3 years of online counseling - how is it?

    Having been engaged in the Web Messenger project  (software for organizing online consulting on the site) for 3 years, we have accumulated more than extensive experience in online consulting for visitors to our site, in addition, we always try to be aware of how customers use our system, so I wanted to discuss accumulated with a reputable audience:
    1. It’s important to really want to help the client in solving his problems, not just to sell the product, or help to choose the version, but to really get to the bottom of how and why the client wants to use the system, what tasks he wants to solve for himself, everything else, anyway, follows from this. As you know, " The meaning of activity lies outside the scope of activity ."
    2. We want to help, and not just give information - you  don’t need to send the visitor back to the site unnecessarily, the visitor has already turned to the consultant because he didn’t find something on the site and since he turned, he needs to explain how it should be, what’s what. Links should be given only for the future or if the information is not transmitted via chat.
    3. The consultant does not have to know absolutely everything   - sometimes there are questions that require reflection or recalling something, so it’s okay to ask the visitor for contacts and contact him a little later. The main thing is to properly understand the client’s question :) Another option is to invite the visitor to communicate with another consultant and translate it. In no case do you just need to ask to contact later without taking the coordinates.
    4. You do not need to use template answers, it’s better to learn to type blindly - imagine that you are talking on the phone and a person is reading something from a book, this is always heard. Template phrases are always perceived negatively when a girl calls you and offers some services. How many of us have not heard the intentional “thank you for your time”? Of the templates, we allow ourselves only a greeting, this is more a necessity since the failure rate (when the visitor closes the window without saying anything) is palpable and we, alas, cannot physically welcome each visitor.
    5. Only a visitor can end a conversation - an online consultant cannot end a chat, even if the conversation flows into obscene language. And sometimes it happens that the conversation begins obscene, but then the visitor realizes that he is talking with a real person, apologizes and buys the product.
    6. You need to join the chat right away - the visitor does not wait more than 2 minutes after clicking the online consultation button, he simply closes the window if no one appears.
    7. You need to respond quickly - the time it took the operator to write a message should be less than the time the client wrote the message
    8. Contextual questions work well - the consultant always knows which page the visitor is on, knows the entire history of the visit, knows previous visits, knows the entry point to the site and where he came from. Use all this information when communicating, do not be lazy, any drop of visitor information is worth its weight in gold.
    9. The initiative should be a little bit on the side of the consultant - to control the progress of the consultant, but not too intrusive, it should be natural. The operator should ask a little more questions.
    10. No need to write for a long time - if the operator types the message for a long time, the visitor has time to ask a few questions, in addition, he will be dissatisfied with the long wait for an answer, although he will see that the operator is typing something. 
    11. No need to give a very detailed answer - a very detailed answer is not needed, because this is live communication, and not correspondence by e-mail, it’s better to clarify what exactly is interesting to the client, a maximum of a couple of offers, one is better.
    12. We need to help each other -  when one operator communicates with another, the operator can follow the chat and prompt the first
    13. We lead a client - if a person has already come and talked with operator A earlier, it is better that the same consultant A continues communication in the next call
    14. The communication style is slightly more formal than the visitor's communication style. 
    15. The answer is not monosyllabic - you need to answer briefly and clearly, it is best to make sure that this answer suits the client and ask what else the visitor is interested in
    16. We finish the conversation - sometimes the conversation ceases to be constructive, so it’s better to ask “Can I help you with something else about the products of our company?”
    Surely, I forgot a lot and part may be controversial :)
    So it will be great to listen to the thoughts of readers.

    Upd 1 It is really very important to respond quickly, I understand that everyone wanted to check it out, but now we can’t cope with it, so I apologize to everyone who had to wait.

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