Live Сhat – For Efficient Problem-Solving
Pros
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Real communication
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More opportunities
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Handling complex issues
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A variety of communication channels
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Increased conversions
Cons
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People might get emotional
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The answer might take up some time
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Price
A live chat is a traditional way of providing client support. When a person asks a question in a live chat, they get assigned a manager who can help them find a solution to the problem. Live chat is considered a bit outdated way of providing customer support services, however, many companies still prefer using it due to such advantages as:
Effective problem-solving. Online chat was created to facilitate communication between people, which is why a client expects that their request will be handled by a person using customer service software. CS agents can find solutions to more complex problems that require non-standard approaches. They can solve a problem without delays, which makes communication quite enjoyable.
Adaptability. If you compare a chatbot vs live chat, you will see that people are better than chatbots when it comes to reacting to non-standard situations. They will understand a request written with spelling mistakes. Besides, they will figure out what might be causing a problem if it wasn’t described in a script. Because of this, they will solve a variety of issues better.
Real communication. Unlike AI-based tools, people can be compassionate and emotional. A chatbot won’t pay much attention to the story about a client’s family and won’t understand why a person is disappointed because of a lost or stolen product. An agent can establish a connection with a client thanks to a more personalized approach.
People can easily switch to other communication channels. Live chat allows you to quickly and easily switch to other communication channels, such as a voice chat app or video conferencing tools. It allows solving problems without wasting a lot of time. Due to this, a company can keep clients engaged and interact with them without any delays.
They increase conversions. Customer support managers can help a client make up their minds about a product and select the best option. This is why live chat increases conversions by 20–30%.
Despite these obvious advantages, you need to pay attention to shortcomings as well:
People are emotional. Messages in a chat don’t allow clients to understand the voice and intonation of a person, which is why agents might appear rude. Due to this, clients might be unsatisfied with your services and stop ordering your products.
A reply might take some time. Chatbots provide instant replies because they are programmed this way. It will take more time for a CS manager to provide a comprehensive answer, especially if a problem is complex. Agents should reply within 5 minutes. Otherwise, clients will start to look for a solution elsewhere.
High price. One of the main disadvantages of live chats and instant messaging software is that they are quite expensive. Whether you hire people by yourself or use the services provided by an HR agency, you need to pay salaries. At the same time, you can pay much less for using chatbots.
Chatbot – Instant Replies and Multitasking
Pros
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Available 24/7
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Easy to configure
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Quick response time
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Allow saving money
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Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty
Cons
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Chatbots can’t solve complex issues
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Automated responses might sound robotic
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Aren’t capable of making decisions
Chatbots are AI-driven computer programs that allow companies to provide customer support services. They can be easily integrated with eCommerce platforms. If you know anything about in-built bots in such programs as Skype and mIRC, you already know what chatbots are.
In case you can’t decide which option, livechat or chatbot, suits your needs better, you need to consider a variety of factors. There are many advantages of using chatbots in technical support, including:
Quicker response time. Most chatbots provide instant replies or reply in a few seconds. If you decide to use a live chat, the response time will be at least 30 seconds. Besides, clients might need to wait until the members of a technical support team reply to other clients.
Chatbots provide instant replies to many inquiries. Thanks to it, the process of technical support becomes quick and effective, which increases clients’ satisfaction.
Pro Tip: If you add a chat widget to your site, you will notice that many clients ask the same questions. To streamline your workflow, you can add them to FAQ chatbots. This way, your clients will be able to get an answer in no time.
Available 24/7. In some cases, it might be difficult to create a schedule for the members of your CS team so that clients can get a reply at any time. Chatbots don’t need days off, they are always ready to help. Besides, one chatbot can process thousands of requests simultaneously and will never make a client wait.
Reduced expenses. Depending on the number of daily requests, you might need to hire more than a dozen of customer support managers for taking calls and answering messages. If your company strives to provide support 24/7, you need to double the number of agents. One chatbot can process requests regardless of the time of the day. It will allow you to save money on hiring new personnel.
For instance, imagine a company has a monthly budget of $2,000 allocated for customer support. If you get a trusted chatbot, you will need to pay around $40 per month for a subscription. It will save you thousands of dollars every year. You can learn about reliable chatbot options and how to use them to your advantage at Dialpad.
Easy to configure. You can easily set your chatbot up. It can be configured even by a person without any technical skills. Besides, there are different types of chatbots, each of which has its own advantages.
At the same time, chatbots have such disadvantages:
Clients prefer talking to real people. They are more satisfied when they know that they talk to real people. Users prefer solving their problems with the help of customer support managers, as chatbots sometimes provide irrelevant replies, which makes them useless.
They can’t always understand a problem well. After comparing chatbots vs live chat, we noticed that regardless of how useful the former can be, they won’t be able to find a solution to complex problems and offer the best way to solve them. A bot can’t provide a relevant reply in an unforeseen situation.
They can’t make decisions. Chatbots can reply to basic questions. They aren’t programmed to make decisions. If a client asks why a specific product is better than another product, the automated system won’t be able to help. Besides, chatbots can’t solve complex issues.
Verdict - Use Both Chatbots and Agents
Chatbots and live chats will bring a lot of benefits to your company. Both of them can help you improve the quality of the services and increase conversions if you use them together with helpdesk software. However, both options have disadvantages as well. You can avoid them by opting for a hybrid approach or by delegating website creation and optimization to POWR. It will allow you to develop your business more efficiently.
Now that you have read this livechat vs chatbot comparison, you can see that by using both, you can improve the quality of your chat services. Your clients will get their questions answered quickly at any time of the day. However, when a bot faces any difficulties, they could be solved by an agent. Using such services as Giosg, you can leverage the power of live chat and chatbots to build a strong connection with your clients and improve customer satisfaction.
It will be also advantageous for people working in support teams. The automated system can solve a variety of basic issues, while agents can fully dedicate themselves to solving complex tasks.
Besides, you can allow your clients to choose whether they want to communicate with a chatbot or an agent.
