🕓 10 min Read
Published: On Oct 14, 2022
Chatbots are a form of artificial intelligence that are programmed to respond to queries from users. Chatbots can be used for customer service, sales, and information services. Live chat is a type of chatbot that is activated when a user clicks on the live chat button on the company’s website. These chatbots are usually used for customer service and sales purposes. Live chat bots can answer questions about the company, help with orders and provide additional information about products or services.
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Live chat is a type of chat service that provides real-time text-based communication with a customer. It is usually available on the company’s website, Mobile Apps and can be accessed by clicking on a live chat button or tab. Live chat services are typically used to answer simple questions, resolve issues, or provide information about the company’s products and services. Chatbot applications are an application that enables businesses to have an instant messaging service that can be used to interact with customers through their computer or mobile device. Chatbot applications allow for conversations to take place in real-time and are often integrated into websites for ease of use by visitors.
A customer-centric strategy affects all aspects of your organization, but live chat may increase customer satisfaction almost instantly and at a low cost. Live chat is the most popular customer support medium, with one of the highest satisfaction percentages of any channel. It’s also a reasonably priced app to add to your current technological stack. Live chat is no longer just for customer assistance; most businesses now use it for customer interaction, lead nurturing, and sales. However, because the sales chat app industry isn’t as developed as it could be, we decided to put the possibilities to the test and see who came out on top.
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Moving to live chat can change one’s perspective on customer service right away. It is a medium that can give the ideal blend of phone and email help and helps in increasing productivity in ways that could never have been predicted. Live chat is increasingly becoming a critical component of offering omnichannel customer care and support.
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In fact, over one-third of businesses implemented live chat to their websites in the last year. Many businesses are recognizing the potential benefits of live chat to their customer experience, as well as the benefits it generates for customer care and support teams.
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There are numerous reasons to incorporate live chat feature into your applications, so it’s critical to grasp the various advantages it may give to your company.
The benefits of using live chat include:
Helps companies manage incoming customer queries more efficiently.
It also helps companies increase their conversion rate. We shall go into more detail about this later in this blog.
Chatbots work on the basis of keyword detection. They have a database that stores answers to common questions and they use keywords to find a match in their database that they can provide an answer to. Live chats, on the other hand, use machine learning algorithms to detect keywords in sentences, which allows them to more accurately understand what customers are asking for.
Live chat software normally operates through a chat window, which can take a variety of forms. It might be a proactive chat pop-up in which a chat box opens on your screen and asks whether you require assistance. To begin the chat, type inside the box. Many websites additionally offer a button (typically at the bottom right of the page) that allows customers to start the conversion process by clicking to connect with an agent.
Live chat provides an opportunity to deliver a better purchasing experience for visitors and customers—as well as more revenue for your organization. However, not all client involvement tools are equally effective. A good live chat app will assist you in converting internet queries into sales and dissatisfied clients into brand evangelists. But you won’t be able to do so unless you have the necessary tools. Here are the traits that must be looked for the most when choosing the apps for this list:
Chat must be dynamic, not static, in order to engage with potential consumers. Personalized and targeted automations, proactive conversations, chatbots, nurturing sequences, lead scoring, forms, and classifications are all examples
The live chat app should let you change the colors of the chat window to match your company’s identity. Joe Bush, CEO of The Chat Shop, a UK-based company compares it to coming into a retail store, where a smart salesperson would study your behavior and look for the ideal time and message to engage you in a conversation.
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“If the salesperson just asks, ‘How are you?’ When they respond, ‘I see you’ve been looking at 4K Smart TVs,’ the answer is rarely as enthusiastic. This one is very good for this reason. ‘Would you like to put it in your bedroom or your living room?'”
Integrating live chat into your existing tech stack ensures that your data is complete and that your products are being used effectively. This includes your eCommerce platform, CRM, marketing automation tool, and anything else. The finest sales chat apps include either native integrations or integrations with a third-party service. Check to see if the app is friendly with your CMS.
The chat app should provide basic lead-generating features, such as the ability to take emails. These emails should ideally be converted into contacts in your CRM(Customer Relationship Management).
