Imagine leaving your angriest customers to spar with an automated script in your website’s chat window. Now picture your support team reading “Where is my order?” for the hundredth time and glancing at the clock, only to find six hours left in the workday. 

Who do you think is more frustrated?

Luckily, you won’t have to answer that, because these are completely avoidable problems. Once you learn the important distinctions between chatbot software and live chat software, you’ll understand how to use them both more effectively and lower blood pressures across the board.

Chatbots rely completely on automation and artificial intelligence (AI) while live chat software connects customers with human agents via a real-time chatbox. A third option, self-service chat, is an appealing alternative.

To determine which solution(s) is best for your business, let’s compare chatbots and live chat software and go through the top use cases for each.

What is live chat software?

Live chat support connects customers with human support agents who can answer their questions and assist them with any issues. When a customer opens the chat box on a live chat support solution, they are connected with a real person from the company's customer support department. 

Support agents then use live chat messaging to address customer inquiries and walk customers through the solution to their problem. 

Interested in getting live chat software? Check out one of these lists for tailored recommendations:

• Best live chat software for ecommerce
• Best live chat software for Shopify stores
• Best live chat software for general use

Pros and cons of live chat

Pros:

• Live agents have the knowledge base to answer complex queries and customer issues 
• 73% of customers state that live chat is the most satisfactory form of customer communication with a company
• Enables multitasking for support agents so they can assist multiple customers at the same time
• The personalized touch of a real human can go a long way toward improving your customer satisfaction
• Support agents can find opportunities to convert visitors or turn support interactions into additional sales 

Cons:

• Not available after-hours when your customer team is off the clock
• More expensive to employ agents to respond to chats
• Responses will be slowed down by high volume which impacts resolution times
• Much of your agents’ time will be spent answering the same simple questions over and over

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What is the difference between chatbots vs. live chat?

Unlike live chat software, chatbot software doesn’t connect customers with human agents. Instead, chatbot software connects customers with a chatbot that utilizes AI and machine learning to provide natural language answers to common questions. 

Automation assists customers with less complex issues and provides quick answers. Chatbot technology enables companies to reduce their average response time, and frees up support agents to focus on more complex queries.  

Pros and cons of chat bots

Pros:

• The ability to answer questions 24/7 without paying for agents to work around the clock. According to a survey by Drift, 64% of customers say that 24/7 service is the best feature of chatbots. 
• Chatbots offer instant responses to common questions like pricing inquiries, improving customer experience with quick resolutions to common issues
• Chatbot solutions are a highly cost-effective option, as they allow companies to resolve more customer issues without having to hire new customer support reps
• By answering commonly asked questions and resolving simple issues, chatbot solutions can free up support agents to focus on more complex questions

Cons:

• Chatbots can’t handle complex inquiries requiring human intervention
• Automated responses are a colder, less human form of communication, which can impact customer satisfaction
• No opportunity for agents to elevate an inquiry into an exemplary customer experience, such as offering personalized live chat offers
• Customers will become frustrated if the chatbot can’t properly answer their questions or solve an issue

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Live chat vs. chatbots: Evaluating their strengths to help you choose the right one (or both)

When comparing chatbots with live chat solutions, it's important to recognize that each category offers its own unique advantages. Many companies choose to employ both live chat and chatbot apps on their ecommerce websites. 

With that in mind, let's explore the strengths of each solution.

Response times and customer expectations 

One of the biggest advantages of chatbot solutions is the fact that they allow for immediate responses to customer inquiries. Live chat solutions can also help companies reduce their wait times, though not to the same degree. 

Chatbot advantage: Answers are immediate

According to data from HubSpot, 90% of customers rate an "immediate" response as important or very important when contacting customer service, with 60% of customers defining "immediate" as 10 minutes or less. 

With a chatbot app, offering immediate response times to customer queries is a much more attainable goal. Best of all, these immediate response times are a 24/7 offering for customers, whereas live chat agents may not always be on the clock. 

Live chat advantage: Solve complex issues

The problem with relying solely on chatbots to reduce customer wait times is the fact that even the best and most intelligent chatbots are often unable to resolve complex issues. Chatbots are excellent at pulling information from internal databases to answer common questions, such as providing the status of a customer's order or editing it.

But for uncommon questions or complex issues, a chatbot alone may not be sufficient. Because they can only handle one thing at a time, it can take forever before you get all of your questions resolved.

Solution: Use both chatbots and live chat

Many companies use chatbots alongside live chat support. This allows businesses to offer both immediate responses, as well as more in-depth support for complex issues. 

For example, a customer may first be connected with a chatbot that provides instant responses to their query and assists with gathering initial information. If the chatbot determines the customer's question or issue is too complex to resolve, the customer is then connected to a support agent via live chat. 

This combination is an ideal solution for many companies, allowing them to quickly resolve common issues without the need for a live chat agent. At the same time, customers have the option to speak with a real person in cases where assistance from a chatbot alone isn’t sufficient. 

Human touch and personalization needs 

While chatbot apps can help reduce customer service wait times and the number of customer service reps needed, many customers prefer speaking with a person. 

Live chat advantage: The human touch

A CGS study found that 86% of customers would rather interact with a human agent than a chatbot. Further, 71% of customers say that they would be less likely to purchase from a brand that did not have real customer service representatives available. 

Chatbot advantage: AI learning

Chatbots have come a long way toward replicating natural language and determining customer intent for better customer engagement. Today, the best chatbot applications can come quite close to sounding like actual human beings. 

Chatbots leverage AI and machine learning to deliver personalized responses, as opposed to only “canned” responses, and can better serve your customers. 

Solution: Use both chatbots and live chat

Even the most advanced chatbots still fall short of a live representative when it comes to delivering a personalized, human touch. They’re also lacking when it comes to handling more complex questions or customer issues. 

Once again, a combination of automation and live chat support is typically the best approach. 

