In a world where instant communication is the norm, live chat software enables businesses to meet customer expectations with real-time assistance. In addition, live chat also helps build stronger customer relationships with personalized engagement.
However, with numerous business live chat software solutions on the market, finding the right one for you can be challenging. In this blog, we'll walk you through the key considerations and must-have features you should look for while choosing live chat software for your business and how Zoho SalesIQ stands out as the perfect choice.
Factors to consider while choosing live chat software
Here are the most important factors you need to consider before evaluating business live chat software.
Company size
The size of your business dictates the kind of live chat software you'll need. Smaller businesses that are just starting out will have a smaller number of inquiries and fewer people to handle live chat, so they'll prefer a simple, straightforward solution with just the basics. Mid-sized businesses will need some advanced features that can help manage a higher live chat load while keeping the interaction personal, as well as CRM and help desk integrations and basic reporting. Finally, large enterprises have more complex requirements and need a tool that can help them handle large volumes of chats, with AI-driven chatbots for 24/7 support, translation, extensive customization, detailed reports, and integration capabilities.
Your budget
Cost is a significant consideration. Ensure you select software that offers a neat balance between affordability and functionality. Lower-priced live chat software typically offers essential features like live chat, basic chat history, concurrent messaging, basic integrations, and limited customization, making it ideal for smaller teams or businesses that are just starting out. On the other hand, larger businesses will need software with advanced capabilities such as AI-driven chatbots, deeper analytics, omnichannel support, and extensive integrations, along with greater customization and scalability.
Software with flexible pricing like Zoho SalesIQ offers you both these options, letting you scale seamlessly as your business grows.
Ease of setup and customization
Look for software with a straightforward setup and that can be easily integrated with your website, mobile app, and any other instant messaging channels. The software should also allow for easy customization to align with your brand elements.
User-friendly interface
A clean, intuitive UI is crucial for both you and your customers. The software should have a short learning curve with easy navigation and should enhance your customers' user experience rather than complicate it.
Customer support
Reliable customer support can make a significant difference in your experience with any software, especially live chat. When issues arise, having a responsive support team to turn to ensures that you can resolve problems swiftly, minimizing downtime and maintaining seamless customer interactions. Look for software providers with a strong reputation for great customer support.
Security and privacy measures
Data security should be a key consideration when you select live chat software for your business as your prospects' and customers' data is at stake. Look for software with strong security policies in place and that comply with all the required privacy regulations.
Scalability
As your business grows, your live chat software should be able to adapt. Choose a solution that can handle increasing live chat volumes and can offer additional features that you'll need as you expand.
Customer reviews
Check customer reviews and testimonials to see how existing users like the software you're considering and if they've faced any problems.
Test before committing
Check if the software you're considering offers free trials. Try it out in your business setting to see if it meets your requirements before making a financial commitment.
Must-have features of live chat software
While choosing live chat software for your business, ensure it has all the features mentioned below.
Chatbots
AI-driven chatbots can assist prospects or customers 24/7, making your business seem more approachable and freeing up human agents for more complex queries. Ensure the software you're considering has an easy-to-use chatbot builder.
Proactive chat
You can prompt timely engagement using automated chat triggers tied to user behavior on your website or app, like when someone's on your pricing page for too long without taking action or when someone's trying to place an order but encounters an error. This can enhance customer experience.
Canned responses
These are predefined replies you can save in your live chat tool and can use in a click while responding to customers, increasing your efficiency.
Audio call and screen share
Having audio call and screen sharing capabilities in your live chat tool can mean the difference between long chats sometimes leading to nothing and efficient resolutions that enhance customer satisfaction.
IM channels
Integrating live chat with your instant messaging channels like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and more allows customers to contact you at their convenience and still manage all these chats from one place.
Chat routing
Efficiently directing chats to the right agents or departments can significantly improve your CSAT and first contact resolution rate.
Chat rating and feedback
Ensure the software you're considering helps you easily collect customer ratings and feedback immediately after the chat so you can identify opportunities for improvement.
Reports and analytics
The best software has reporting and analytics that give you all the essential live chat metrics you need to optimize your live chat operation.
Integrations
Based on your requirement, ensure the software can be easily integrated with CRM, help desk software, analytics, and other tools in your tech stack.
Mobile app optimization
The live chat software you're considering should have a mobile SDK that allows you to add live chat to your mobile app so customers can contact you from the app.
Common questions to ask yourself while choosing live chat software
What problems am I looking to solve?
What are my specific business needs?
How many live chat requests can I expect in a day?
What budget constraints do I have?
Do I need multilingual support?
What communication channels do my customers expect?
What level of analytics and reporting will I need?
Is mobile access important for my team?
Is the UI intuitive enough for my team and customers?
Does the software integrate well with my existing tools?
Why Zoho SalesIQ is the ideal live chat software for your business needs
In addition to checking all the boxes when it comes to meeting the essential criteria for live chat software, Zoho SalesIQ offers a range of advanced features that enhance your live chat operations, making it the ideal live chat software solution for businesses of all sizes. Here's how SalesIQ stands out.
Visitor insights: Gain real-time insights into visitor behavior, traffic sources, and browsing patterns to tailor your conversations.
Voice note: Let visitors ask questions, then explain solutions to them through voice notes.
Typing preview: View what customers are typing in the live chat window in real time so you have a head start into finding answers before they hit send.
Smart suggestions: Get automatic response suggestions for customer queries from your canned responses and knowledge base.
OpenAI-powered productivity enhancers: Our OpenAI-powered features boost your message quality, summarize chats for quick reference, and automatically generate chat tags for organization.
Chat translation: Our real-time live chat translation detects the language of incoming messages and performs two-way translation in real time.
Live chat business hours: Configure your live chat widget to go offline beyond your team's work hours, or set up an offline status message so customers know when they can expect a response.
Profanity management: Ensure a professional and safe work environment for your live chat team. Create a list of inappropriate terms your team may encounter in live chat conversations and configure chat closure or IP blocking when they come up.
Conversation monitoring: Ensure your live chat agents adhere to your customer communication standards with real-time online live chat and call monitoring.
Integration with Zoho Suite and third-party tools: SalesIQ integrates seamlessly with other Zoho applications for a holistic business solution. Not a Zoho user yet? No problem. SalesIQ also has a host of third-party integrations too.
What are you waiting for? Sign up for a 15-day free trial to see if SalesIQ is the best fit for your business.
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