Did you hear that customer experience quality dropped by over 19 percent in 2022, affecting most brands?
It was the worst fall in the last 17 years. In this type of disruption, companies are more concerned than ever with delivering outstanding customer service across multiple channels.
But here is the issue: what chat support services are the ultimate- live chat support or email support services?
Both solutions offer advantages and could help address specific business pain points.
But which is truly superior?
We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both chat support services so you can make informed decisions that improve your customers’ experience.
Let’s dive in.
The following is a preview of our subject live chat support vs. email support. We have compared the two across several parameters to provide a clear overview of the advantages and disadvantages of each customer support strategy.
What are Email Support Services?
Email support, or email customer support, or email helpdesk, is a service companies use to provide customer support and service via email in response to inquiries, technical issues, billing, order tracking, and other customer questions.
Customers can email their concerns or requests to a specific address, and the customer support team will review and respond.
What are Live Chat Support Services?
Live Chat Support Services refers to a channel for real-time customer communication and assistance for agents/representatives. It is an expedient, immediate way for website customers and visitors to seek help, ask questions, and resolve issues.
Live Chat is a chat box or app you can add to websites and mobile apps to start a conversation.
Other live chat support services also offer file sharing, live chat triggers, and screen sharing at no cost.
Live chat support services also help to avoid help desk tickets for minor queries and issues. In addition, a knowledge base is a self-service tool that enables support agents to empower customers to resolve minor problems on their own.
How Does Email Support Work?
The email support is equivalent to a letter. Imagine you have purchased an electronic device that is faulty and requires support. A detailed email may be written explaining the problem, including any documents/photos. A support representative will carefully review the issue in the email and reply with troubleshooting steps, repair options, or product replacement.
How Does Chat Support Work?
Suppose you were shopping in an online store and had a question about a product. To receive immediate assistance, click the live chat icon. You will receive immediate customer service for inquiries about product specifications, the checkout process, or package tracking.
Both email and live chat customer support services deliver efficient, personalized care and a positive experience, ensuring that concerns are addressed.
Which Chat Support Services should you use to suit your business?
Businesses need effective communication channels to deliver seamless customer service. There are numerous options, and it may not be clear which is most appropriate for your company.
Fear not! We are here to guide you through the decision-making process and clarify a key issue: email support versus live chat support.
When Should You Rely on Email Support Services?
Email is not a new business communication method. It provides a formal, written method and therefore suits different circumstances. Email is handy when:
- Complex or Long Investigations: Customer inquiries or discussions among two or more employees that are too lengthy or complex to be summarized. Email allows the provision of detailed information, the attachment of supporting files, and a clear communication trail.
- Solving Non-Urgent Problems: Not all business problems need an urgent solution. Non-urgent issues should be communicated via email, as support agents are well-positioned to respond promptly and accurately.
- Enabling Asynchronous Communication: To coordinate teams across time zones, organizations have adopted asynchronous communication, such as email, to connect remote team members without requiring constant connectivity.
When is Live Chat Support an Appropriate Choice?
In the fast-paced digital world, customers expect quick, personalized service from businesses. It is where live chat shines. Live chat is beneficial when:
- Offering immediate help: Customers lack time and usually have a pressing question or need to be supported immediately. Live chat will also enable your team to provide real-time assistance and address customer concerns, enhancing customer satisfaction.
- Nurturing and conversions: Live chat enables businesses to interact with prospects, collect relevant information, and convert them into leads.
You can also combine live chat with CRM software so that you can capture valuable information about the leads rightfully (contact details and transcripts of the chat) into the CRM system and access it easily.
This information is used to generate leads through personalized follow-ups, targeted marketing, and interaction tracking, helping increase conversion rates and customer satisfaction.
- Providing a one-on-one approach: Live chat offers a personalized experience that addresses customers’ needs. By using chat transcripts, your team can access customers’ chat history and customize their experience based on their previous preferences.
- Avoiding cart abandonment: Live chat is critical, as it provides immediate support, reassurance, and reminders to customers at checkout. Such a proactive strategy will go a long way toward preventing customers from abandoning your site without placing their orders.
- Automation of customer service: Live chat enables automation with chatbots. Such AI-powered virtual assistants can answer routine questions, respond immediately, and guide customers through self-service resources.
Several types of chatbots can help with order tracking, basic troubleshooting, and FAQs. Customer information may also be collected and routed to human agents via chatbots, making the chat experience efficient and seamless.
Encourage lead generation: Pre-chat form enables companies to capture lead information, including name, contact information, account number, or order ID, which the support agent can use to offer personalized help more effectively.
Support agents will better understand customers by gathering these details, resolve issues faster, and improve customer satisfaction by understanding their needs before the chat begins.
The Ideal Solution: A combination of Live Chat and email services.
There is no single solution to the question of live chat versus email support. Research shows that live chat has a customer satisfaction rating of 73, while email has a lower rating of 51.
Conversely, email support is a convenient means for customers to request help and can elaborate further.
The choice has therefore been narrowed to your business needs and your customers’ preferences. By judiciously selecting response times, query complexity, and resource allocation, among other factors, you can determine the support channel that best suits your objectives.
It is not about live chat versus email support, but about achieving the right balance to deliver excellent customer experiences. Therefore, when choosing between live chat and email support services, ensure you invest in the appropriate tools, train your staff, and address your customers’ needs.