Whether we like it or not, the UK is a nation of game consumers. Here, Howard Williams, marketing director of digital engagement specialist Parker Software, talks about the benefits of live chat for the gaming industry.
From hardcore gamers looking for the latest releases to parents and siblings buying their loved ones gifts at Christmas, the industry is thriving. Competition in the video game retail market is tough and any way in which a company can distinguish itself to customers is a big opportunity.
Although email and telephone are still strong customer service communication channels, people are increasingly turning to text and social media platforms to deal with their enquiries. The immediacy of messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook messenger has popularised the use of live chat, also known as web chat, typically in customers aged under 50.
A generation of users that have grown up with tablets and smartphones, this demographic of young digital-natives is more comfortable with the casual nature of digital communication as opposed to the formal, essay style communication of a letter or even of email.
Having conversations with multiple people simultaneously, as opposed to forcing customers to queue in a voice call or possibly wait 24 hours for an email response to a query that may no longer be timely, is becoming increasingly popular.
Ways in which people communicate with company customer services are changing. Young gamers with a two sentence question about delivery don’t want to sit through an interactive voice response (IVR) telephone call that lasts more than a few minutes. This is especially true if he or she is accessing customer service using a mobile device that incurs data and call charges.
In the video game industry, businesses come under a lot of pressure because of the surge in demand during new game launches. This becomes even more difficult during peak trading periods between September and January. Although email and telephone customer service communication still serve a purpose, large enquiries via these methods cause backlogs.
Instead of dealing with customer enquiries, some live chat providers have been known to try and keep customers away from the contact centre during times of peak demand. They fail to realise that although this will improve operational efficiency, it will also send potential customers to competitors.
Instead, by staffing live chat lines with in-house experts capable of answering customers’ questions, companies can fulfil thousands of live chat enquiries a day – far more than they could via phone. Over time, we’ve found that this leads to a fall in telephone enquiries as customers increasingly turn to live chat, helping the company make further operational savings, which it can then reinvest into service delivery.
Furthermore, display timers that show customers how long the estimated queuing time is until the next adviser is free keeps users informed and provides the business with real-time insights into traffic levels, giving managers the opportunity to reassign resources to meet the need.
Knowing the exact waiting time gives customers the opportunity to choose to wait or come back when it’s convenient. This reflects positively on the brand and prevents the customer from leaving with the impression that the company doesn’t care. In a crowded market place, this approach to customer service could be worth millions.
It’s no wonder that in the modern world of interconnectivity and instant Google answers, an industry highly associated with innovation and creativity is starting to benefit from live chat customer service options. If implemented with the correct ethos – fulfilling requirements rather than keeping away from phone lines – video game retailers can level up over their competitors.
By Howard Williams
Marketing director
Parker Software