There have been many tips and tricks on how to provide better customer service. “Always smile”, “always be polite”, “the customer is always right”, etc. There will always be steps on how to improve your behavior toward customers. And these are not to be underestimated. The customers are the most important part of any business. And keeping them satisfied and content is crucial.
Making sure you follow the steps of great customer service is mandatory. All agents should be well-trained to deal with customers in all kinds of situations. And not only in person but over the phone, email, and live chat as well. Even though it is not in-person, the customer service provided over chat can be just as amazing and smooth. And even better than with all other channels.
Statistics show that live chat is the preferred channel among all others by 41% of the consumers. And it has the highest consumer satisfaction rate at 92%! Since everything is moving more and more online, it is no surprise that these are the results from the conducted research.
How exactly to handle customers the best way possible, however, is another topic that we will cover in a different article. Here, we will talk about one of the amazing live chat features – the attention indicators. And how can this feature help you provide a much better customer experience? Let’s see.
What Are Attention Indicators?
The attention indicators are one of the recently added features of Conversation24’s chat software. They are small indicators with different colors and different icons inside them, appearing in different situations, at the right upper corner of the chat window. They are very easily spottable and help the chat operators to identify the chat with the highest priority.
What Types of Attention Indicators Are There?
There are a few types of attention indicators, depending on the message they want to transmit. Currently, there are 9 indicators available and each of them is extremely useful for the everyday work of the chat operator. Here they are:
1. Attention Indicator for a New Chat
This attention indicator appears when the operator receives a new chat. As soon as the customer starts a chat on the website, it appears for the operator with these indicators. It is always on top of the list of chats so that the operator can reply to it as soon as possible.
The color of this indicator is red. It is completely red when there are no messages from the customer – only the chat was started. If the customer has sent messages, the corresponding number of the messages will appear within the indicator. This chat is with high priority, so the operators are notified with the indicator that they need to reply to this chat right away. This helps a lot with providing the first reply within the usual 30 seconds.
2. The Customer Has Not Replied
This indicator appears when the customer hasn’t replied to the operator’s last message. Its color is orange and there is a small icon of a clock inside of it. The indicator appears when 2 minutes have passed since the last message that the operator sent. And the customer has not sent a reply.
In that case, it is best to remind the customer about the chat. They may be facing some issues and need additional help. So when the operators see this indicator, it is best to ask if there is anything else to help with, if they need further clarification or simply if they are still there. In that way, you show your customers that you care about them and you are at their disposal. If there is no such indicator, the chat can be simply forgotten and left in the middle of the conversation. In most cases, this will not leave a very nice impression on the customer. That’s it’s good that we have this indicator.
3. When the Chat Operator Hasn’t Replied
This indicator is also very important and with a very high priority. It is colored red and with another cute clock inside. And it pretty much says “Go back to this chat and reply right now!”. It appears in case the operator hasn’t replied to the last message of the customer for more than 60 seconds.
We all hate to wait and our patience span is getting shorter. Providing fast service and keeping the customer engaged is crucial nowadays. This indicator helps you do exactly this. When the operator sees it, it means they took a bit too long. Or at least – they are about to take too long.
It is possible for the operator to lose track of time with all the incoming chats and all the customers’ queries. Or they can simply need more time to deal with this customer’s question. In any case, it is best to give your attention to such chats. Even just to say – “Hey, I’m still checking this, thank you for your patience”. Making sure you have sent the last message is better than making the customer wait, wonder what is happening, or even being transferred to another agent.
4. The Indicator for Transferred Chat
Speaking of being transferred to another agent, there is an indicator for this as well. The chat can be transferred if the first operator hasn’t replied on time or manually – by another agent. In such a case, the new operator will receive the chat with the indicator for a new chat along with another one – a small blue arrow, right next to it.
This indicates that the chat has been transferred and is not completely new. So that the operator can check what the chat is about before handling it. A short message might be included from the previous agent as well. This is also very helpful for providing better customer service. Even though the customer is being transferred, the conversation will go seamlessly.
5. Neutral Indicator
This indicator is actually the lack of indicators. The chat is white (or blue if clicked on it) and there is nothing to do with it for the moment. It means that the customer sent the message and the agent replied to it. And we are waiting for the next message from the customer.
The chat can be neutral for 2 minutes if the customer doesn’t reply. In that case, the orange indicator with the clock will appear. If they do reply, a small number will appear that shows how many messages they sent. This indicator is also very useful. When it’s neutral, the agents know they can first take care of the other more urgent conversations.
6. Boomeranged Chat
This indicator is orange with a small boomerang icon inside. It is available only for the platform for messaging apps such as WhatsApp. And appears when the chat has been reactivated after 12-24 hours of inactivity. It doesn’t mean that the visitor started a new chat, but simply appears in the operator’s chat list.
With such chats, the operator can initiate the conversation on their side. This is very useful in case the customer needs to be updated on something within a certain period of time. It helps with providing punctual and efficient customer service.
7. Screen Share Indicator
Another amazing indicator is the screen share one. It is red with a small screen icon inside. If the customer has enabled the screen share option on their side, this indicator appears.
That way the operator will know, they can see what the customer sees and guide them in this easy and efficient way. An important thing to be remembered about this indicator is that if there is a more important indicator for the chat, the screen share one will be hidden behind it. So if the agent hasn’t replied within 60 seconds, they will see the red indicator with the clock, even if the screen share option is enabled. Once the agent makes sure to reply to the customer, the screen share indicator will be visible again.
8. The Indicator for Paused Chat
This indicator is with grey color and a pause icon inside. It appears around 40 seconds after the visitor has left the website. So they didn’t close the chat window, just closed the website. This means they can come back and in that case, the indicator will disappear.
Along with the indicator, the chat operator will be able to see the message “The chatter left the website” in the conversation field. This lets the operator know that they can continue with the more important and currently active conversations. But be alert that the indicator can change and the chat can become active again.
9. The Indicator for Closed Chat
With this indicator, the chat has been closed. So the visitor did not necessarily leave the website, but they closed the chat. The conversation has ended. It is grey with a stop icon in it.
There is not much an operator can do with this chat. It shows that they can close the chat completely and remove it from their active chats’ list. This way the operator will know not to waste more precious time on this chat, as it is closed. So they can spend their time and energy on the conversations that are currently ongoing.
Better Customer Service with Attention Indicators
Having these indicators available is a big advantage of our chat software. They make the workflow of your chat operators much easier and much more efficient. These little helpers are the key to even better customer service. No longer will your customer have to wait. The operator will know exactly what to do with each of the chats from the first look.
The customers will not know how you do it, but they will definitely feel the difference. And wherever they receive amazing customer service, they will be going back for more. Attention indicators and high customer satisfaction go hand in hand.
So start providing better customer service with our chat indicators today!
