Companies tend to go to lengths in terms of facilitating their clients. From bringing unique products to ensuring their customer service is robust too. Speaking of customer service, companies tend to adopt various methods for obtaining success when it comes to entertaining clients.
Amongst these methods, phone support and live chat support are the two methods that are widely used for offering support services. However, one should observe the efficacy of these methods to ensure to use them for the right support solutions.
We’re here to see what the potential benefits of using these support methods are and where they fit best in a company. So without further ado, let’s get started:
Phone Support Services
Phone support or simply referred to as calling support is one of the common methods used for offering support services. Phone support carries some important perks, which is why it’s often a preferred mode for many organizations when it comes to offering support services. Let’s check these out:
The Human Interaction
The first perk is the human interaction offered by phone support services. Talking to a representative, you can share details of the issue/ query as you understand and the representative will work his way through your details to determine the issue and work through it.
For instance, if you’re obtaining internet services from AT&T, a reputed internet company, you can contact AT&T phone number for support services. Just narrate the issue and the representative will provide an effective solution based on their diagnosis. It’s that simple.
Easy to Communicate
As highlighted earlier, customers can simply call the support contact number and narrate their issue. There’s no need to compose a hefty email or know what technical terms should be included in the mail.
Phone support makes it easier to relay all information without any hassle. One can easily narrate their issue, answer questions asked by the representative and apply fixes as told, or wait for the representative to provide you with the solution.
Helps Get Real-Time Assistance
A good reason why phone support is great is that it offers real-time assistance. You can contact it for queries, issues, concerns, suggestions, or anything else as needed. Plus, the human interaction atmosphere makes it easier to relay your thoughts without any hassle.
On the other hand, companies can provide real-time assistance as well as indulge in promotional workability that allows them to promote services right away. Moreover, customers can be converted into loyal clients when offered discounts and deals in such a way.
Live Chats
Another mode used for customer services is live chats. Unlike phone support, live chats involve texting in real-time the representative of the company while visiting their site. The live chat support brings several amazing perks that one should consider while using it for offering customer care. Let’s check these out:
Multiple Chat Options
A good reason why companies prefer using live chats is that it allows the representatives to entertain multiple clients at a time. Unlike phone support, live chat representatives don’t have to wait for the chat to exit for attending to another client.
This makes it easier to entertain multiple clients at once as well as provide real-time assistance faster than phone support. However, shifting between chats can reduce efficiency if caution isn’t administered and can result in an error while handling escalations too.
Can Embed Tools
Good use of live chat comes when it can be embedded with tools such as self-service options and chatbots. These allow customers to resolve their issues without even having to contact customer support. Hence, the time taken for resolving the issue is reduced further. On the other hand, it also reduces the workload for the representatives.
Can Be Referenced
When it comes to referencing, live chats can be used to include media files as needed. It makes it easier for the customers and the representatives to illustrate anything or share media as required by the situation. Ultimately, it’s better than having to explain the entire issue, which obviously takes time.
Which One Is Better?
Now that we’ve seen what phone support and live chat support offer in terms of benefits, it’s time to compare both and illustrate which one to use and when:
| Phone Support | Live Chat Support | |
| The Goods | · Can be used for quick calls
· Brings in the human touch · Effective where communication via text can be a hassle · Ensures one-to-one communication · Helps with persuasive marketing · Effectively resolves/ reports solutions and progress |
· Can be used for a quick chat
· Helps share media files · Fast way of communication · Helps communicate with multiple customers · Can embed different tools · Helps minimize the time needed for resolving the issue of the customers |
| The Bads | · Can have a long wait time
· No media sharing · Needs representative’s empathetic training · High risk of negative w.o.m · Can’t embed tools |
· No personalized or human-like experience
· Texting details can be a hassle · Quick solutions can take time · Can result in an error with multiple conversations |
Closing Thoughts
Based on the insights given above, one can generate the thought that both methods are important for customer support. Where phone support offers a personalized touch, live chats make it easier to share media through the chat. On the other hand, the one-to-one interaction with the clients makes it easier for the companies to promote their products and persuade customers into buying them. In other words, both methods prove fruitful for the company and should be used accordingly.
