We all know by now that customer service and experience can make or break a brand. Consumers expect quick, seamless, and personalized support—nothing less will do.
Among the various customer service channels we know and love, live chat has come to be one of the fastest and most effective ways to connect with customers. It enables quick and convenient interactions, meeting customers exactly where they are—even if it’s mid-purchase.
However, successfully managing live chat support in-house can be extremely complicated and demanding, especially during peak seasons or for businesses with a global reach.
This is where outsourcing live chat customer service comes in, offering all kinds of benefits for companies looking to provide 24/7 support without completely overloading their internal teams and sacrificing their service quality.
Let’s explore what live chat support is, why it’s essential for (most) businesses, the key benefits of outsourcing live chat, best practices for implementation, and common mistakes to avoid.
Live chat support is a communication channel that allows customers to interact with a business in real-time via a chat widget that is usually placed on the company’s website or app.
Customers can connect with either human agents or chatbots to start off with to ask questions, resolve issues of varying complexity, or get assistance while browsing.
Businesses offering live chat can staff their teams with onshore, offshore, or after-hours agents, ensuring round-the-clock availability.
Alternatively, companies can make use of automated chatbots that handle routine inquiries and escalate complex issues to human agents as needed.
Regardless of the approach, the goal is to provide immediate responses—a feature that customers expect and value.
Why live chat matters:
Businesses that incorporate live chat as part of their customer support strategy often see higher customer satisfaction and increased sales.
Now, let’s talk about why outsourcing live chat service could be a smart move to make.
Outsourcing can still sound like a risky move to make to many companies who don’t have previous experience with it—or have had a negative one. Handing off a chunk of your customer service to a third party is scary—we get it.
However, there are several benefits to outsourcing your live chat to a credible and high-quality company.
With live chat, customers don’t need to wait on hold. They can connect with agents or even a bot instantly, ensuring faster resolution of their issues or questions.
Real-time interaction can also increase trust and even influence purchasing decisions on the spot, leading to higher conversion rates.
You can potentially save money by hiring offshore customer support agents for your live chat, which can be way more beneficial than having full-time onshore agents.
It’s also easier that way to offer support in different languages, which can be a huge bonus if you have a global audience.
If your budget is tight and you need live chat solutions, then you can consider having bots and/or automated responses in your live chat widget as the first point of contact.
However, know that some customers won’t be fans of this, as they’ll prefer humans over bots. It’s good to have both options available, and always make sure that there’s seamless handoff between the bot and a human team member if the situation calls for it.
Live chat helps turn curious visitors into paying customers by quickly resolving pre-purchase questions. Studies show that customers are more likely to buy when they receive quick answers during their shopping experience.
Outsourced live chat teams trained in upselling and cross-selling can boost your revenue by identifying opportunities to suggest relevant products.
Outsourcing enables continuous customer support without burning out your in-house team. This is especially crucial for ecommerce businesses and companies with international customers who expect assistance at any time of the day or night.
With outsourcing, you can significantly expand your support team without having to hire in-house.
Global companies benefit from multilingual support through outsourcing. Many outsourcing providers offer agents fluent in various languages, helping businesses cater to more diverse markets and ensuring a smooth customer experience for everyone.
Outsourced live chat agents can monitor customer behavior on your website, offering proactive support to visitors who may need assistance.
Personalized greetings and targeted help can help increase engagement and customer satisfaction.
Many live chat tools generate reports and analytics that help businesses understand customer behavior and common issues.
Outsourced teams can track response times, unresolved inquiries, and FAQs, helping you improve service and identify potential bottlenecks that you can then tackle with your team.
Like with any (new) customer service channel, there are some dos and don'ts to keep in mind—let’s go over them.
Make sure that your human agents are not overwhelmed by too many simultaneous chats. When outsourcing, it’s easier to scale the team size according to chat volume depending on seasonality, for example, ensuring that every inquiry gets proper attention.
Long-winded responses can frustrate customers. Agents should respond clearly and confidently, offering only the necessary information while solving the problem effectively.
Equip your agents with knowledge bases, articles, videos, and any other resources you have so they can share self-service resources with customers. This empowers customers to solve issues on their own, potentially reducing future inquiries.
Having a plethora of resources available also means that your agents always have something to refer back to in case they’re unsure about something but can’t ask someone.
Agents should take responsibility for ending the chat, ensuring the customer is fully satisfied and that the issue is completely resolved before closing the conversation.
Leaving a conversation abruptly can come across as rude and lead to a bad customer experience.
When human agents are unavailable, self-service tools like FAQs or automated chatbots should be available to assist customers.
A well-structured self-service portal ensures that customers can still find answers even outside business hours.
Here are some things to look out for and not do when working with live chat as a support channel.
Customers expect live chat to be instant—that’s kind of the whole point. Delays can frustrate them, leading to negative experiences. Outsourcing based on when you need it most ensures that your chat service has enough coverage to meet these expectations.
Live chat interactions need to strike the right tone (and that includes non-human agents, too!). A friendly and empathetic tone ensures a positive experience, while a robotic or aggressive tone can damage your brand’s reputation.
Also, if you’re working with bots, make sure to train them on your brand’s specific voice if you can—even if your customers are aware that they’re not talking to a real person, a familiar tone will still make the interaction more pleasant.
Customers appreciate personalized service. Addressing them by name and referencing past interactions whenever you can creates a sense of connection. An outsourced team trained in personalization can enhance customer loyalty and make them feel more comfortable.
Following up with customers after a chat session shows that you care about their satisfaction. Agents should confirm that the issue was resolved and ask if the customer needs further assistance before ending the chat.
Agents juggling too many conversations may provide inaccurate answers, leading to dissatisfaction and confusion. With outsourcing, you can scale your support team to match the volume and avoid this issue.
Live chat is no longer really a “nice-to-have” feature—it’s becoming a critical component of quick and effective customer service.
Businesses that offer real-time chat support benefit from higher customer satisfaction, increased sales, and valuable insights. However, managing live chat in-house can be expensive and time-consuming.
Outsourcing live chat customer service provides the best of both worlds: real-time, multilingual, and 24/7 support without overburdening your internal team.
By following best practices and avoiding common mistakes, you can ensure a smooth and efficient live chat operation.
If you’re looking for a reliable outsourcing partner, consider PartnerHero—our team of skilled agents will help you deliver exceptional live chat support, ensuring your customers receive the assistance they need—whenever they need it.
