Support chat or hotline phone: What should I choose?

"What should I connect — a support chat or a hotline phone?" is a question that Decision Telecom experts are often asked by companies wishing to improve customer interaction. Each of these feedback forms has its own characteristics, which we will talk about today.

Hotline phone: pros and cons

To contact the hotline operator, the user just needs to pick up the phone, dial the number and wait for an answer. This option is convenient if a person wants to solve a difficult issue and it is easier for him to explain in words what the problem is.

Despite its external simplicity, this method of communication has disadvantages:

• The manager can serve only one customer, while the rest have to wait in line, which is annoying. Especially considering that people can't fully do their daily chores with a phone in their hand.
• If the manager is not ready to give an answer immediately, he switches the subscriber to another specialist, and then he has to explain the problem again.

You need to pay more for talking on the phone than for chatting. The connection itself is also more expensive, and with the growing number of customers, there is a need to expand the staff of operators.

The pros and cons of the support chat

These days, customers are increasingly turning to the support chat. They value their time and don't want to waste it trying to call the consultant. Moreover, it is more convenient to write a question to a messenger (Viber, Telegram, WhatsApp) and wait for an answer, continuing to do their own things.

If we compare it with a hotline, it is worth highlighting the advantages of the chat:

• Improve the productivity of consultants who can work with multiple users at the same time.
• Improving the quality of support. Consultants get more time to study the problem in depth and give a detailed answer.
• Cost reduction, since the chat connection is cheaper, and fewer operators are involved in the work.
• Saving time and human resources. You can connect a bot to the chat, it solves standard queries independently.

Among the disadvantages of the chat, there are delays in the operator's responses when he serves several people at the same time. In addition, there are clients who do not like to write messages because it is difficult for them to formulate a problem in writing. In this case, it is better to solve the issue in voice mode.

How to work effectively with the support chat and hotline

Both communication channels can be connected to CRM, which collects information about calls and messages in a single database. The information stored in the system helps to solve the issue of concern to the client at the moment more effectively.

The support chat allows you to connect more useful analytics services, for example, to track where the user came from. This makes it possible to get to know the customer better and offer them an interesting product.

To connect the support service, contact the Decision Telecom manager by filling out the feedback form. Our consultant will call you back and answer all your questions.