Opening new channels of communication: Live Chat – fast, friendly and tailored to you

In a world of instant gratification and immediate response, the website live chat function is fast becoming a necessity in the customer service arsenal. This simple pop-up at the corner of the screen is a powerful tool for communicating with customers and enables businesses to have real-time conversations with clients to resolve queries or help them to find the information they need – fast and without fuss.
 
RPC is excited to have launched live chat as a feature on our website. You’ll find the chat logo at the bottom right hand corner of each page, at all times. Just click on the icon to start a conversation with us. 

Unlike many online chat features, our live chat is monitored by RPC staff, not powered by a ChatBot, so you can be sure of a personal response, not a series of standard questions and answers that don’t get to the point of what you need. This means that we’re only here during normal UK working hours, but if we miss you, we’ll see that the next day and will get in touch.

We’re confident that this new feature will be a significant benefit to our customers by enabling us to be more responsive, to interact with website visitors to help them to find the information they need and to answer queries on the spot if there’s something the customer is not sure about. Customers no longer need to stop what they’re doing to pick up the phone or write an email when they have a question or enquiry. Instead, they can have their question answered right away – or directed straight to the member of the business best placed to help – all by a real, live person. 

But don’t just take our word for it. Here are five reasons why companies in all different businesses and industry sectors think live chat is an essential part of their customer service approach. 

Why Live Chat Makes a Difference

Fast Response Times, Speedy Resolution
Research shows that the average response time for customer service requests submitted via email is 17 hours, but for live chat queries it’s just 2 minutes. That’s great news for customers, but it’s good for business too. Many simple queries can be resolved in moments via live chat, enabling customers to complete their order or reservation straight away rather than going elsewhere or having to wait for a response and then remember to come back.  

Increased Accessibility
Voice calls don’t suit all customers. Clients with hearing impairments can find it extremely difficult to hear and fully understand sometimes complex technical conversations by telephone. And some working environments are ill-suited to traditional voice calls either because they are noisy and disruptive or because a voice call would be noisy and disruptive to other nearby workers. Offering live chat by text gives customers an increased opportunity to communicate and do business with you.

What Customers Want
In research, two thirds of consumers state that they want to talk with a company in real-time. And 41 per cent now choose live chat as their preferred channel of support. It’s convenient and customers find it less stressful than talking on the phone with a stranger. Live chat helps to build trust with customers and prospective customers visiting a website for the first time. By creating a personal and friendly service in this way, businesses build relationships with their customers that will stand the test of time. 

Gathering and Sharing Information
Because live chat software allows users to download the transcript of their conversation, it’s an extremely useful alternative to making notes on a telephone call. For a business, the benefits are even greater, as analysing chat content allows you to identify areas of your website or business that prompt the greatest need for help or clarification, and also makes it possible to highlight what website visitors are searching for and are interested in. This means that you can tailor your business and your website to target just what your customers really want. 

Positive Outcomes
Whilst improving the website experience and customer service all help customers to feel supported and informed, there is a powerful business benefit to live chat, too. Research shows that customers who use live chat on a website are 3 times more likely to make a purchase than those who do not. In a 2010 report, research found that “44% of online consumers say that having questions answered by a live person while in the middle of an online purchase is one of the most important features a Web site can offer”. It’s clear that increased customer satisfaction translates into increased revenue.

The People Behind the Chat

The RPC website live chat is monitored by Tina and Natalie, and they are always happy to help in any way they can or to direct your call to the member of the business who is best placed to answer your query. Between them they have 17 years of experience at RPC and they know our business inside out. Follow the links to find out more about Tina and Natalie and their roles at RPC so that you can put a face to the fingers at the other end of your online chat.    

Sources: 
Salesforce – State of Service Report
Forrester Research – Making Proactive Chat Work (2010) 
Customer Service Benchmark Report (2021)