Pros and cons of having a live chat on your website

As old, out-of-date websites update and new websites get launched, we’re seeing a number of trends beginning to re-emerge, anything from QR codes to minimalistic designs (and everything in between). A little like the fashion industry we’ve seen a number of retro features make their return to the main stage.

Believe it or not, the history of live chat software dates back to the 1970s and we’re seeing more and more businesses incorporate a live chat function into their websites. Many think they are a great feature for both business and customer – but what are their advantages and disadvantages?

Advantages

Instant access for potential customers

Having live chat on your website can offer immediate insights into your products, services or other key information which isn’t readily available on your website. If a user has a question or an issue, they can get in touch at the click of a button – many users could find this more convenient than listening to what feels like endless hold music on the end of a phone.

Increase your business’s efficiency

Did you know having a website live chat can make your business more efficient? Rather than have an employee dedicated to a specific customer at any one time, live chat functions offer the ability to have one employee manage a number of incoming queries all at once by managing different live chats simultaneously.

It’s affordable

Yes, there is an initial cost to setting up a live chat on your website and there will also be some necessary training for your employees, but it’s not going to break the bank. In fact, you’ll most likely see a quick return on your investment, through the productivity of your employees, not to mention the lowered waiting times for your customers – which brings me to my next point…

Improving your brand’s customer-facing image

Giving your customers more ways to contact you is one of the easiest ways of improving your image. Having a live chat is a much more welcoming way of engaging with your clients. Sometimes phone calls can come across as daunting and off-putting, especially for younger, more tech-savvy age groups.

Disadvantages

Appealing to all ages

Generally speaking, we tend to see older individuals prefer to communicate over the phone – after all, this is what they have been used to for the majority of their working lives. Live chat can feel impersonal or even robotic at times. Despite the rise in popularity, if your target market is an older demographic, then live chat may not be the way to go.

Catering for mobile devices

Having live chat is great, but will it work as well for a mobile device? In short, not always. Some advanced functions currently don’t work as well on smartphones or tablets – and although these settings can be adjusted, it may cost a little more to have your live chat running as it should for non-desktop users.

Time Zones

It’s called the World Wide Web because it really is worldwide! If you offer services or products to customers outside your time zone you’ll need to think about how the live chat will work. Do you put an automated bounce back on, remove the feature from the website in out-of-hours time, or even hire some employees to run the night shift? All of these options are possible, but it requires a bit of extra thought in the planning stage.

Deciding to implement a live customer chat on your website can have a significant impact on your business’s efficiency and/or customer experience. If you think live chat is for you, or you want to find out more then book a free consultation with us and find out how we can help you.