Updated: 30th November, 2023 Web chat can cost about 33% less than a phone call when the agent is chatting with three people. In fact, chat support can be cheaper than email and much less expensive than phone contact, with costs per incident being around $1.60 for chat compared to $2 to $4 for email. […]
Updated: 30th November, 2023
Web chat can cost about 33% less than a phone call when the agent is chatting with three people. In fact, chat support can be cheaper than email and much less expensive than phone contact, with costs per incident being around $1.60 for chat compared to $2 to $4 for email.
Web chat is generally considered cheaper than phone calls due to lower infrastructure and technology costs. Web chat allows agents to handle multiple conversations simultaneously, reducing staffing requirements and increasing efficiency. International calling rates can be significantly higher than web chat costs. When comparing the cost of phone calls and web chat, it’s important to consider several factors that can influence the cost of each channel:
Infrastructure and Technology: Setting up and maintaining a phone system typically requires more infrastructure and hardware, such as telephony equipment and phone lines. On the other hand, web chat platforms usually require less investment in physical infrastructure as they primarily rely on internet connectivity.
Employee Costs: Handling phone calls often requires hiring and training dedicated call center agents. Voice support may also involve additional expenses like salaries, benefits, and overhead costs associated with operating a call center. Web chat, on the other hand, allows agents to handle multiple conversations simultaneously, potentially reducing staffing requirements and associated costs.
Efficiency and Productivity: Web chat can be more efficient than phone calls due to features like canned responses, easy access to knowledge bases, and the ability to handle multiple chats at once. Increased efficiency means agents can help more customers within a given time frame, potentially reducing operational costs.
International Considerations: If your customer base is global, international phone calls can be significantly more expensive than web chat. International calling rates can vary greatly, and long-distance charges can quickly add up. Web chat, on the other hand, relies on internet connectivity, which is typically a flat or predictable cost regardless of location.
Customer Preferences: Customers may have different preferences when it comes to communication channels. Some may prefer the convenience and speed of web chat, while others may prefer the personal touch and immediacy of a phone call. Offering both options can cater to different customer preferences and enhance customer satisfaction.
Voice call or phone support is still in business when it comes to customer support and lead generation. In general, businesses that deal with physical goods and services, including the supply chain prefer phone support for both B2B and B2C channels.
The premise is simple. Companies display a phone number on the website for queries or support and users can call them anytime for answers.
Still, the rise of social media and other “efficient” and “seamless” modes have put a dent in the appeal and reach of phone support.
To better understand the “haves” and “have nots” of voice call support, let us take a look at the SWOT Analysis of phone support.
SWOT Analysis is a study of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of a business, process, or operation. It gives a clear view to researchers and other concerned parties about the advantages and disadvantages of the subject under study.
In this section, let us examine voice call support or phone support in detail.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
As the name indicates, live chat support offers a portal to users where they can connect with the company through texts. The idea that there is always a live agent at the other end of the conversation is not true anymore, thanks to AI and ML-based chatbots.
Chatbots allow users to get quick answers for a wide range of issues. And when they cannot determine the problem, they can notify a live agent to deal with the problem.
When compared to phone support, chat service is a relatively new technique. But its seamless operations and quick results have allowed it to become popular and even a contender against phone support.
The rise of chat support was the brand child of many instant messaging applications that were developed and introduced by tech giants, such as Yahoo, Microsoft, and many more. This also led to the development and adoption of chat “vernacular” that consists of shortened words and phrases.
Chat support or web chat offers a lot of benefits to businesses. Still, there are many challenges and drawbacks to it.
Let us take a hard look at all of these factors through a SWOT Analysis of chat support.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
By taking a look at SWOT Analyses of both chat support and phone support, we can see a lot of similarities and differences in their structure and application. They are different in many ways, which is the underlying appeal for organizations whether they are simply dealing with customer support to using the communication channels extensively for sales, marketing, and customer acquisition.
To better understand the complete picture, here are some key differences between the two modes of communication.
Reach & Scope
Voice call support offers a personalized approach toward client inquiries and queries because communication is always happening in real time. In addition, phone support provides more insight to businesses regarding customer interaction including their tone, voice, mood, and so on.
Chat support is effective without a live agent unless the subjects are generic. It has delay potential but it does not offer a personal touch to the clients and customized communication that is extremely tailored to their needs.
Cost & Affordability
When it comes to the cost of operations, chat support is the king as it allows automation for the better part of the process. Businesses need less money and time to develop and integrate chat support systems.
Growth Potential
When it comes to growth potential, chat support lends more muscle as it can engage with users while they are surfing the website. This leads to site visitors becoming paying clients.
Trust Analytica’s Unified Messaging Feature can help businesses effectively manage all web chats across different platforms by providing a centralized and streamlined approach. Here’s how it can help:
Centralized Communication: The Unified Messaging Feature brings together web chats from various platforms into a single interface, allowing agents to access and respond to conversations in one place. This eliminates the need to switch between multiple chat platforms, saving time and effort.
Efficient Agent Workflow: With Unified Messaging, agents can handle multiple chats simultaneously, improving efficiency and productivity. They can view and respond to incoming messages in real-time, ensuring prompt and consistent customer support across platforms.
Message Routing and Assignment: The feature offers intelligent message routing capabilities, automatically assigning chats to the most appropriate agent based on predefined rules or skills. This ensures that chats are directed to the right person, optimizing resource allocation and enhancing customer experience.
Monitoring and Analytics: Trust Analytica’s Unified Messaging provides analytics and reporting tools to track and monitor chat performance across platforms. Businesses can gain insights into chat volumes, response times, agent performance, and customer satisfaction, enabling data-driven decision-making and process improvements.
Integration with CRM Systems: The Unified Messaging Feature can integrate with customer relationship management (CRM) systems, allowing seamless transfer of chat transcripts, customer data, and conversation history. This integration enables agents to have a comprehensive view of customer interactions and enhance personalized support.
For businesses both small and large, a modern chat support system can cover grounds that were used to get covered by phone support. It has easy integration and vast scope and reaches across different departments of a business, including customer support, sales, marketing, customer acquisition, and many more.
Trust Analytica is a leading brand when it comes to online brand reputation companies. It has a modern live chat widget for websites that can help businesses grow better and faster by handling all client-related communication issues in a timely and effective manner.
