Web Chat...Maybe*

The companies listed in the box above are all icons in their market. So, should your web site and contact center have web chat? What are the benefits and potential pitfalls?

Instant Messaging without the Software
Web chat is similar to instant messaging, but requires no user software. This means that all web surfers can use it. Some executives categorize it with e-mails and there are some similarities. The same staff may be trained to handle both because both require good writers and spellers. Reps must never over-promise (text chat promises are recorded in writing).

Dr. Jon Anton of Purdue University’s Benchmark Portal says to “expect a ten to one ratio of e-mail messages to live text messages.” Unlike e-mail, training for chat must stress short sentences and letting the customer know you are there. Most importantly, there is a huge work and traffic flow difference between text chat and e-mail.

Consumer Demand
A key advantage of web chat is that it makes it easier for some to do business with your company. Angie Rundle, supervisor of Internet sales at Lands’ End - an early adopter of chat in 1999, points out “the value to the customer is having help readily available to them – not having to log off their pc and call.” She notes that the majority of households still don’t have two phone lines or a broadband Internet connection. However, maintaining a high service level is often the pivotal issue on which the decision to chat, or not to chat, is based; and that ultimately is tied to work and traffic flow.

Work and Traffic Flow Like That of Calls
Web chats must be handled about as quickly as incoming phone calls. If no one is available for several minutes – you’ve just created a very negative customer impression and your prospect or customer has likely moved on. These are perishable opportunities that spoil – by abandoning – within seconds, just like incoming phone calls. Chat becomes another high priority channel to manage in addition to phone calls.

This may be a key reason that many companies do not offer web chat yet. Most want to be sure that they can deliver good service – and effectively manage service levels in another high priority contact channel. While extolling the virtues of opening up another customer contact channel, Red Envelope’s call center director Susan Helscher has practical advise for those planning web chat. “Make sure that you understand what you’re unleashing in terms of skill sets and quality control,” which she says are the two main challenges. At most firms, the same agents who handle chat respond to e-mails and take inbound phone calls.

Single Chats vs. Multi-Chats
Some firms have one rep carry on a single web chat at a time. Others have a single contact center rep conduct 2, 3, 4 or even 5 web chats simultaneously. This decision may involve the complexity of the questions received, the skill of your staff and the speed of service you wish to give. However, if handling too many simultaneous chats causes your company to deliver poor service and lose customers – the revenue losses may be far greater than the productivity benefit.

Also consider that web chats take longer than phone calls due to lag time. Purdue University’s Jon Anton conducted a contact center survey and found that “on average, the live chat sessions were 1.95 times the length of the phone-based contacts.” That’s nearly twice as long. This may explain why contact centers handling chat often have their reps multitask with e-mails or phone calls.

Technology
Web chat technology is usually offered as part of a suite of contact management tools. It is available from the traditional ACD (automatic call distributor) and contact center companies such as Aspect, Avaya, Cisco, Nortel and others. Your existing vendor’s product may be able to readily integrate distribution of web chats and incoming phone calls.

Web chat is also available separately from some of these vendors, and some offer connections to their competitors' products as well as their own. Finally, it’s also available from vendors specializing in chat, such as LivePerson, an ASP type solution, that costs from $99 - $500/seat/month, depending on features.

As with any important contact center technology purchase, define your specific needs in writing and evaluate potential vendors by comparing their offerings to these needs. Without such a measuring stick, you may not select a product that is a good fit. See the Lieber & Associates Knowledge Base article A Ten-Step Process for Buying Call Center Software.

Focus on People
Finally, remember to maintain the proper perspective when considering this technology. In contact centers the prime rule is that it’s all about human beings and human communications – everything else is an enabling tool.