Live customer chat can bring about a number of benefits for businesses, many of which have to do with its affordability. In order to take full advantage of the labor and cost savings, however, it is important for customer service agents to pay close attention to time management. Follow these time management tips for efficient and effective live customer chats.

Respond Within 20 Seconds of an Initial Inquiry

In our fast-paced world, customers don’t want to wait too long for a response in a live chat function. Do your best to have a response within 20 seconds of an initial inquiry. Any longer, and that interested customer might have already closed the window and moved on to your competitors.

Learn to Multitask

Customer service agents should get comfortable having more than one live chat conversation at a time. If possible, keep two or more chat windows open at a time to better facilitate quick responses.

Consider Canned Responses if Timeliness is Becoming a Problem

Canned responses don’t have to sound robotic, and they can be a major way to save time in a live customer chat. If response times are lagging, create a few commonly used responses in order to save customer agents from typing them out each time.

Invest in Typing Speed and Accuracy

Finally, make sure employees using live chat with customers are able to type quickly and accuracy. A slow typist can increase customer wait times and be an ineffective use of time.

With these time management tips, businesses can ensure that their live customer chat is as effective as possible.

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