Choosing Between Live Support and Chatbot
- November 18, 2023
Customers can get support using live support or chatbot while using the services of companies. Thanks to these supports, you can make your customer feel special by keeping your customer’s relationship with your company warm and making them feel one-to-one attention.
One of the best ways to find solutions to customers’ questions and problems about the services they receive is live support. Some live support services offer voice or video call options, while others provide support via email or text chat. So is live support or chatbot a better support system? Let’s take a look together.
Installation Cost
We can evaluate the installation cost differences between live support and chatbot as follows;
Live Support
- Setting up live support usually involves the use of communication channels such as chat or telephone support, which can be relatively simple.
- Costs include purchasing or subscribing to chat software or telephone systems, configuring them and integrating them into your website.
- Training your support agents and setting up the necessary infrastructure can also contribute to set-up costs.
Chat Bot
- Chatbots require software development and platform integration, which can be more complex and expensive than a basic live support setup.
- Costs include hiring developers, creating and training the chatbot, as well as integrating it into the system.
- The complexity of the functions and integrations of the chatbot significantly affects the installation costs.
Operation Cost
We can summarise the difference in operation cost between chatbot and live support as follows;
Live Support
- The operational cost of live support primarily includes agent salaries, benefits and overheads. Ongoing costs also include software subscriptions, maintenance and training.
- Costs are usually recurring, with expenses associated with each support agent you employ.
Chatbot
- Chatbots usually have lower operating costs than live support because they do not require salaries or benefits.
- Ongoing costs include software maintenance and updates, hosting and in some cases chatbot platform fees. Once developed and deployed, high-volume interactions are realised at a relatively low cost.
Scalability
The scalability difference between live support and chatbot is as follows;
Live Support
- Live support scales with hiring additional support agents or expanding your support team.
- The scalability of live support depends on the availability of qualified support agents.
Chatbot
- Chatbots scale easily and manage a large number of interactions simultaneously.
- Adding more chatbots to your system to meet growing demand is relatively simple and does not necessarily require a linear increase in operating costs.
Speed
We can summarise the speed difference between chatbot and live support as follows;
- Live support provides faster and more accurate answers to complex or detailed customer questions. It solves problems faster. Waiting times vary greatly depending on factors such as the number of support agents available, call volume and customer demand.
- Chatbots are extremely fast and can answer multiple questions quickly. The chatbot responds instantly, but is ideal for repetitive tasks, which increases the resolution time for complex questions. Waiting time is negligible.
Language and Style
Live support agents understand and respond to customers using natural language, providing personalised, context-sensitive and empathetic communication. Because the language in conversation is human-mediated, it is more flexible, adaptable and nuanced.
Chatbots use predefined language patterns and responses. It relies on programmed scripts, algorithms and natural language processing (NLP) technology to understand and respond to user queries. Due to their structured and rule-based conversations, they are less flexible and adaptable than live chat.
Meeting Needs
By providing one-to-one communication with live support, you can resolve your more complex problems or questions in a short time, meet your needs and provide trouble-free access to your service.
You can get 24/7 support from chatbots, and if you need help, you can access help according to the answers determined by the system software.
Relationship Building
Live chat is successful in establishing a more personal relationship with customers together with human agents. Human agents can adapt their communication style and offer customized solutions, increasing trust and loyalty.
Chatbots offer consistency, efficiency and essential relationship building capabilities. While it cannot create the same level of personal connection as human agents, it can still contribute to a positive customer experience. Where necessary, it can refer customers to human support for more complex issues.
The choice between live chat and chatbots depends on your specific customer service goals and the balance you want to strike between personalisation and efficiency.
You can try Grispi for free for 14 days to increase your customer satisfaction and take advantage of multi-channel support.
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