How to hire a live chat agent

The way people shop and browse online is changing, and expectations are rising. In order to provide the best user experience possible on your website, an omnichannel approach to communication is required. Phone calls are still a crucial form of communication, but in many instances, live chat can provide a more convenient medium – providing instant answers there and then. Website visitors tend to be very impatient, and the quicker they can ask questions and receive answers, the better your chances of converting them into customers and clients.

If you decide to add live chat functionality to your website, you can look to deal with the chats yourself, hire a full-time employee or outsource to a managed live chat provider. Whether or not you are looking to hire a live chat agent to work in-house, or you are looking to use a third-party company to provide a managed live chat service, the skill set required is the same.

Why hire a live chat agent?

Live chat is the preferred channel of communication for many people when they are browsing a company website. If they have any questions, it is much easier to respond within a few seconds using live chat than it is to call or email the company.

For this reason, nearly 80% of businesses reported that adding live chat functionality to their website had a positive impact on customer loyalty and sales. Research also shows that live chat has the highest level of customer satisfaction, with 73% of users reporting a positive experience, compared to 61% with email and 44% for phone support. In fact, according to research conducted by invespcro.com, 44% of online customers stated that having questions answered by a live person while in the middle of an online purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer.

Another positive is that live chat support costs significantly less to implement than phone support. With a managed live chat service rather than an in-house team of live chat agents, the cost of implementing real-time live chat support can be even less.

Live chat is a great way to reduce the potential backlog of customer support tickets while at the same time increasing the number of conversions – such as purchases and phone call enquiries, on your website.

By using live chat, you will be making your website more effective. In turn, this will make all of your marketing efforts more productive too.

What skills does a live chat agent need to have?

There are a variety of skills that a live chat agent requires to provide a great customer experience for your website visitors. The ability to type relatively quickly is vital, as website visitors will often expect instant responses.

Pre-built or “canned” responses can help agents provide instant answers for frequently asked questions. While this can help build rapport and hold the visitor’s attention, it is essential that the agent can respond to ad hoc questions as quickly as possible.

In addition to being able to type quickly, a live chat agent must be able to type using correct spelling and grammar. A live chat agent is representing your brand, and spelling mistakes do not present a professional image.

Attention to detail is also crucial. Being able to pay close attention to what the visitor is asking, for example, can mean the difference between a positive and negative experience. If the live chat agent knows the products and services offered down to the fine details, this will also be incredibly beneficial.

The ability to communicate clearly via text is also crucial. Non-verbal communication is usually a key component of any conversation, but this is absent during a live chat. With phone calls, people can still interpret elements of verbal conversation such as tone and pitch of voice as good indicators of mood, for example. Live chat agents must handle conversations appropriately, using an intuitive interpretation of text-based communication and an ability to communicate clearly through text themselves.

Why try Moneypenny’s Live Chat service?

Moneypenny has over 20 years of experience in business communications. With excellent reviews on Trustpilot and Google, your business is in safe hands.

By outsourcing your live chat, you are also saving time and effort regarding recruitment and training. In addition, you will not need to invest in any additional office space, software or hardware, as you would for an in-house employee.

With Moneypenny, you also have the option to incorporate programmable chatbots that can answer frequently asked questions and help to qualify leads before a human agent takes over. You also have access to an online portal that provides various reports to help inform your website design and optimise the customer journey. 

These reports will show you the true value of your live chat functionality. In addition, it is possible to identify frequently asked questions and pain points in the customer journey by analysing the live chat conversations taking place on your website. This analysis can provide valuable information when it comes to maximising the number of sales and leads your website generates. For example, if there is an important product specification that visitors are frequently unable to find themselves, it could be worth highlighting this information within the website’s design.

A hand-picked live chat agent

With Live Chat from Moneypenny, your dedicated agent will become a seamless member of your team. Hand-picked for your company based on their relevant skills, knowledge, and experience, they will represent you perfectly online. 

All of our Live Chat agents are UK-based and are provided with world-class training so they know exactly how to build rapport, provide excellent customer service and win clients.

Our Live Chat widget is customisable in terms of its design and functionality. With our easy-to-use design studio, you can add your logo and company colour scheme to the chat window and use rule-based programming to set proactive and manual chats. For example, if someone is on a product page for over 30 seconds, you can set a proactive chat to pop up and greet the visitor, asking them if they need any assistance.

Other benefits of Moneypenny’s Live Chat service include:

– Optional overflow service

– Flexible pricing with no hidden charges or setup fees

– 24/7 cover – generate sales while you sleep!

– No long-term contracts

– A 7-day free trial

To find out more about setting up your 7-day free trial please visit our Live Chat page.