Busting the myth! Live chat alienates customers

You are about to purchase a product, but there isn’t enough information. What would you prefer – waiting for hours on a call to connect with a customer care executive or just hopping on a live chat window? 

I’m assuming it’s the latter option, and for the right reasons. Live chat has made it easier for buyers to connect with the company and get their queries resolved.

However, every feature has its own pros and cons. In this case, there’s a very common myth that live chat alienates customers. This has prevented many business owners from adding live chat to their websites.  

In the era of conversational marketing, consumers also expect personalized solutions. So, if live chat is alienating customers, they won’t be motivated to return to your website. 

To get clarity on this concept, this week, I’m busting a live chat myth with the help of 7 experts! So, make sure to check out their take on this common live chat myth. 

Does live chat alienate customers? Let’s hear from the experts!

1. Andre Kazimiersky

CEO, Improovy 

Whether or not live chat alienates customers depends on how it is executed. If the customer has to go through 10 minutes of communicating with a bot before waiting to chat with a person, they will likely feel alienated. Conversely, if they click a live chat box and are immediately connected to customer service, live chat can be a valuable tool for a company.

2. Henson Tsai

Founder, SleekFlow 

I Don’t think Live Chat alienates customers. 

Rather, it depends on how your Live Chat route is set and whether you have a system behind it to support smooth and no delayed customer service. Many of our eCommerce clients have installed a Live Chat widget. 

Some of them called it a virtual shop manager as it can cater to customers’ inquiries right away. With a CRM system integrated with the website Live Chat widget, the inquiry can be routed to your back-office CS team. During non-office hours, auto-reply can be triggered to answer FAQs. Live chat can be helpful in that sense. 

3. Jose Herrera 

CEO, Horatio 

Live chat is a helpful tool we use in the Customer Experience field every single day. 

While the agents are there to answer questions via phone and email, we find implementing live chats is an excellent way to provide customers with quick answers to questions. The myth that this technology alienates customers couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

In fact, customer engagement can be strengthened through this feature – so long as the live chat reflects the brand’s voice. Using language that embodies the brand is key, in addition to making sure each customer feels the live chat is personalized, approachable and also friendly. 

4. Tyler Martin

Founder & Business coach, ThinkTyler

Chat is not for my industry.

However, customer issues are started online in the hopes of finding a solution without the requirement for escalation to an agent. 

67% of customers across all industries utilize web self-service to obtain solutions to their questions. Chat has fully embraced retail, travel, and telecom, and the playing field is leveling for other businesses catching up, as chat is faster, more secure, mobile, and in demand.

5. Stephen Curry

Owner, Cocosign 

Despite the high success of Live chats, myths are still surrounding it. 

One of the biggest myths is that live chat takes a lot of time. It means, on average, it usually takes 23 seconds for a live chat agent to answer the initial conversation, and they have only 42 seconds to solve this issue. 

This is just a myth and nothing to be worried about. Customer care executives provide healthy solutions to their customers through live chat, and they resolve every question you have. 

6. Bernie Wong

Founder, Social Stand 

Live chat is winning the customer support race. They generate the highest customer satisfaction level at 73% compared to emails and phone calls. Customers don’t get stuck on hold for hours. They can multitask while waiting for a resolution to their queries. 

Live chat can also boost conversion rates. Chatters are 2.8 times more to buy high-price and new products after engaging with a live agent. It is vital to answer their questions in real-time during the buying experience. As such, live chat boost conversion rates by 20%.  

7. Brian Dordevic

Director of strategic planning, Alpha Efficiency 

I don’t believe live chat alienates customers. 

In fact, Customer engagement is increased by using live chat. When you make live chat available to your customers, you’ll almost certainly witness increased engagements. 

While part of that growth will come from customers who move to chat instead of email or phone support, some of it will come from individuals who discovered chat and realized they could seek assistance instead of giving up and perhaps abandoning your product. 

Increased customer involvement provides an opportunity to establish a positive first impression and offer customers a cause to return.

Final thoughts 

From the responses that we’ve received from industry experts, it’s clear that this myth “live chat alienates customers” is indeed just a myth; there’s no truth in it. 

In fact, it helps businesses to build and nurture customer relationships by providing personalized solutions.