The Faces Behind Online Chat Software

Adding your operator’s picture not only adds a personal touch to your online chat software, but it also helps to convince customers that they are chatting with a real human. Giving otherwise faceless organisations an identity is especially important for more sensitive chats, like complaints handling or mentoring programmes, where trust is paramount to success. There are many obvious advantages to fronting online chat software for your website with a smile, but it’s also important to consider the limitation of this practice. Have a look at our discussion points below.

When is Anonymity Preferable?

Chat operator anonymisation isn’t just for the superheroes on your team. If your business deals with financial or sensitive information then it is better to hide real images of your representatives to make customers feel more comfortable sharing their details. Generic stock images and company logos are suitable alternatives. Choosing whether to use a personal image is a decision that needs to be made on a case-by-case basis. It’s simply a matter of weighing up all the facts to decide what is more important for the business – to make the customer experience more personal or more formal.

How to Avoid Harassment

The online chat software for your website needs to protect more than just your customers data. Staff privacy and identity protection needs to be your primary concern, especially if the customer has access to the operator’s name and their approximate location. A name and location is all it takes to track someone down on social media, which means there’s the ever-prevalent risk of an infuriated or unbalanced individuals taking out their anger with the company on a much more personal level. Companies need to introduce all the safety measures they can and provide appropriate training so that operators know how to handle this unavoidable part of their work.

Customers Appreciate Transparency

Sharing the faces of your operators begins the trust-building process for a stronger long-term relationship with the customer. A simple picture can create a friendlier brand image to bring your support service to a whole new level. Besides making the customer service more personal for individuals, it improves the public image of the company and can convert one-off visitors into returning customers.

Online Chat Software for YOUR website

Including a picture of your customer service representative is a strategy that is unique to live chat on website and therefore a brilliant way to differentiate yourself from competing websites. It’s impossible to achieve the same effect while providing phone support and putting an image within the body of an e-mail increases the size of the email and causes most email clients to block the images.

When making a decision on using operator pictures you should choose the online chat software that makes this customisation as simple as possible. Start by considering whether you want to create a friendly or formal experience, a transparent process or a closed environment. Remember, our team at Click4Assistance is here to offer practical advice on how to create a more personalised experience for your customers. Write us at theteam@click4assistance.co.uk, talk to us on 0845 123 5871 or start a chat.