Consistency and accuracy

Chatbots and live chat applications have unique advantages when it comes to delivering consistent and accurate responses to customer queries. 

Chatbot advantage: Consistency

Chatbots are excellent at delivering consistent, on-brand messaging. They can be programmed to systematically follow templates or scripts to provide a consistent customer service experience. 

When working with human customer support agents, this high degree of consistency can be a little more difficult to achieve. 

Live chat advantage: Accuracy

While live chat support may not offer the same consistency as chatbots, human support agents do tend to be more accurate when determining the intent of the customer they are assisting. 

For example, a simple spelling error can sometimes confuse chatbots, whereas a human customer support agent would be much more likely to look past the error and correctly figure out what the customer needs. 

A human agent is also much more likely than a chatbot to accurately interpret questions that are worded strangely. 

Solution: Use both chatbots and live chat

For companies that are choosing between chatbots and live chat support, it’s a question of whether they’d like to prioritize consistency or accuracy. This is yet another reason why a combination of chatbots and live chat support is often the best solution.

More chat features to provide self-service support without the bots

Many of the issues your website visitors have with bad chatbots involve their mimicry of support from real people. It’s easy to tell when you’re chatting with a robot, but it’s not always made clear to you by the chat widget.

But there’s a third chat option that you should consider in addition to live chat and chatbot software.

Self-service chat options make it clear to your customers that they are receiving automated help. By presenting menus instead of imitating a human conversation, self-service customer support empowers customers to find the answers they need on their own.

It’s a win-win, because the customers get the answers they need in real time, at any hour. And your team can focus on support tickets that are more important to the business.

Here are a few ways self-service chat options can work.

Self-service order management

Up to 30% of incoming customer service tickets are shipping status requests. With self-service order management in the chat widget, customers are empowered to make these queries on their own — providing fast answers and reducing your support tickets.

These automated options are easy to add with Gorgias. This self-service adds buttons to the chat widget to automatically:

• Track an order
• Return an order
• Cancel an order

Quick service with chat automation provides quick, responsive customer service, which means better customer experience and a positive impact on revenue.

Barcelona-based shoe brand ALOHAS added self-service order management flows with Gorgias after experiencing a high chat volume. This allowed customers to find information on their own without a human needing to respond.

Here’s how a “track order” request looks in action:

Quick answer flows

When using a chat widget, you’ll notice the same questions come up again and again. You can satisfy those FAQs by adding quick answer flows into the chat widget.

These automations can be set up in the widget for questions like:

• What is your shipping policy?
• Are there any discounts available?
• Do you have any new products?
• What materials do you use?

These automations can be customized for whatever FAQs are most relevant to your ecommerce store.

Here’s how it looks, for example, when an ALOHAS customer wants to find out more about the brand’s shipping policy.

Luxury jewelry brand Jaxxon has used these self-service quick responses with great success. The customer service team found themselves overwhelmed with customer questions and unable to respond as quickly as desired.

Jaxxon upgraded their live chat widget with Gorgias Automate with Quick Responses for customers. The result, combined with using Gorgias’ helpdesk, reduced live chat volume by 17% and lifted the on-site conversion rate by 6%.

Autoresponders

Even when a customer chooses to type out a question, automation can be used to provide quick, customized service through the chat widget.

Gorgias can detect questions that come in through chat and provide automatic answers using Rules and Macros.

Here’s how the flow works:

1. Intact detection scans the incoming message.
2. Rules is triggered when a relevant message is found (such as some asking about where their order us) is responds to the customer.
3. Macros is where you create the templated response sent to the customer. The Macro can be set up to pull in a customer’s unique information like order number, their name, and their tracking code.

The best part is this can not only be used for chat, but for responses to tickets coming in through other communication channels like email, social media, and SMS.

Keep customer service running 24/7

With Gorgias, you can make sure your chat widget isn’t missing a single ticket, even if your customer support team is offline.

First, you can set up your business hours to correspond with when you have live chat available. This will show up on your site’s chat widget by either showing the current status as online or offline.

From there, you can create automated responses for whether you’re offline or online. During business hours, this message can tell customers you’ve received their request and give a time by which they can expect a response.

After business hours, the responder can tell customers that although you’re offline, they can expect a response during the next day’s business hours via email.

You can also use a contact form which turns a chat into an emailed ticket. This is great to use after-hours and to make sure chat requests don’t get lost overnight. 

Combine automation and human interaction for the strongest customer experience

The use of automation within customer service is multifaceted. As we discussed earlier, a human touch is critical for many customers, and speaking with an automated chatbot can be a turn-off. However, automation certainly has its place in the customer service process.

On the customer’s side, starting with self-service chat helps them receive quicker customer support at scale — a more satisfying experience. On your team’s side, automation allows for sorting, segmenting, and prioritizing tickets.

When self-service chat can’t solve an issue, someone from your support team can easily step into the conversation. You can use Macros — scripts that automatically bring in the customer’s information — to scale the human touch on your support team.

So in reality, it’s not automation vs human support. These are two complementary tools that work better together. And the result is a stronger and faster customer experience for your website visitors, which can increase your conversion rate by as much as 12%.

Still not convinced? In 2021, brands using the Gorgias chat widget generated an average of $38,702 from conversations involving chat. We have a whole post on live chat statistics that can help illustrate the impact our chat widget can have on your business.

Gorgias brings intuitive live chat to your ecommerce business, alongside your other channels

If you’re an ecommerce business looking for an all-in-one customer support solution that includes live chat support and AI-powered chatbots, Gorgias is your one-stop shop. 

Our algorithms are trained on hundreds of millions of ecommerce tickets, so you can be sure your customers are getting the right responses every time. 

Plus, you can manage both live chat and chatbot conversations in the same dashboard that you use for all your other channels, including phone, email and major social media platforms. Bring in chat from other channels, including Facebook Messenger. We’ll even be supporting Whatsapp in early 2023.