When a visitor opens a conversation on your website, it’s nice to know who you’re chatting to. Should you, however, compel the visitor to provide a name, email address, and even a phone number in order to chat? Joe Bush, CEO of The Chat Shop, a UK-based company, isn’t convinced. “Before we can demand value, we must first create value,” he explained. “We would never ask for someone’s email id, mobile number, or any other contact information in advance because why would they provide it to us? We haven’t offered them anything to entice them to give us their information.” This strategy may or may not be appropriate for your company. And, as you’ll see in our list of the top sales chat applications, this is just one of many considerations you’ll have to make when incorporating live chat into your conversational marketing strategy.
These are the devices that enable chat representatives and their managers with their tasks. Canned responses, chat transferring, typing indications, co-browsing, and chat and visitor routing are just a few examples.
Basic insights for general chat data, such as total talks, response time, chats by agent, and so on, will be available in all apps. A chat app should have built-in reporting for lead generation and sales, as well as reports for chatbots, to track marketing/sales performance. In addition, there should be a native Google Analytics plugin to help track any additional data not included in the other reports.
There are several high-level characteristics that most current live chat programs include. Just keep in mind that certain solutions’ capabilities may be more sophisticated than others. Even so, you’ll need to be familiar with the key, typical aspects of live chat. So, here are the six characteristics to search for and assess.
Basic insights for general chat data, such as total talks, response time, chats by agent, and so on, will be available in all apps. A chat app should have built-in reporting for lead generation and sales, as well as reports for chatbots, to track marketing/sales performance. In addition, there should be a native Google Analytics plugin to help track any additional data not included in the other reports.
Proactive chat enables your agents or salesmen to begin a discussion with a website visitor in real time. You may also set up triggers that launch a discussion with a consumer proactively, which can assist promote and facilitate purchases throughout the checkout process.
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Smart triggers are pre-programmed rules that govern what should happen if particular conditions are met. For example, if a website visitor spends a given length of time on a specific page, you might design a smart trigger that triggers your website’s live chat window to show up with a recorded message.
Canned replies are prewritten chunks of text that are intended to be utilized in a certain occasion. Because support employees frequently encounter similar scenarios, they may programme prefabricated replies to perform things like:
Returning customers should be greeted by name.
Give a discount.
Transfer a conversation to a different agent.
Respond to a frequently asked question.
When all of your agents are busy, queue management lets you decide how to interact with and prioritize waiting consumers. Queue management capabilities frequently include the following:
Chat routing can be done manually or automatically.
Messages from a chatbot to clients who are waiting.
Setting queue limitations to restrict the length of an agent's waiting line.
Live conversations may yield a wealth of data and business knowledge. However, you will only be able to make sense of it if you can extract insights from how your consumers interact with your business. The following are the most important measurements and KPIs to look for:
Time to first reaction (FRT)
Resolution time on average (ART)
Talk to the conversion rate
Rate of first contact resolution (FCR)
Customer satisfaction rating (CSAT)
Waiting time on average
Chats that were missed
As previously said, the functions listed above are typical of most live chat software. However, the following features can be expected from more complex tools:
Offer low- or no-code solutions that allow administrators to configure conversation flows for automating online and mobile messaging exchanges with your clients, allowing them to self-serve their support issues before engaging with agents, for example.
Offer low- or no-code solutions that allow administrators to configure conversation flows for automating online and mobile messaging exchanges with your clients, allowing them to self-serve their support issues before engaging with agents, for example.
Provides immediate responses to incoming questions by using machine learning to respond with relevant information, allowing customers to get answers without having to wait. Email, ticket form, live chat, messaging, Slack, API and/or SDK can all be used to give responses.
A help center integrated in a live chat website plugin or widget that proposes relevant articles using the live chat website plugin or widget and mobile SDK.
The benefits of using live chat cannot be overstated. A live chat software can help you differentiate your company by providing best-in-class customer service.
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However, that is not the only reason you should utilize it. In reality, more and more individuals are using this channel because it eliminates traditional areas of friction such as wait periods and agent unavailability. If you don’t provide it, you’re ignoring the needs of a sizable portion of your consumer base.
