The best e-commerce sites are ones that can offer fast and easy-to-use functions. Not all people are Internet-savvy and can browse through your product catalog without having any technical concern. Site visitors may also sometimes need to consult with someone from your team before purchasing something. For these reasons, it’s best to have live chat support function on your e-commerce site.
The first task in setting up a live chat support platform is gathering the right people to man it. Here are some essential qualities that you need to look for when recruiting live chat support agents:
- Excellent communication skills
Chat support agents must have effective non-verbal communication skills. They must know how to explain complicated processes to your customers in simple and clear words. The writing tone or style must also fit with the nature of your business. Needless to say, agents must have a good foundation of the language, including grammar and other writing conventions.
- Relevant knowledge
Choosing agents whose expertise, knowledge, and interests are in line with the kind of services and products that you offer can go a long way. First, they are guaranteed to naturally develop passion for work since their job involves something they are interested in. Second, they can offer expert tips and advice to your customers since they have enough exposure and inclination to your nature of business.
- Technical skills and experience
Since they are going to deal with technical issues faced by customers, chat support agents must have the level of expertise needed by your customer base. They must have prior experience in dealing with issues commonly faced by online buyers. They must also be able to offer insights about how your current live chat support system can be improved.
- Service-oriented attitude
Just like your voice-based customer service representatives, your chat support agents must also have the drive to offer positive experience to your customers. Since live chat platforms allow multiple sessions, your agents must be able to multi-task and handle multiple customer concerns simultaneously. Moreover, their tasks will be carried out via digital channels, so chat support agents must be people who can work in front of the computer for a prolonged period of time.
- Willingness to learn
In order to give correct responses to inquiries, chat support agents must invest time in studying almost everything about your company, most especially the different services and products you offer. They may be equipped with reference materials or cheat sheets later on, but someone who is quick to learn and motivated to use that learning to help others would be a perfect member of your chat support staff.
Putting up an online store is not an easy task. With just a click, a potential customer can opt to buy from another competing brand. In order to stay ahead of the competition, you must think of ways to keep people coming to your site. To do this, you must be able to meet the expectations of an average online buyer.
By choosing the right people for your live chat support function, you build a strong communication medium that you can use to connect to any buyer that goes to your site. This is the first step in making your e-commerce site a provider of excellent customer service and technical support.