Our customer support platform is available for Magento, Shopify, and BigCommerce users.

Read more about our chat offerings by clicking here.

TL;DR:

• First contact resolution rate is the percentage of support tickets resolved in one interaction
• How to calculate FCR: # of tickets resolved on first contact / total # of tickets * 100
• FCR doesn’t distinguish between successful and unsuccessful resolutions, nor does it tell you the reasons for a low or high rate
• You can increase FCR by automating responses, offering self-service resources, and automatic ticket triage

You know what customers love? When their problems are solved on the first try. 

Being able to resolve issues right away is a clear sign that your support team is on the right track to provide great customer experiences. 

To maintain that level of excellence and efficiency, you’ll need to understand first contact resolution (FCR) rate. 

In this article, we’ll deep dive into first contact resolution rate. You’ll learn how to calculate and monitor FCR, how to increase your FCR for better customer experiences, and look at what other metrics to monitor alongside FCR.

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What is first contact resolution?

First contact resolution rate is a metric that measures the percentage of customer support tickets that your agents resolve on the first interaction. 

Generally, this measurement is used in call centers, but it’s also considered one of the most essential customer support metrics in ecommerce.

Like a lot of customer support metrics, FCR also goes by a few names, like: 

• First call resolution rate
• First interaction rate
• Single reply resolution rate

Whichever name you prefer, the goal of the measurement is the same: understand how efficient your team is at resolving customer issues.  

The impact of first contact resolution on a support program

Time-consuming interactions erode trust over time and drive customers to shop with the competition.

According to The Effortless Experience, 96% of shoppers with a high-effort experience feel disloyal to brands afterward. 

By aiming to solve customer issues from the very first interaction, you can combat the escalation of poor customer experiences and use positive interactions to improve loyalty and satisfaction, gain repeat customers, and boost revenue to meet your bottom line. 

A guide to calculating first contact resolution

Let’s walk through the formula to figure out your FCR and look at an example. Then, we’ll unpack some challenges behind the FCR metric to make it as useful for your support agents as possible.

FCR formula

The formula to calculate first contact resolution rate is: 

(Number of support tickets resolved on first contact / total number of resolved support tickets) x 100 = FCR rate %

The goal is to have an FCR percentage that’s as close to 100% as possible. A higher FCR indicates how successful you are at solving tickets at the first interaction without follow-up questions from customers.

Example FCR calculation

Here’s what calculating FCR looks like using real numbers: 

(15,000 tickets solved on first contact / 20,000 total resolved tickets) x 100 = 75% FCR 

That means, on average, your team can solve 75% of support tickets on the first try.

The challenges of measuring FCR 

First contact resolution is a fantastic starting point to improve your support team’s resolution time. But, like most customer support metrics, FCR has some limitations. 

FCR doesn’t provide you the reason for a high or low rate

Simply knowing your first contact resolution rate doesn’t give you the whole story. 

A low FCR means you aren’t solving most problems on the first try but it doesn’t explain the root causes.

You’ll need to track other metrics that look into customer interactions more qualitatively, like customer satisfaction (CSAT).

FCR doesn’t distinguish ticket quality

Second, a high FCR isn’t an automatic indicator of a successful support strategy. The challenge lies in accurately categorizing tickets resolved in one interaction. This process can be complicated by instances where automated responses may be quick but unhelpful.

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4 tactics to increase first contact resolution rate

Here are four tactics you can use now to improve FCR performance and your customer experiences.

1. Provide support agents with customer service scripts

Your agents are your front line, and it’s important they’re armed with customer service scripts to resolve common issues efficiently. Scripts are pre-written responses that agents can use to avoid typing the same answers over and over again.

At Gorgias, we call scripts Macros. Gorgias allows you to personalize each Macro with customer information pulled from your integrated ecommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.

Deja Jefferson, CX and Consumer Insights Manager at skincare brand Topicals uses Macros “to help maintain brand voice while handling a high volume of customer service tickets.” As a result of this automation tactic, her team influenced 72% more revenue.

💡 Pro Tip: Exceptional customer experience depends on a robust customer service training program. Keep agent knowledge fresh with a knowledge base or Help Center of scripts. This way, agents can continuously upskill or grab information whenever they need it.

2. Automate responses to frequently asked questions

At Gorgias, we’ve found that automation increases both FCR and sales. 

An automation tool like Gorgias Automate can help resolve up to 30% of incoming tickets. With features like Quick Responses and Article Recommendations, customers can get answers to their questions without waiting to speak to an agent.

For example, luxury shoe and garment care retailer Kirby Allison used Gorgias Automate to deflect 30% of incoming tickets and boosted revenue from support by 46%. 

3. Offer self-service options to resolve simple customer inquiries

Chances are, a bulk of your tickets can be answered by customers themselves. In fact, 88% of U.S. customers expect a customer self-service portal according to a 2022 Statista survey.

On Gorgias, we solve this issue by giving merchants the ability to create a Help Center.

A Help Center is an article database that includes information commonly sought by shoppers, like product information, policies (like shipping, returns, or order cancellations), and billing and payment information.

Below, Loop Earplugs makes the customer experience seamless by linking to their FAQs in the top navigation bar of their website.

4. Categorize tickets automatically and route them to the most suitable agent

Resolving your low-priority tickets quickly is a surefire way to improve your FCR. It would be a full-time job if you had to manually prioritize and categorize your tickets. 

With a helpdesk like Gorgias, you can automatically categorize incoming tickets into low-, medium-, and high-priority based on customizable parameters called Rules. Better yet, Gorgias can take care of routing high-priority tickets to your most experienced agents to maintain customer retention. 

For example, snack brand Chomps created a Rule that tagged customer tickets with an “Urgent” tag if their message included phrases like “cancel order,” “wrong,” or “update my address.”  

How FCR works with other important customer success metrics 

To give deeper context to your customers’ shopping experiences, it’s important to use FCR alongside other customer success metrics and KPIs.

