Consumers have become more demanding in recent years, expecting businesses to respond to their concerns quickly or lose them as customers.
A single study showed that the thing people want out of customer support is quicker response time, and it isn’t surprising. After all, the time it takes for an organization to acknowledge and address concerns is an indicator of professionalism and shows that it values its audience, leading to sales.
Consumers spend time looking for products and services they require. And if they’re unable to reach a brand or company easily, the chances are that they’ll try another. Unfortunately, need, and interest can wane much quicker than some realize, so if they don’t get an immediate response to their inquiries, be it marketing or sales-related questions, they may end up forgetting about it.
Importance of response time
As its name suggests, response time in a business setting refers to the period or duration that an organization can respond to consumers’ inquiries, feedback, and concerns. How much of an impact does it have on customer relationship and their interactions with your brand? A Forrester survey shows seventy-three percent of consumers have claimed that an essential service value is for their time.
The same survey also points out that over half of consumers will give up and won’t make a purchase if they cannot get the answers they seek. And this demand is shaping many industries. For example, insurers are now turning to a usage based insurance platform to meet the demands of consumers in real-time.
Customer service and response time
It would be best to consider that consumer expectations and response time in customer service are related directly to the communication channels available to you. For example, a visitor can quickly find and receive assistance in brick-and-mortar stores. However, for online businesses, creativity is essential. Unfortunately, too many still depend on phones, social networks, email, and other channels that typically have long response times.
The reality is that these channels are no longer competitive. The average time of response for social media and email is hours long. Because talking over the phone and being put on hold can be a frustrating experience, one of the best ways to go is through live chat.
Live chat
Live chat is usually the most effective channel when it comes to response time within a digital environment. This is because it takes a few minutes for consumers to connect with an agent and receive a response. It’s also a platform where you can immediately identify whether or not representatives are online and are ready to begin real-time sessions.
Conclusion
Fast, real-time responses are significant to any business, regardless of the size of the organization or its industry. For this reason, you must adopt practices and technologies that will enable you to respond to your customers quickly, or you could miss out on opportunities to generate sales and create customer loyalty.
