Live chat support is fast becoming one of the most popular channels for customer support. It is an efficient way for businesses to offer fast and effective customer service. With live chat, customers can have their questions answered in real time without waiting on hold or navigating through complicated phone menus. However, training your chat agents properly is crucial to provide proper live chat support. This blog post will discuss some tips for successfully training live chat agents.

Comprehensive Product Knowledge

One of the essential things to train your live chat agents is to have comprehensive product knowledge. Your agents must be able to answer customers’ questions about your product or service. In addition, they should be familiar with all the features, benefits, and possible limitations of the product or service.

The best approach to ensure your agents have the necessary knowledge is to provide them with comprehensive product training. This can be accomplished through product demos, documentation, or even shadowing a colleague or supervisor. In addition, giving your agents adequate time to ask questions and clarify their understanding of the product is essential.

Knowing and Understanding How the Live Chat Platform Works

To provide proper live chat support, your agents must know and understand how the live chat platform works. This includes learning how to use the chat software, how to access customer information, and respond to customer inquiries.

Before chatting with customers, agents should be trained to understand the chat software’s features, such as chat routing and tagging. They should also be familiar with protocols, escalation paths, and any other procedures related to live chat support.

Performing Mock Chats for Training

Mock chats are an excellent way to train your live chat agents. A mock chat is a simulated chat session in which an agent interacts with a trainer or colleague who acts as a customer. This allows agents to practice their chat skills and identify areas where they need additional training.

During a mock chat session, the trainer can provide feedback on the agent’s performance, highlighting areas for improvement and offering guidance on handling specific situations. Mock chats can also help your agents gain confidence, improve their communication and problem-solving skills, and teach them to multitask in a safe environment without affecting customer care.

Ensuring Agents have Excellent Writing and Communication Skills

Excellent writing and communication skills are critical for online support chat. Live chat is a written form of communication, and the tone and choice of words are more important than in other channels. Therefore, agents must be able to write clearly and concisely, avoiding jargon or technical terms that customers may not understand.

You can provide English training and grammar and spelling checks to ensure your agents have excellent writing and communication skills. Communication training should include active listening skills, which involve listening to the customer, understanding their needs, and providing a relevant response. It is essential to have a continuous improvement program that provides writing and communication skills training to help your agents become more effective in live chat support.

Correct Usage of Opening and Closing Chats 

Agents must be trained on the correct usage of opening and closing chats. The opening should be welcoming and friendly, and the closing should be professional and courteous. Live chat agents should personalise their opening and closing comments as much as possible. For example, using the customer’s name in the greeting and closing comments can make them feel valued and appreciated. These small details will leave a positive impression on the customer.

Putting Customers First Whenever Possible

Putting the customer ahead of processes is a critical aspect of live chat training. It involves prioritising the customer’s needs and ensuring that their experience is positive and satisfactory rather than solely focusing on completing the process or resolving the issue. Agents should be trained to focus on the customer’s needs and help whenever possible. This means providing solutions to the customer’s problems rather than pushing sales. Additionally, ensuring agents are trained to recognise the customer’s sentiment and adjust their approach accordingly can significantly impact customer satisfaction.

In conclusion, live chat support is a thriving channel for customer support, and training your live chat agents is crucial for providing effective and efficient customer service. With the right chat software, customised chat experiences for your customers, and trained agents based on your requirements, your live chat agents can become your customer support heroes, helping your business to grow and flourish.

Are you looking to provide top-notch customer support to your clients? Do you want to offer your customers a fast and efficient way to get their questions answered? Then, look no further than Live Chat Agent! Our team of highly trained and experienced professional chat agents can provide top-quality fully-managed live chat support to your customers. Visit our website at Live Chat Agent to learn more about our service and the benefits that we have to offer. With our live chat on board, you can create a positive customer experience, improve customer satisfaction, and grow your business. Don’t wait any longer; contact us today to get started!

• Author Details

Author Details

Tracey Horey

CEO of Live Chat Agent

Tracey Horey is a 20 year veteran of the Automotive industry and has been writing Automotive content and helping Dealerships optimise their digital space for over 15 years. Her experience working with various sized dealerships and her passion for exploring and understanding new tools for the auto industry has given her an in depth understanding of the challenges all dealerships face in a changing landscape.

accounts@livechatagent.com.au

1800 332 428