Optimising Live Chat for the Finance Industry

Live chat is a one-to-one communication channel that connects the website visitor with a customer representative.  Advisors can instantly answer enquirers’ questions in real-time via text-based messages.

Chat is proven to:

• Increase engagement rates with online visitors
• Improve efficiency
• Help advisors to encourage visitors to complete online transactions
• Improve customer satisfaction rates

Types of Finance Organisations Using Live Chat

The finance industry is a large sector to navigate. It can include businesses investigating asset management and pensions, whilst consumers research credit cards and insurance quotes etc.

Regardless of the product or service available, live chat is suitable for any finance website.

From the financial companies using Click4Assistance:

• 51% are insurance companies
• 16% are finance lenders (car finance, mortgages, short-term credit)
• 12% are investment companies
• 9% are made up of other organisations (this includes currency exchange, and companies that provide multiple financial services)
• 7% are leasing companies
• 5% are debt companies (collectors/advisors)

The Click4Assistance solution has been very well received within insurance companies as well as other finance organisations due to the success in streamlining business operations.

How Do I Get Live Chat On My Finance Website?

A small piece of HTML script is provided when a free no obligation trial is initiated. This simply needs copying and pasting into the admin area of your website.

The majority of financial companies choose to implement the chat service across their entire website. This allows visitors to gain help at any stage in their journey and optimises the chance to increase lead generation/conversion rates.

Whereas, other organisations who have specific teams handling chats, may only add the communication channel to the relevant pages for that department. One client who has implemented in this manner is Angel Underwriting. They include chat within their QuickQuote, allowing visitors to ask questions during the quote procedure and therefore increases quote completion rates.

Alternatively, companies may include a disclaimer on their pre-chat form explaining what type of enquiries agents can handle via chat.

Branding Live Chat To Fit Your Finance Website

Using Click4Assistance as your chat provider means that all visitor facing aspects of the communication channel can be 100% customised to fit with your website branding. Colours and logos can easily be changed using the simple style configuration. For those looking to add their own design, fields or size, the HTML and CSS can be accessed in the advanced configuration.

Many organisations will want to gather lead generation details, therefore can be tempting to include many data capturing fields on the pre-chat form. However requesting too many personal details can detract a visitor from starting a chat. We recommended asking for the bare minimum such as a name, as this has the highest uptake rates. Advisors can then ask for more details as the conversation progresses.

It is important in a financial environment to make the visitor feel safe when sharing their personal details. Having the chat branded to your website can subconsciously reassure them as the service looks incorporated with the rest of the website. Only asking for a name doesn’t pressurise them and allows them to interact with your company at their own pace, meaning they are more receptive to share their details when the agent asks during the chat, rather than abandoning the chat before it’s even started.

Increasing Efficiency and Customer Satisfaction

Agents can handle 3 simultaneous chats on average once they are fully trained. This means that they can ultimately triple their productivity, as only one enquiry can be handled at a time via phone or email. It does however depend on the nature of the question(s) as more complex enquiries require more of the advisor’s attention.

The speed of the visitor typing is also another aspect that needs to be factored in. If an agent has a couple of chats where the enquirer types very quickly, then it is not advisable to take anymore chats at that current time. The user can simply switch their availability to offline, which doesn’t affect their existing chats, until they are ready to take more.

To help respond to fast typing visitors advisors have access to a library of Predefined Replies. These are pre-agreed answers to frequently asked questions that can be altered before sending to the enquirer, ensuring they accurately answer the individual’s question.

Chat has proven to be the preferred communication channel and has higher customer satisfaction rates than telephone or email, due to its instant nature. There are several other features within the Click4Assistance solution that aids agents to provide quick responses. This includes Auto Navigate and File Transfer.

Click4Assistance is the leading UK live chat provider and has been working with the financial industry for over 15 years to improve their operations. For more information contact our team by calling 01268 524628 or email theteam@click4assistance.co.uk.

Alternatively, we provide free personalised demonstrations online, sharing our screens during a conference call to give you a tailored walkthrough on how the chat solution can work for your organisation.