use a variety of tactics from analyzing the past purchases of signed in visitors to providing more localized options based on their IP address location to appear more attuned to their needs.

You can also add to the human touch by having a photograph of your chat operator in the window,using an appropriate greeting (open the chat with Buenos Dias if the IP is from a Spanish speaking country) or addressing the visitor by name (where available).

How does live chat increase online sales?

Live chat boosts online sales by offering instant help, answering doubts, and guiding buyers through purchases. Unlike FAQs or email, it resolves issues on the spot, building confidence. Proactive chat invites on key pages and behavior insights improve the experience. By making customers feel valued, live chat builds trust, cuts cart abandonment, and turns visitors into buyers.

Conclusion

Closing sales online is not luck nor black magic. It’s a mixture of sales training, site analysis and old fashioned conversation skills mixed with online chatting smarts. If you have that, you will be a star seller.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to chat with customers, you can employ a live chat answering service with agents that will quickly learn your business and turn those browsers into buyers.

The post 5 Strategies to Transform Your Live Chat Service Into a Sales Channel appeared first on LiveHelpNow.

Live chat is a great sales tool and a tremendous tactic to offer fantastic customer service. It’s more scalable than a call center because live chat systems typically permit the customer service agent to conduct several chats concurrently, dramatically improving the ability to service more customers per hour.

Except, of course, procedures actually damage the customer experience rather than enhance it.

At the moment, we’ll take a look at few situations where live chat can actually destroy the customer experience. We’ve also included preliminary guidelines for implementing effective live chat customer service.

Live Chat Scenarios

Make Sure the Customer Service Agent Reads the User’s Question or the Session Log

Personalization + adapted user experiences. A basic personalization standard is “in no way make your customers repeat themselves.” This issue occurs online, on the phone, and in live chat. It’s evidenced online by blank forms that should be prepopulated with already known information (such as user name, if the user’s already signed in).

On the phone, it happens when the agent asks for your telephone number or account number, even though you already provided it for the duration of the automated part of the phone call. In live chat, this occurs in two different places.

The majority of live chat systems, including LiveHelpNow pre-chat requirements, sometimes require you to enter your name and an initial question before the live chat commences. That way, the agent already knows what the question is and can start helping you right away. Here’s a snippet from a recent conversation we had via live chat with Comcast xfinity support agent:

You are now chatting with “Janice J.”
Janice J.: Welcome to the sales team! I’m Janice, your online Sales Representative. How may I assist you today?
John: Hello. I would like to cancel my high-speed internet and keep only the cable service.
Janice J.: I would have to transfer your chat to high-speed internet department, please hold.
John: Ok
You are being transferred to the high-speed internet department.
You are now chatting with “Sam G.”
Sam G.: Hello! Welcome to Comcast Xfinity Online Support. I am Sam, your online live Support Representative. How may I assist you?

In this example, I have been asked to explain my problem three times. I entered the problem into the system when I initiated the chat session. I repeated it to Janice. Then I was transferred to Sam, who asked me to repeat it again. Is the problem they didn’t read the conversation log before chatting with me? Getting a little aggravated now…

I think it’s simpler than that. Currently, the canned greeting message says:
Welcome to the sales team! I’m Janice, your online Sales Representative. How may I assist you today?
The use of canned greeting message actually changed the user workflow and made the whole conversation confusing actually time consuming.
If the greeting was different, the entire customer experience would’ve been different.

Here’s another version that works much better:
Welcome to the sales team! I’m Janice, your online Sales Representative.
Please allow a minute for me to review your question, and I’ll do my best to help you.

This greeting makes it clear that the first action should be done by Janice, not me, because I already did mine and am waiting for response. It also signals that Janice is reading the question I already submitted. Similarly, this would signal to Sam to read the log file instead of asking the same question Janice already did.

Allow the Customer Service Agents to type anything themselves; Do NOT insist on canned messages only

John: I would like to cancel my internet and only keep cable.
But Xfinity doesn’t have a canned response to that question. The closest automated response it has is for someone who wants to cancel his/her account in its entirety, and not just High-speed internet portion of it. Here’s a snippet of my conversation:

John: Hello. I would like to cancel my high-speed internet and keep only the cable. S
am G.: I am sorry to hear you would like to cancel your Xfinity account, may I have your account # and last 4 of your social security number?
John: i don’t wish to cancel my entire account, I am happy with cable package just want to cancel my internet
Sam G.: Okay.
John: [inputs account #, already entered on the initial pre-chat screen!]
Sam G.: Thank you for the information. Please give me a moment while I quickly review your account. In the meanwhile, may I ask why you would like to cancel your xfinity account?
John: I already said this twice, but I will say it again: I just want to cancel my internet but keep xfinity cable.

There are so many lessons to be learned from this interaction. The most fundamental is canned responses cannot cover every possible scenario. I think Sam actually understood what I wanted, but he couldn’t find a canned response that was corresponding to my question. So he kept sending responses that were “close enough” I’m not sure whether he just didn’t want to type his own responses or he’s ordered not to. Either way, Customer Service Agents must be given the freedom to type their own answers when a canned response doesn’t exist. Furthermore, it’s unfortunately apparent when a canned response is used. All responses must be written in a manner that reflects the company’s brand. Interactions with United Airlines should have a different content style than those from TD Bank. The companies have different personalities. They should be injected in all customer communications.

Best Practices for Optimizing Live Chat Support

Live chat can be a great sales or support tool when properly implemented, it can also be a great system for providing immediate customer service and support. For a successful live chat implementation strategy on your company website, the following steps must be taken at a minimum:

Develop Comprehensive Canned Message Scenarios

Create and script canned responses for as many user scenarios as possible to ensure consistent, accurate replies and avoid gaps in support coverage.

Maintain a Consistent Brand Voice and Style

Ensure all responses reflect the company’s tone and personality to foster a humanized interaction and avoid robotic responses.

Leverage Pre-Chat Information for Personalized Responses

Require agents to read user-submitted details and the chat session log to avoid redundant questions and enhance the customer experience.

Empower Agents with Flexibility Beyond Canned Responses

Train agents to type personalized responses when necessary, while still adhering to the brand’s voice, ensuring effective engagement when canned messages fall short.

Implement and Utilize a Robust Knowledge Base

Integrate the LiveHelpNow Knowledge Base for quick access to FAQs and detailed company information, allowing agents to find relevant answers quickly before drafting their own.

Conduct Regular Chat Log Reviews for Quality Assurance

Review chat history to identify gaps in use cases, improve agent performance, and develop updated guidelines or knowledge base entries for continuous improvement.

Conclusion

Implementing live chat successfully requires a thoughtful approach that prioritizes customer experience at every touchpoint. By following these six steps, your team can provide fast, personalized, and meaningful support that keeps customers satisfied and loyal.

At LiveHelpNow, we understand the value of real-time interactions and offer comprehensive tools—like customizable canned responses, an AI-powered knowledge base, and detailed chat logs—to empower your support team. With our platform, delivering exceptional live chat for customer service becomes simple and scalable.

Ready to elevate your customer support with seamless live chat implementation? Learn more or request a demo today!

The post Live Chat Implementation: 6 Steps for Success appeared first on LiveHelpNow.