Let’s look at how FCR works with key customer support metrics, like Customer Contact Rate, Average Response Time, Average Resolution Time, and Unresolved Ticket Rate.

Customer contact rate

Customer contact rate (CCR) looks at the percentage of customers who ask for help over a given time. It's an important metric that gives you a snapshot of your company's overall health.

Calculating CCR in combination with FCR will help you see how many people need support versus how effective your team is at deflecting lower-priority tickets.

Average response time

Average response time (AVT) or average reply time measures how long your support team takes to respond to a customer message.

90% of shoppers agree that an immediate response is important when they have a support request, so it’s crucial that you have as low an AVT as possible. 

The longer your response time, the longer it’ll take to get to a resolution. That’s why it’s useful to calculate AVT with FCR together. It’ll help show you the time it takes for an agent to respond, getting you even closer to a lightning-fast solution. 

Average resolution time

Average resolution time (ART) is similar to FCR in that it looks at your support team’s ability to resolve customer issues.

The difference with ART is that the metric looks at your team’s average ability to resolve issues, not just the first time.

A benefit of calculating ART is that you can understand how efficiently your team resolves higher-priority issues, like complicated returns, customer retention rates, or problems with loyal shoppers. 

Unresolved ticket rate

Unresolved ticket rate (UTR) lets you track and measure abandoned conversations and tickets that could not be solved. 

It’s critical to calculate UTR because unresolved tickets are a key indicator of unhappy customers — and unhappy customers can negatively impact your bottom line.

Calculating UTR can help you find gaps in your support strategy by locating tickets where a resolution is difficult and working to build a resolution for similar problems in the future.

Measure, track, and improve first contact resolution with Gorgias

If you’re stuck manually calculating first contact resolution, you’ll never have time to improve your strategy. 

That’s where Gorgias comes in. Gorgias Helpdesk automatically tracks and measures data like FCR so that you can focus on optimizing your strategy to provide a more positive customer experience. 

‍Sign up for Gorgias or book a demo to track and improve your first contact resolution rate today!

TL;DR: 

• Shipping status, refunds, and damaged orders were the top customer concerns of 2023
• The average first response time was 7.6 hours, a resolution time of 18.6 hours, and a CSAT score of 4.5/5
• On average, 15% of interactions were resolved with automation
• Experts predict that 2024 will focus on strategic planning, optimized AI use, more real-time communication, and amplifying the voice of CX within companies

This year, we witnessed customer service teams from 16,140 brands support over 77 million shoppers and millions of tickets with Gorgias. 

As we turn to a new chapter, we want to spotlight how six of the top-performing industries delivered customer service in 2023. 

From food to fashion, we’ll see how quickly agents answered questions, then discover what customers were asking, and learn from experts about what customer experience trends to expect in the new year.

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Support teams resolved tickets in 2.5 business days

Step into the ecommerce world, where you’ll find a vibrant population of merchants, each with their own niche and groups of loyal customers. Together, they generated $1.45 billion in revenue in 2023. 

Of course, this would not have been possible without the grit of customer service teams and their dedication to customer satisfaction. 

Support teams across 20 industries answered customer inquiries within one business day and solved them in two and a half, resulting in very satisfied shoppers. Impressively, 15% of interactions were fully automated and resolved on average.

Here are the average industry support stats:

• First response time: 7.6 hours
• Resolution time: 18.6 hours
• CSAT score: 4.5/5

From food to fashion: a cross-industry glance at support statistics

The most popular ecommerce industries — Apparel and Fashion, Health, Wellness, and Fitness, Cosmetics, Food and Beverage, Consumer Goods, and Luxury Goods and Jewelry — were the top performers. 

Using exclusive Gorgias data, we’ll look at how support teams from these industries handled tickets. Then, we’ll gain expert insight into the ecommerce experience in 2023, and how experts predict it will change in the coming year.

Apparel and Fashion strutted with a 4.5/5 CSAT score

Our first stop is the bustling market of Apparel and Fashion. We’re all familiar with how tricky online clothes shopping can be. Most likely due to issues with sizing and style, support teams mainly dealt with inquiries about:

• Shipping status
• Returns
• Refunds

Yet, despite receiving the highest number of customer tickets among the six industries, Apparel and Fashion brands kept customers happy. They responded within one business day and resolved issues within two, with 15% of interactions being resolved with automation.

Here are their stats compared to the overall industry average:

• First response time: 8 hours (+0.4 hours)
• Resolution time: 17 hours (-1.6 hours)
• CSAT score: 4.5/5

According to Loop, over 50% of their merchants now charge for certain returns, including fees for exchanges and returns for store credit. This change aligns with consumer preferences, as their report shows 70% of shoppers are willing to pay for premium, convenient experiences, a trend already embraced by half of these customers.

Cancellations and returns were Health, Wellness, and Fitness’ biggest hurdles

The next stop on our tour is the thriving Health, Wellness, and Fitness industry.

Unfortunately, brands in this sector had a challenging year keeping up with unpleasant tickets about:

• Shipping status
• Subscription cancellations
• Refunds

Perhaps support teams could have automated more than 15% of interactions to handle these repetitive tickets better. But despite their slower-than-average first response time, customers were still pleased with the support experience:

• First response time: 9 hours (+1.4 hours)
• Resolution time: 18.3 hours (-0.3 hours)
• CSAT score: 4.5/5

Expert Insights: Amanda Kwasniewicz, the VP of Customer Experience at women’s wellness brand Love Wellness, highlights that personalized customer service has been a key trend of 2023. She’s observed that customers now expect to receive personal recommendations during their shopping journeys.

Cosmetics enhanced support with 18% automation

Now, take a peek at the fast-growing Cosmetics industry, and you’ll see how eager customers were to check out the hype around both small businesses and celebrity brands.

