Learn about implementing live chat agents on websites, programming requirements, and why 90% of consumers prefer real-time support options.

The following is a guest post from my bloggy friend Taylor McKnight. Interested in having a guest post on my website? Click here for my guest post submission form.

Live Chat Agents: Technical Setup and Customer Satisfaction Benefits

There was a time when real-time support was almost taken for granted by consumers. This was certainly the case during the second half of the 20th century; back then, American brands such as Nordstrom, L.L. Bean, Disney, and Ritz-Carlton upheld their reputation with excellent customer service underscored by prompt responses. Things started going in a different direction when the e-commerce era began to take hold in the mid-2000s; at the time, there was a business philosophy of automated processes, self-support, and back-end customer service that did not feature too much in terms of real-time interaction.

In 2021, a market survey conducted by HubSpot Research showed that 90% of consumers who interact with online business platforms such as e-commerce websites greatly appreciate real-time support solutions such as live chat agents. The same survey indicated that 82% of consumers feel that live chat interactions move them closer to a conversion, which can range from website registrations to purchases and subscriptions. Think about that for a moment: A live chat agent on your website will appeal positively to more than 80% of visitors.

Who Are Live Chat Agents?

The aforementioned survey results show how much consumers crave real-time support when they are doing something in the digital world. Until a few years ago, this was typically provided through communication channels such as call centers. These days, the real-time channel is more likely to be a digital chat platform operated by live chat agents. These customer support technicians are becoming part of the backbone of effectively doing business online for various reasons, the most important being that consumers are attuned to the live chat method.

Live chat agents are specifically trained to assist customers through messaging platforms that are often embedded directly on a company’s website or mobile app. The goal is to allow a seamless and immediate way to connect with a real person. For many website visitors and app users, the live chat agent experience is similar to picking up the telephone and getting answers from customer service representatives on the spot. Instead of conducting voice conversations, live chat agents primarily interact through text messages, although they can also send and receive documents, images, audio files, and video clips.

It is important to understand that live chat is a communication channel that can certainly stand on its own, but it can also be part of a larger strategy that includes legacy call centers or modern video conferencing through modern protocols such as WebRTC. Some technology giants such as Amazon and Zoom offer live chat to business clients alongside other real-time support solutions like voice and video calling.

What About Not as Live Chat Agents?

Other than live chat agents there is also the case of their being AI ran chat agents. Before choosing this route you may want to use AI governance to make sure the chatbots used are up to snuff. These are sometimes termed an easier operating gear to incorporate in a website than a live chat agent. However, just because it is easier to add to a site does not mean it is up to the same quality as a live chat agent. This is because artificial intelligence ran chatbots are supplied an algorithm of functions which then translates to a certain response that will be given when asked a specific question. Therefore, an AI ran chatbot are limited so you may want to avoid the more complicated questions in this case. The chat bot is kind of like a robot people talk to and there is only so much that can be expected.

How Much Programming Is Involved With Live Chat Agents?

Adding a live chat solution to your website can be as easy as adding a link that sends visitors to another site where the messaging platform runs as a back-end web app. You can also configure a client through a point-and-click graphical user interface (GUI) that generates a script complete with the layout, elements, JavaScript libraries, and back-end server calls required to implement a live chat platform right into your website; this method is more involved than simply adding a link, but we still have not mentioned any coding.

You don’t have to be a seasoned webmaster to install most of the live chat solutions currently on the market. If you manage a website through a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress, the methods above plus a few others enable you to get up and running quickly and without programming. Coding a live chat app complete with back-end servers from scratch is a possibility if you are skilled at full-stack web development; nonetheless, most web designers opt for a modular approach of frameworks, script templates, and third-party libraries developed by third-party providers.

Why Should You Add Live Chat Agents to Your Websites?

If you have been online for a few years, you probably remember a time when “Call Me” buttons were everywhere; this was about 15 years ago with the rise of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications, but that strategy was widely replaced by a business philosophy of offering customers self-support options through knowledge bases and online FAQs. Doing away with real-time support required less ongoing investment compared to staffing call centers, but customers were not happy with this business model.

Since 2010 or so, we have been going through a wave of live chat adoption that started after consumers grumbled about call centers being downsized or eliminated, thus doing away with real-time support. Established brands such as Zappos and American Airlines began experimenting with social networks as customer service platforms, and this is when live chat solutions began to emerge.

Live chat allows you to address customer concerns and questions promptly, leading to a more positive experience. We already mentioned how favorable live chat is among American consumers; this should be your prime motivation, but there’s also the matter of agents who can handle multiple chats simultaneously, thus increasing efficiency compared to phone support and other support channels.

As for operational advantages, one of the best scenarios for live chat is to offer it when website visitors or app users are browsing self-support solutions or using automated chatbots. The goal is to offer real-time assistance and conversational support when consumers run into complex issues that require more personalized assistance. When you present customers with this option, you are demonstrating a modern commitment to traditional customer service; this can differentiate you from competitors who do not offer real-time support solutions.

Finally, consider this statistic compiled by Gartner in 2020: More than 80% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 49 prefer to do business with brands that offer live chat boxes next to chatbots or FAQ content. These are consumers from the Millennial Generation and Generation Z; the older members grew up with AOL Instant Messenger before social media, and the younger ones grew up with mobile devices. Live chat is something that these consumers closely identify with because it has been part of their lives.

Written by Taylor McKnight, Author for Collibra