20-03-2020Customer interaction is a very important aspect that takes the business to the next level. Previously, customers had to email or call the company to resolve their issues and queries. But, as the time is advancing and the business is carried forward by the younger generation, chatbots and live chat are having an upper hand over emails and phones.
What is Chatbots & Live Chat?
Chatbots is an artificial intelligence computer program that resembles an interactive human conversation. It makes use of pre-defined phrases or signals and segregate the customers according to their needs before sending them to the representative.
Live chat is an online application that allows the customer to have a live chat with the representative of any company. It provides immediate customer support and information to the customer.
Here is a comparison between chatbots and live chats based on few parameters which are important for customer satisfaction.
Response Time
Most of the customers like to get an instant response from the representatives. Live chat reduces the wait time but it still needs a lot of improvement. Sometimes, the business person ignores the live chat requests as they are busy somewhere else. The chatbots is able to generate the answer within seconds. From a business point of view, it is good to start with chatbots and gather preliminary information and then shift to live chat.
Cost-efficient
Live chat improves operational efficiency but it requires investment. The company needs to pay a salary to the staff who will be providing support to the customer. Chatbots can lower this cost as it is a computer program. So, chatbots is a cheaper option but some people still like to interact with a human. So, it is up to the company to decide which platform to use depending on their customers.
Availability
In the live chat, it is sometimes difficult to provide service 24*7. Big companies who can afford provides round the clock service but it is not possible with the companies who have a tight budget. At such time, chatbots comes as a savior. It provides 24*7 service and can respond to the customers whenever required. A company can use live chat during working hours and then can switch to chatbots when the office is closed.
Conversion Rate
It is very important to convert the customers once they reach out to the company to resolve their queries. Live chat is found to have more chances to increase the conversion rate as the customers have direct interaction with the representative. But, sometimes it becomes difficult for a human agent to be available for the customer who visits the website. So, at such times chatbots can be used for interaction and can be later transferred to representative.
Conclusion
Everything has its pros and cons. It depends on the requirements of the customers and the budget of the company. If the company has a good budget then they can go ahead with live chat or can use chatbots which is a cheaper option in the long run. But, it is found that chatbots and live chat, when implemented together, can give the best results.