Given the boom of influencer marketing for these highly personal products, customers often inquired about:

• Shipping status
• Feedback
• Damaged orders

To solve these tickets, support teams automated 18% of interactions and attained faster times than average:

• First response time: 7 hours (-0.6 hours)
• Resolution time: 15.8 hours (-2.8 hours)
• CSAT score: 4.5/5

Food and Beverage served it fresh with a 5-hour first response time

Getting hungry? This year, the growing appetite for Food and Beverage in the ecommerce world was unmistakable. Beef jerky or freshly squeezed fruit juice, customers savored their snacks. But it also didn’t stop them from being tough critics. 

The main issues raised to Food and Beverage support teams revolved around: 

• Shipping status
• Feedback
• Damaged products

Luckily, they cut down their first response time by automating 15% of interactions — nearly three hours faster than average:

• First response time: 5 hours (-2.6 hours)
• Resolution time: 17.2 hours (-1.4 hours)
• CSAT score: 4.5/5

Expert insights: Zoe Kahn, former Manager of CX & Retention at Chomps and now Owner of Inevitable Agency, saw inventory issues as a major challenge of 2023. The complexity of inventory logistics is difficult for consumers to understand, leading to higher outreach from customers wondering when items would be back in stock. "Quieting those concerns is really difficult," Zoe notes. However, after witnessing inventory issues over the last few years, Zoe realized that "it's inevitable that inventory problems will happen because of how challenging the logistics of selling a product are."

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Consumer Goods has CSAT down pat with a 4.6/5

There’s a lot to explore in the all-encompassing Consumer Goods industry. You’ll find brands that sell everything from sustainable water bottles and furniture to everything else in between, like dog toys and mystery subscription boxes.

While Consumer Goods brands only automated 14% of interactions, their resolution time was two hours faster than the industry average, resulting in the happiest customers among the six industries:

• First response time: 8 hours (+0.4 hours)
• Resolution time: 16.4 hours (-2.2 hours)
• CSAT score: 4.6/5 (+0.6)

The top tickets Consumer Goods brands received were about:

• Shipping status
• Damaged orders
• Customer feedback

Expert Insights: Ren Fuller-Wasserman, the Director of Experience at TUSHY, notes that the impact of the macroeconomic climate was among the top challenges faced in 2023. “As there's talk of recession and inflation, people are really looking for products that provide added value,” she says.

Our partner Okendo, a growth marketing platform that has worked with well-known brands like SKIMS and Rhode, notes that tech stack consolidation has been the top priority in 2023. They saw that merchants who used a multifaceted product with app integrations resulted in a 15x return on investment. 

Luxury Goods and Jewelry polished interactions with 28% automation

Our final stop is at the small gem of an industry, Luxury Goods and Jewelry. Making sure their pricey wares arrived to customers safely was the top priority. That’s why the top questions support teams received were in regard to:

• Shipping status
• Discount requests
• Damaged orders

Out of all the industries, Luxury Goods and Jewelry brands automated the most interactions at 28%, which certainly helped to shorten response and resolution times:

• First response time: 6 hours (-1.6 hours)
• Resolution time: 17.1 hours (-1.5 hours)
• CSAT score: 4.4/5 (-0.1)

Expert Insights: Caela Castillo, Director of CX at Jaxxon, advises preparing early for BFCM but being flexible to change. She notes, “Sometimes you need a different perspective,” acknowledging that agents are valuable resources to gain customer insights, especially when it comes to planning new customer service strategies.

How to prepare for ecommerce in 2024 (according to experts)

It’s been a fruitful year of expediting the traditionally slow support process. However, with greater strides made in AI technology, ecommerce has only scratched the surface of providing accelerated service. 

We interviewed ecommerce experts who saw the rise and fall of trends in 2023 and are ready to use their learnings to make the new year better. 

Here are the top four actions ecommerce companies should take in 2024. 

1) Identify business goals to adapt to new tech

We’re constantly fed an endless stream of new technology, which can be a distraction to business goals. That’s why the CTO of ecommerce agency Novatize, Pierre-Olivier Brassard, highly recommends planning a robust strategy first. Clear business goals will help teams pick the best tools — not the other way around.

2) Maximize the use of AI to streamline support

Customer service management platform TalentPop saw AI as the top CX trend of 2023. They foresee late adopters using AI next year, while early adopters will focus on optimization. To get ahead of the game, TalentPop recommends that support teams research all AI options since CX will only become more saturated with AI tools.

Brandon Amoroso, Founder & President at Electriq and Co-founder at SCALIS observed similar trends. In 2023, many CX teams implemented more self-service options for customers. Going into 2024, Brandon notes that a “continual integration of AI into the entire customer experience” is likely.

3) Offer real-time communication options

As social shopping gains traction, marketing platform Yotpo predicts customers are going to look for more real-time communication with brands. In fact, HubSpot reports a 45% year-over-year surge in using social media DMs for customer service. Therefore, using tools that enable interactions through DMs or text, like Yotpo SMS, will be a crucial strategy in the upcoming year.

4) Amplify the voice of the customer

Amanda Kwasniewicz, VP of Customer Experience at Love Wellness, advises CX leaders to ensure their contributions are recognized. Kwasniewicz notes that support teams often know the business better than any other department. "Beat the CX drum loudly. If you're not in the room, find a way in the room," she stresses.

TL;DR:

• Helpdesk automation uses both AI and automation to handle recurring tasks and reduce manual work done by agents
• Using an automated helpdesk results in better customer satisfaction, decreased ticket volume, and higher revenue
• Ensure your automated helpdesk has features like chat, one-click answers, an order management portal, and article recommendations
• The top helpdesk automation solution is Gorgias, an automated helpdesk made for ecommerce merchants at all levels

Customer service helpdesks are essential for managing customer conversations, but support teams are looking to increase efficiency beyond being organized. Answering customer questions is the easy part for agents — the main challenge lies in making manual tasks like typing up responses faster. This is where helpdesk automation comes in.