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You can accomplish the following tasks using a live chat app:
Whether we like it or not, live chat is quickly becoming a regular customer care support medium. Indeed, over half of all customers contact businesses via live chat. Even if your company does not believe in integrating chat to its website, your clients will soon expect you to. As more organizations utilize chat services, you don’t want to be left behind when your competitors talk about their new multi-channel support systems.
Another compelling argument to integrate live chat on your website is to enhance the consumer experience. Chat help has certain distinct advantages that phone support simply cannot match. Being left on wait for an extended period of time is one of the most common complaints from customers. Chats may include brief pauses in the chat, but no formal holds are used because reps need extra time between responses to research and develop a solution.
This significantly enhances the client experience because it effectively eliminates any holds.
Because of its ease of use and consistent availability, chat assistance can also have an impact on customer experience.
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According to studies, when customers can settle their difficulties quickly, they have a positive service experience. Because the widget can be shown 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, live chat is an excellent approach to provide immediate assistance. Reps can help users navigate the customer process and confirm their purchase. Even if representatives are unavailable, chatbots can be deployed outside of support hours to direct clients to self-service resources such as your knowledge base.
Why should you employ chatbots? 70% of consumers are interested in or currently use chatbots for customer service queries, and many individuals can’t tell the difference between talking with a human and working with a chatbot.
Companies all over the world can use live chat software to improve the client experience, from e-commerce startups to B2B SaaS organizations.
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The technology is typically used to provide clients (and prospects) with immediate, 1:1 service while not interfering with their browsing experience. During the pandemic, 25% of consumers reported utilizing live chat more frequently, and the number of support tickets sent increased by nearly 50%. Organizations, on the other hand, employ live chat for automation, lead generation, online forms, and other purposes.
Your business can use the power of live chat to:
Increase sales by engaging customers on your website in a proactive manner.
Increase customer satisfaction by assisting more clients in less time.
Anticipate consumer demands and provide assistance as soon as they require it.
Many businesses that use live chat software want to expand and improve their digital service offerings.
Live chat is more efficient (and less expensive); agents may assist several consumers at the same time; and it is easier to grow.
It is simpler to examine chat transcripts.
With the assistance of an AI-powered chatbot, teams can provide support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Customers don't always want to take the extra step of making a phone call or keeping up with an email thread's back-and-forth. The most flexible businesses go where their consumers are, creating additional channels so customers can obtain help as quickly as they need it. Now is the time to follow in the footsteps of these digital-first organizations and take conversational business seriously.
While a customer service professional physically checks the inventory, a chatbot can deliver a quick response by searching the site’s database.
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AI chatbots can process returns and initiate refunds directly from the chat interface, eliminating the need for customers to switch between channels.
Intelligent chatbots, which are especially beneficial in the BFSI sector, can handle complex activities such as blocking a stolen card, accepting premium payments, detecting fraud, and much more
Chatbots adopt a conversational approach to lead generation, collecting customer data by engaging customers in a discussion and scoring leads based on KPIs, budget, and relevancy.
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AI chatbots sell businesses and services by using amusing material such as emoticons, photos, GIFs, and memes.
Chatbots can help reduce cart abandonment by launching a retargeting campaign in which they contact the customer a few hours after they leave your website.
By managing everything from product suggestions to payment acceptance in a single chat interface, AI chatbots can substantially simplify the sales cycle.
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They can supply customers with real-time price estimates and bids if they understand their individual needs.
Intelligent chatbots can also help customers progress through the sales funnel, increasing your conversion rate.
AI chatbots can significantly reduce recruitment costs and time to hire by screening prospects, gathering information, and evaluating candidates based on defined parameters on their own.
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A chatbot can be used to interact with the talent pipeline, improving the experience for potential applicants.
AI-powered chatbots can provide round-the-clock assistance to employees, reducing the time that the HR team spends on routine inquiries.
Intelligent chatbots in ITSM can help consumers self-serve routine queries and service requests. Chatbots can automatically categorize issues and service requests and route them to the best agent depending on importance.
Chatbots enable IT service desks to provide around-the-clock support while lowering costs associated with routine issues.
By incorporating live chat into your website, you can meet your consumers where they are most comfortable conversing. Customers that are more at ease tend to spend more and remain loyal. However, the addition of live chat is about more than just client preferences. Adding live chat to your website is a quick and simple process.
