Nowadays, companies are aware that digital transformation is a key factor in their daily processes. Specifically, in customer service, digitalisation allows them to offer consumers a modern, fast and quality service. In this process, the implementation of an omni-channel communication strategy has been very important for many businesses, as it has allowed them to discover new ways of reaching their clients.
One of the channels that has become more important in recent years is web chat. According to recent studies, approximately 63% of users agree that when they have the chance to speak to an agent via web chat, they are likely to return to the company’s website. Despite this, most of the companies have not yet included this channel in their customer service. But the good news is that most of them plan to do so soon.
However, for this form of contact to become our ally, it is important to have a good web chat provider. That’s why, at Fonvirtual we have prepared this article with the basic questions you should ask yourself to choose the best web chat for companies. If you want to know what they are… keep on reading!
Why is it so important to choose the right supplier?
As with any external service that we decide to hire for our company, it is important to choose the right provider. But in the case of a web chat, it acquires a fundamental role. This means, along with others such as instant messaging or videoconferencing, allows us to add value to our communications and create long lasting relationships with customers.
In order to choose the most suitable one for our business, it is key to determine which functionalities we consider essential. However, this is not a simple task, as each company has different characteristics and, therefore, different needs. In addition, there are aspects of a web chat that are unknown to many and therefore are not considered when making a decision.
Therefore, the most important thing is to define the needs of our business in this area and to take into account the following aspects.
Basic questions to choose the best web chat for companies
There are several offers for corporate web chat on the market. Each of them offers elements that ensure a basic functioning of it.
The fact of having this communication channel is already a distinctive element for the company. But if what we want is to provide quality and efficiency in our customer service, there are a series of aspects that we must take into account and that will be fundamental when choosing the best web chat provider.
These are the questions you need to ask yourself to find out if you are making the right decision:
Can conversations be attended from the same interface?
This is perhaps the most important question to consider when choosing your web chat provider.
The difference between a basic service and one that really adds value to our company is its ability to “collaborate” with other tools. That is, to coordinate and connect these systems with each other to promote efficient customer service. In this sense, the best web chat is the one that offers a solution in which it is integrated with other channels.
The reason is that with a unified communications solution, it is possible to manage all communications from the same interface. Most commonly, on a company’s website, chat is not the only form of contact that customers find. In fact, the more options we give our customers, the more likely we are to initiate a conversation.
However, if we manage them all from separate applications, as well as reducing efficiency by constantly switching screens, we cannot avoid receiving a message while on a voice or video call (and vice versa).
By keeping all our communications unified, this problem disappears. Not only will we be able to ha
ndle all customer interactions from the same platform. When an agent is busy on a call, the system will detect this and will not deliver the conversation. In this way, it is possible to carry out an intelligent distribution of communications and ensure that our customers are always attended to.
Does it allow easy switching from one channel to another?
Most customers make their first contact with the company by writing via chat web. However, although users initially choose it for its ease of use and for allowing real-time communication, when the conversation becomes more complex, they always prefer more direct and personal means, such as voice or video calls.
The ability to switch channels without leaving the conversation is what us, at Fonvirtual, like to call “cross-channel“. This is an element to take into account when choosing the best web chat. We will take the customer experience to the next level and bring a different touch to our service.
Where can you manage your communications from?
Just as web chat offers customers a free way to contact your company from anywhere, the right provider should also give you the possibility to answer to them from anywhere.
In recent months, it has been demonstrated that the working day and, above all, customer service, can be carried out from the office, from home or even while traveling the world. A device (computer, mobile or tablet) and an internet connection is all we need.
Therefore, another aspect you should consider before choosing the best web chat solution is the degree of mobility offered by their communications. Many providers of these solutions require the installation of softwares to work. Thus, whenever you change devices, you will need to carry out this step. On the other hand, we run the risk of the system becoming obsolete, as no automatic updates are available.
It is therefore advisable to
use WebRTC technology. With this open source protocol, your communications will follow you up wherever you go. In addition, you can be sure that you will always have an up-to-date system without any installation.
Does it allow me to automate certain messages?
Behind a web chat, at first sight, we find an agent. However, there are certain messages that are frequent, such as welcoming customers. In these cases, when there are a large number of conversations, the agents, in addition to wasting a large amount of time that could be invested in other tasks, can be overwhelmed.
These actions can be easily automated, that is performed by conversational robots supported by Artificial Intelligence (chatbots). These systems have the advantage of quickly carrying out the most repetitive tasks and handling other simple requests such as checking the status of an order.
Thus, it is important that the best web chat provider for companies incorporates Artificial Intelligence and allows you to automate these situations.
If circumstances change in the future, can you adapt?
Initially, you may want to have only a few employees to handle customer chats. But over time you may find that you receive a large number of contacts through this channel and want to increase the number of agents.
Therefore, it is important that the service is scalable and adapts to the needs of your company, allowing you to add and enable as many extensions as you need.
Can I trust that my customer data will be secure?
It is possible that in order to meet the customer’s request, we may need to ask the customer to provide certain sensitive data. This causes some mistrust for them and it is necessary to give them trust that no data leakage will occur.
WebRTC, unlike other protocols such as SIP, is characterized by secure communications, which are end-to-end encrypted. In simple terms, this concept refers to the act of “encrypting” messages from a device traveling over the network so that only the receiving device can decrypt it.
This means that the user will know that the conversation is private and that only the company will have access to it and therefore to his or her data.
Why Fonvirtual offers you the best web chat for companies?
Although there are a lot of web chat offers on the market, you should think about how important it will be for your business to choose the right one and, therefore, take into account all the elements we have just discussed.
At Fonvirtual, we offer you all of them:
- You will be able to manage all your channels (voice calls, chats, WhatsApp, video calls…) from the same interface and anywhere in the world thanks to WebRTC technology.
- Our system has a powerful Artificial Intelligence system that will become your best ally to avoid wasting your agents’ time and allow them to dedicate themselves to the tasks that create the most value for your business.
- You will be able to switch from one channel to another without leaving your browser or resorting to third-party platforms.
- It is completely flexible and will adapt to the needs of your company, offering you the possibility to add as many extensions and channels as you want.
- Both you and your customers can be sure that communications will be secure thanks to “end-to-end encryption”.
If you are convinced that Fonvirtual is the web chat provider that your company needs but you still have doubts about how you can implement it, don’t worry. We are here to advise you, don’t hesitate to contact us!
