Customers are increasingly turning to video chat for customer service. Research shows that 54% are interested in using live video to help with an ongoing issue. Additionally, a third of customers who have used live video support say they’d choose it again in the future.
There’s no doubt that live video is a critical tool for creating a better tech support experience. However, it also has the potential to offer numerous financial benefits for your business. In this blog post, we go over a few examples of how using video chat for customer service can save your company money and potentially increase profits.
How you can save money using video chat for customer service
There are many financial benefits to using live video in your contact center. Below, we go over a few ways that using video chat for customer service can help your business save money and improve your company’s bottom line.
Reduce costs through improved first-call resolution rates
First call resolution is your company's ability to address a customer's service request during the first interaction. It is a critical metric for evaluating the success of your contact center. It's generally recommended to have a first-call resolution rate (FCR) of 75% or higher. So, what happens if your business isn't hitting that ideal number?
If your company has a low first-call resolution rate, your customers might have to contact you multiple times to resolve a tech support issue. As a result, you'll likely experience a high call volume, which can increase your business's expenses.
Additionally, if your agents are unable to resolve an issue the first time, customer rage and poor sentiment regarding your brand can increase. However, addressing a customer's problem can be difficult if they have to describe it to the agent over the phone. There's a lot of room for misinterpretation and miscommunication for both parties.
Remote video support software eliminates a lot of back-and-forth between customers and agents because they can interact in real-time. Agents have more context about the customer's tech issue and provide more accurate troubleshooting. With live video, agents are more likely to get it right the first time, reducing the need for multiple callbacks from a customer.
As a result, first-call resolution rates increase, which has multiple benefits for your business. As customers can get solutions to their problems in a single interaction, the call volume at your contact center decreases. With a lower call volume, you can reduce your operational expenses. You can also improve your net promoter score (NPS), which is a gauge of customer sentiment about your brand.
Reduce the need for truck rolls
Live video chat can also reduce your truck rolls. Truck rolls refer to when you have to send a team to a customer’s home or business. Truck rolls don’t just pose challenges for scaling support; they’re also expensive. The Technology and Services Industry Association (TSIA) estimates the actual cost of truck rolls could be as much as $1,000.
The expenses add up fast. For example, spending $1,000 to send a team out to help every customer set up their internet isn’t feasible. It makes providing a good customer service experience difficult, and your budget also suffers. You have to pay for travel time, gas and other expenses. Therefore, truck rolls should be a last resort.
With live video support, you can effectively reduce the number of truck rolls you send out to assist customers on-site. Agents can see and diagnose technical issues, such as router connectivity, in real-time. They can also provide effective, step-by-step guidance without leaving your contact center.
For example, instead of trying to describe where customers should look or what button to press, many video chat support tools have live markup features. Live markup allows agents to highlight critical components on the customer’s screen. This enables them to show customers, not tell them what to press and where to find it.
When agents can provide accurate troubleshooting without having to leave the office (or their homes), your company can enjoy significant cost savings that it would otherwise have lost to truck rolls. Effective remote video support streamlines the tech support experience for customers, improving customer sentiment about your brand.
Increase customer lifetime value and lower churn rates
Providing a high-quality tech support experience is critical for reducing business expenses. Inadequate tools can make it difficult for contact center agents to resolve tech support issues effectively, increasing customer churn rates.
It’s estimated that poor customer service costs U.S. businesses $856 billion annually. Additionally, more than half of customers will switch to one of your competitors after a single bad support experience. Creating high-quality tech support experiences can save your company money and help improve customer retention.
Video chat can be an excellent tool for improving the tech support experience. Faster and more accurate service resolution can boost brand sentiment. This makes it easy to retain current customers, which is cheaper than constantly trying to acquire new ones to replace those that churn.
Video chat also lets agents provide a tech support experience that’s tailored to the individual customer, creating the personalized experience customers crave. More than eight out of 10 customers prefer brands that offer personalization. Implementing video chat tools in your contact center can help you stand out from competitors and stop churn in its tracks.
Using video support, you can boost customer retention and improve customer lifetime value. Research shows that 78% of customers will make additional purchases from businesses that personalize the customer experience, allowing agents to tap into potential upselling and cross-selling opportunities. This combination of increased retention and repeat purchases can have a powerful impact on your bottom line.
Improve contact center agent productivity
Using video chat for customer service can help your agents work smarter, not harder. Live video support can also eliminate the potential for agents to misunderstand customers’ tech support requests.
Additionally, video chat can be critical for agents to communicate with customers effectively. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 65% of people are visual learners. This means that visual guidance from a live agent can help customers quickly understand the steps they need to take for remote troubleshooting versus hearing instructions over the phone.
For example, imagine you call tech support because you’re having trouble with your router’s connection. The agent determines that you need to reset your router. You’d probably find it easier to troubleshoot using live video, with an agent showing you what buttons you need to press and where they are, versus describing it to you over the phone.
Streamlined communication between agents and customers means that agents can resolve tech support issues the first time around. As a result, the number of repeat callers decreases.
A reduction in repeat callers, in turn, also decreases wait times. This is critical for customer retention, particularly Gen Z customers, who will hang up after spending less than a minute on hold. Not only does this reduction in wait time increase customer satisfaction, but agents can work more efficiently, serving more customers in less time.
When agents can successfully resolve tech support requests in the first interaction, your company could see a reduction in contact center expenses. It also means you may not need to hire additional staff to handle high call volumes due to repeat callers.
Reap the financial benefits of live video support
Video chat support is a powerful tool to implement in your contact center. Not only can it improve the customer experience, but it can also provide significant cost savings and other financial benefits for your business.
Accurate, faster tech support resolution from live video support can improve brand sentiment and stop churn. Additionally, you can use video chat to create more tailored service experiences for customers, leading to potential upselling or cross-selling opportunities. These potential financial benefits make live video support a vital tool to consider when leveling up your contact center’s tech stack.
Remote video support is undoubtedly the future of customer service. But how can you identify the right tool for your business? Our free remote video support guide goes over the benefits of live video and key features to look for when considering your options. Download your copy today!