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Still, getting the most out of your live chat software isn’t as simple as putting it in and going. It must also work with the people, procedures, and technologies that your agents are already using.
LiveChat is a messaging programme with a number of distinct features for its live chat service. It is compatible with the majority of CRMs and internet platforms.
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One of its most famous features is its “message sneak peek,” which allows customer care representatives to see what clients are typing in the chat before they send it. This information allows the representative more time to prepare an answer so that they can respond to the consumer instantly. This improves the overall productivity of the individual salesperson while providing a better client experience.
In addition, LiveChat has a labeling system that allows users to identify each session for subsequent study. Users can then rank and search prior conversation transcripts by label, analyzing trends across all chat support situations. This organization enables customer service teams to see which assistance situations are the most difficult to handle via chat.
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Price: $16 per month
HelpCrunch is an all-in-one customer support system that includes sophisticated live chat capabilities. Support managers can customize the design of the chat widget by changing the colors, buttons, icons, and wallpapers. They can also send proactive chat messages to engage website visitors and give assistance before any difficulties develop. The comprehensive client information is accessible directly from the chat window.
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More crucially, the platform enables firms to centralize their consumer communications. Pop Ups, email marketing, knowledge management, and email automation are all part of this feature. The shared inbox houses all incoming requests, allowing support representatives to prioritize, manage, and address a wide range of issues.
Furthermore, the tool has all of the capabilities required for a pleasant working environment, such as stored responses, private notes, knowledge-base integration, and customer satisfaction and performance reports. There are other unique characteristics as well. For example, each unseen chat message will be resent to a customer by email.
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Price: $12 per month
Olark provides a live chat solution with “up-to-the-minute live chat stats” if you’re seeking for chat analytics. Olark’s solution allows you to view metrics such as conversation volume, customer satisfaction, and agent activity in real time. This can assist customer service managers in making day-to-day logistical decisions when staffing their chat support team. They can even email you a daily report.
Aside from metrics, Olark features automation capabilities that can assist your team in opening and routing new chats. This includes options such as pre-written messages that may be sent automatically, saving your customer service personnel important time while switching between chats.
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Price: $17 per month/agent
Comm100 is a one-of-a-kind live chat application that provides instant message translation in any language. Language difficulties may be a huge impediment for international businesses, and hiring representatives who specialize in providing multilingual support can be costly. Companies can establish a more universal service and support offering on their websites by integrating an immediate translation into the chat platform.
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Another intriguing feature of Com100 is a prioritizing option for labeling the relevance of receiving messages. This tool prioritizes cases so that your support and service personnel can respond to them as soon as possible.
The application can also highlight individual clients who are the most valuable to your company, letting your agents know who they’re dealing with the next time that customer contacts you.
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Price: $29
Zoho Desk is a live chat-enabled help-desk software solution. The best aspect of Zoho Desk is its ticketing system. If you’re searching for a customer service software that focuses solely on ticketing, Zoho Desk might be a good fit. If a consumer requires extended assistance, you may convert chat conversations into tickets with our live chat software.
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Furthermore, if you own numerous companies, you may develop personalised chat widgets for each one. This chat tool also allows you to collect feedback automatically after a chat exchange. This approach, you can determine what your customer service representatives could perform better while also highlighting your team’s strengths.
The only drawback to this software is that live chat is only available as part of their Enterprise package.
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Price: $35/Agent
Intercom, a customer interaction platform, recently improved its live chat capacity with the addition of a nurturing tool called Series. You may leverage chat, email, mobile carousels, and other assets to collect leads, re-engage dormant users, and upsell using this visual campaign builder. They’re simple to create and require no coding or technical knowledge.
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You can create a nurture campaign from scratch or choose one of the pre-built (but configurable) nurture Series by combining Rule, Content, Wait, and Tag Blocks. Here’s an example of a nurturing series that makes use of the various Blocks.
For a quote, you must contact Intercom sales.
You can trust our software development company, Poulima Infotech for all your Live Chat App Development needs. Contact us here now to know more about our Live Chat App development services. From web-based Live Chat App Development services to AI based Chatbot application development services, we have all for you.
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