The top helpdesks have automation features that solve issues without agents needing to sift through complex documents or advanced settings. Helpdesks shouldn’t only streamline the customer experience, they should also simplify the process of delivering that service.

This guide will explore the benefits of helpdesk automation, pinpoint the must-have features of a helpdesk, and highlight the leading automated helpdesks. By the end, you’ll be ready to put helpdesk automation into action and trim out the extra tasks from your workflow.

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What is an automated helpdesk?

An automated helpdesk is a customer service tool that uses automation and AI to synthesize customer messages from various channels. The goal of automated helpdesks is to handle repetitive tasks, like categorizing and routing support tickets, so agents have fewer manual tasks to do.

The Gorgias Helpdesk is an example of an automated helpdesk made especially for ecommerce merchants. Notable features include:

• Rules. Processes, such as ticket tagging or rerouting, are automatically activated when certain conditions are met.
• Macros. Pre-written response templates that can be reused for recurring customer interactions like WISMO requests.
• Inbox. Omnichannel communication is prioritized with email, SMS, voice, and social media messages in one inbox.
• Quick Responses. Automated one-click Q&A interactions on Chat. 
• Flows. Interactive Chat conversations powered by automation. 

Why more companies are adopting helpdesk automation

Helpdesks are brilliant tools by themselves but truly shine once combined with customer service automation. The time saved from automation leads to a significant drop in resolution times, and a boost in CSAT scores and revenue. Let’s take a closer look.

Resolve customer issues instantly

If you run an online store, you’re familiar with replying to the same messages about your shipping policy, returns, and products day in and day out. The beauty of helpdesk automation is how it handles frequently asked questions with self-service resources, like a knowledge base, that are available 24/7 and allow customers to get instant answers outside of business hours.

Give your agents bandwidth to focus on trickier tickets

When you remove copy-pasting answers from your customer service responsibility list, support agents get time back to engage with high-value shoppers who are either loyal customers or at risk of churning. With more time to focus on complex tickets, response times will be faster, and customers happier.

Drive more revenue by turning questions into sales

Automation is a proven way to drive more revenue, not just a quick fix to smooth out the wrinkles in your support workflow. Working with 30 brands, Gorgias found that brands that automated 30% of their customer support tended to generate around 8.7% of their companies' revenue.

6 key automation features your helpdesk needs

Automation is common in many helpdesk software, but the key is to focus on how the automation features can speed up support tasks. 

Below are six essential automation features a helpdesk should have. 

1) Chat

What is it? A website chat window for customers to get automated or real-time answers. The chat window’s visibility can differ on each webpage.

The manual task it replaces: Exiting the brand website and using a different channel (like email or social media) just to contact a brand’s support.

Why is it important? If the process of getting help is too complicated, customers are forced to switch to competitors with simpler solutions. But when you provide a clear way to receive support, customers get faster responses, are better informed, and more inclined to make a purchase.

The best part about Chat is it gives shoppers the option to either receive a quick, automated answer or chat with an agent if they prefer real-time assistance. 

Success story with Gorgias: RevAir implemented Chat and increased response times by 93% and revenue to $76k per quarter.

2) Quick Responses

What is it? One-click question-and-answer scenarios that occur in Chat. Quick Responses are not powered by a chatbot and use pre-set answers to reply to users.

The manual task it replaces: Responding to frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Why is it important? Quick Responses is your solution to 24/7 support when agents aren’t available. Giving customers a low-stakes method of asking questions lets them experience a more pleasant and low-pressure shopping journey. 

Success story with Gorgias: ALOHAS nearly tripled growth by automating 83% of support with Chat and Quick Responses.

3) Order Management

What is it? An in-chat order portal that lets customers track, cancel, and return their orders without contacting a support rep.

The manual tasks it replaces: Resolving where is my order? tickets, order return and cancellation requests

Why is it important? Customers who ask order-related questions typically have one of two goals: to track the status or change the status of their order. Basically, order management tickets aren’t unique and can be easily handled by automation. When you provide answers to your customers’ top priority (their purchase), you deflect a ticket from entering your inbox while improving customer satisfaction.

Success story with Gorgias: Topicals implemented Chat to reduce returns and ended up deflecting 69% of tickets from manual agent intervention.

📚 Read more: 12 best shipping software tools for ecommerce stores

4) Chat Campaigns

What is it? Promotional messages in Chat that activate when visitors interact with your website.

The manual tasks it replaces: Spending money and time finding new customers, promoting storewide discounts and sales, upselling and cross-selling

Why is it important? Finding new customers is more expensive than retaining the ones you already have. Chat Campaigns acts as a virtual salesperson, making sure sales, promotions, and products are getting the attention they need. Even when agents are offline, Chat Campaigns work overtime to capture every visitor, effectively reducing cart abandonment, website bounce rate, and lost sales.

Success story with Gorgias: Glamnetic’s exit intent Chat Campaigns increased sales by 49%.

5) Autoresponders

What is it? AI processes that declutter your email inbox of spam and easily answered inquiries 

The manual tasks it replaces: Deleting spam emails, answering WISMO tickets, sending tracking links, and processing refund requests

Why is it important? Autoresponders handle routine inquiries such as order status or refund requests. This improves customer service response times and frees you up to focus on more complex issues that require a human touch. You can also gain insights into the effectiveness of your automation strategies with Autoresponders, allowing you to monitor what customers need more or less of.

Success story with Gorgias: Stoov leveraged insights from ticket information and increased CSAT to 4.9 with 10% cost savings.

6) Article Recommendations

What is it? An AI-powered recommendation tool that resolves questions with relevant Help Center articles

The manual task it replaces: Responding to product-specific inquiries

Why is it important? Answering product questions can get long, especially if agents are manually typing the same explanations and instructions over and over again. By offloading this repetitive and laborious task to AI, customers receive consistent and detailed answers, while agents focus on resolving one-of-a-kind tickets.

Article Recommendations combines the knowledge power of AI and your own Help Center to give customers accurate and personalized solutions. This allows curious shoppers to receive complete information about your brand and products since articles can include images, videos, and links.

Success story with Gorgias: TUSHY gained 25% in revenue from leveraging pre-sales education including the use of Article Recommendations.

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The top 6 automated helpdesk options

Within the diverse range of available options, there are five standout helpdesk platforms renowned for their remarkable features: Gorgias, Zendesk, Kustomer, Freshdesk, Help Scout, and Shopify Inbox. Let’s take a closer look at what each helpdesk offers.

1) Gorgias

Price: Starts at $50/month; billed per ticket

Best features: The only ecommerce-focused helpdesk, powerful and easy-to-use automation features

As more businesses rely on ecommerce platforms to offer their products, Gorgias stands out as the best helpdesk for merchants at all levels.  Gorgias offers seamless integration with major ecommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Magento and centralizes customer data and conversations within the platform. 

Combining it with the AI-powered Gorgias Automate makes it a top contender for customer support teams seeking to streamline the customer experience and maximize the power of automated workflows. Gorgias Automate checks off all the boxes with foundational features like Quick Responses, Order Management, Chat Campaigns, Autoresponders, and Article Recommendations.

2) Zendesk

Price: Starts at $49/month; billed per user

Best features: Designed for enterprise companies, advanced reporting capabilities

Zendesk is favored by enterprise-level businesses for its excellent multi-channel support and strong reporting features like real-time data views and customizable dashboards.

However, while its specialty is raising customer satisfaction, users report dissatisfaction with Zendesk’s very own customer service due to unresponsiveness and difficulties with subscription changes. Despite these drawbacks, Zendesk's configurability makes it a valuable tool for larger businesses aiming to optimize their customer service operations.

3) Kustomer

Price: Starts at $89/month; billed per agent

Best features: Interface is easy to navigate, ability to add internal notes to tickets

Kustomer shines in organizing data and managing customer interactions. Though it may not fully meet the needs of ecommerce-based businesses, its strengths in streamlining support processes stand out. Users have noted some drawbacks such as a complicated search engine and limited mobile functionality. However, if a straightforward ticketing system is what you need, Kustomer may be the right fit. 

4) Freshdesk

Price: Starts free for up to 10 agents; billed per agent

Best features: Includes a free plan, innovative collaboration features for convenient ticket assignment

If you're a SaaS business, Freshdesk is a great pick, excelling in basic ticket management. Its ability to integrate seamlessly with non-ecommerce applications like Salesforce and Jira makes it valuable for tech companies. Large ecommerce stores, on the other hand, might find Freshdesk's features somewhat limited. 

Freshdesk's solid ticket management system, coupled with its user-friendly interface, makes it a top choice for SaaS businesses.

5) Help Scout

Price: Starts at $20/month; billed per user

Best features: Intuitive user interface, extensive knowledge base and documentation features

Help Scout excels in managing inbound customer emails with its feature-rich toolset. Recent enhancements like help docs and video embedding have improved its functionality. However, workflow automation still needs improvement and can lead to unintended mass email responses. 

The limitation of features like real-time chat on higher-tier plans and subpar support experiences are its weaknesses, but its streamlined email support and knowledge management make Help Scout a strong option for teams that rely on email support.

6) Shopify Inbox

Price: Free for Shopify users

Best features: Native Shopify helpdesk solution for Shopify merchants, user-friendly interface

Shopify Inbox is favored by Shopify store owners for its excellent customer communication and user-friendly interface. Users appreciate its ability to centralize conversations and enhance customer engagement, which is great for brand-new merchants. 

However, some find the initial learning curve challenging, with concerns over limited reporting features and inconsistent message notifications. Nevertheless, its cost-effectiveness and efficient customer engagement tools make Shopify Inbox a great pick for customers who don’t want to leave the Shopify environment.

Gorgias is the ultimate automated helpdesk for ecommerce

Gorgias stands out as the only helpdesk designed explicitly for ecommerce businesses. Boasting an incredible 4.3/5 stars on Shopify, it offers unparalleled integration with major ecommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce. Its suite of features is powered by advanced AI, streamlining ticket and order management, support workflows, and customer communication. 

For ecommerce businesses looking to elevate their customer support experience, look no further than Gorgias. To see how Gorgias can transform your customer service, book a demo today.

TL;DR:

• Key customer service techniques for agents include understanding customer issues, using positive language, thoroughly understanding products, adapting to different communication styles, and setting clear expectations.
• Key techniques for support leaders include providing agents with enriched customer data, building a library of templates, specializing agents in specific channels or issues, and training the entire organization to be customer-first.
• Gorgias offers features such as automated responses, self-service options, live chat for pre-sales support, and integrations with other tools to enhance customer service.

Amid the barrage of social media ads, email campaigns, and influencer endorsements that consumers navigate weekly, PWC highlights that 73% of people see customer experience as a pivotal factor in their buying decisions. 

The techniques today’s customer service teams use are the foundation for those excellent experiences.

Below, learn five key customer service techniques for agents and four for CS leaders.

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9 customer service techniques for agents, leads, and managers

Here are five essential techniques for agents to provide great customer service.

Effective techniques for agents to enhance customer service

To deliver good customer service, agents should first aim to understand customers’ issues at the beginning of each interaction. Then, they can leverage other tactics like reframing statements and setting clear expectations.

1) Get an understanding of the issue before you start the interaction

Every customer service encounter is unique and should be approached with a fresh perspective. Here’s how to make sure you understand the customer’s issue before diving into problem-solving mode:

• Active listening: Context is key. Start every conversation by allowing the customer to feel heard by giving them the space to fully express their concerns before making any recommendations.
• Review previous interactions: Skim past customer interactions to gain context. Tools like Gorgias streamline this process by integrating data across multiple channels, offering a comprehensive customer history at a glance.
• Ask clarifying questions: Politely ask for more details if the customer’s problem isn’t immediately clear.
• Avoid assumptions: Never assume you know the issue before the customer fully explains it, even if it seems familiar. 
• Empathy: Demonstrate understanding and concern for the customer’s issue to empathize with them.

2) Maintain a positive and uplifting tone in your communication

The words we choose in customer service can significantly impact the tone of an interaction. 

Psychology professor Albert Mehrabian conducted insightful research on communication and found a fascinating breakdown: only 7% of a message's meaning is derived from the actual words spoken, while a much larger portion, 38%, is understood through tone. Meanwhile, body language proves to be the most influential factor, accounting for 55% of how the message is interpreted.

Since all customer conversations for ecommerce brands happen via chat, email, or on the phone (not face-to-face), agents can’t rely on body language. This means tone of voice becomes even more important for agents to get right.

How can you maintain positive language? 

1️⃣ ‎First, avoid negative words: “can't,” “won't,” or “don't” can often be reframed in a positive manner. Swap them for phrases like "I understand," "I'm here to help," and "Let's see what we can do," which are much more reassuring to customers.

2️⃣ ‎ Second, aim to be solution-oriented. Focus on potential solutions or next steps rather than dwelling on the problem.

3) Develop a comprehensive knowledge of the products or services

What happens when a recent customer sends an email asking about how to fix a broken part from the product they purchased from you, and your agents don’t know enough about it to help?

Or, if your skincare line recently underwent a formula change that your agents get asked about, but they aren’t sure what was changed and how it alters the performance of your products?

Knowledge of the products you’re selling is critical for accurately informing customers and managing their expectations.

💡 ‎Our recommendation: Encourage a culture of sharing by creating feedback loops across the entire organization. The product team should communicate product details and capabilities, marketing teams should share information about customer behavior, and support teams should share the pain points they hear from customers.

Plus, when one agent learns something new about a product, such as an undocumented use case or a common customer complaint, sharing this insight with fellow agents can enrich everyone with deeper product knowledge.

4) Adapt your communication style to suit different customers

Every customer comes with a unique set of expectations and comfort levels, making flexibility in your communication skills a key skill for customer service agents.

Whether you’re talking on the phone or messaging the customer on Instagram, you can match a customer’s preferred style by recognizing customer profiles.

Pay attention to cues that suggest how each customer prefers to interact. Some customers are straight to the point, desiring quick, factual information with minimal fuss. 

Others might appreciate a more personable and reassuring approach, especially if they're dealing with a stressful issue. 

Take it from Deja Jefferson, CX and Consumer Insights Manager at Topicals: “I ensure that customer service provided by Topicals not only exhibits empathy when issues arise but should be seamlessly integrated throughout the entire transaction process. Our priority is to ensure that our customers feel fully supported at every step.”

If you use ‎Gorgias Helpdesk to manage your customer support channels, you’ll easily be able to see historical conversations with customers to give you an idea of their preferred communication style. You can also leverage sentiment detection, a Gorgias feature that automatically detects the tone of voice the customer is using. Using sentiment detection, you can also prioritize support tickets based on customers' urgent needs.

5) Establish clear expectations with customers

Managing customer expectations is a delicate balance. You don’t want to overpromise services, but you also don’t want customers to feel like you aren’t able to help them.

The balance? Be optimistic about solving their issues, but equally crucial not to promise more than can be delivered. Here's how to set realistic expectations:

• Be transparent: When a resolution might take some time, communicate this to the customer, providing a realistic timeline. It's better for a customer to be pleasantly surprised by an early resolution than frustrated by a late one.
• Keep commitments achievable: Assure the customer that what you know can be delivered within the set constraints. 
• Follow up: If you've provided a timeframe, check back in with the customer within this period. If there’s a delay, communicate it promptly—customers will appreciate the update even if it's not the news they were hoping for.
• Acknowledge limitations: If a request falls outside the scope of what the company can provide or if there are factors beyond your control, it’s better to be upfront about it. Honesty goes a long way in maintaining a respectful and professional relationship with customers.

The truth is, you won't always have the answers customers want to hear. But being clear and honest with them can help them grasp why things are the way they are.

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Techniques for leads and managers

Effective leadership in customer service hinges on empowering agents with the right tools and strategies to excel in their roles. 

Considering that 78% of customers will switch to a competitor after multiple bad customer service experiences, it’s important for your team to be well-equipped for success.

Let’s talk about how to do that.

1) Provide agents with enriched customer data

For customer service teams to excel, they require more than just basic customer information. Leads and managers can empower their teams by providing enriched customer data, leading to more personalized and efficient service.

A helpdesk software will make this easy — if it offers a range of integrations. This is an essential feature to look for because you want your helpdesk to mesh with your existing tech stack. Here’s why: agents need access to data beyond a customer’s name. Integrations are the only way a helpdesk can pull in this additional context.

We’re talking about past orders, historical conversations, engagement info, and conversion metrics into comprehensive customer profiles. This will help agents get a holistic view of the customer, paving the way for tailored interactions. 

Bonus tip: Beyond your helpdesk, share any feedback you hear from customers with the rest of the team. Integrating your helpdesk with a tool like Slack can make this easy, and it’s one way the Love Wellness team actions quickly on the advice from customers:

“We have a channel in Slack dedicated to customer feedback. Dropping in feedback is part of the team’s daily and weekly responsibilities, which helps them get really familiar with all of the content.

“It also allows our team to dissect them and collaborate on how we can improve. You could also schedule recurring feedback share sessions with the Product or Website teams, or even invite them directly into Gorgias (at no extra cost) and create a dedicated view for product feedback, website feedback, and so on.”

—Amanda Kwasniewicz, VP of CX at Love Wellness

2) Create a library of templates to streamline agent responses

Templates are a big help for customer support teams, especially those who are strapped for time (which, let’s be honest, that’s 99% of them). 

Two types to build include:

• Standard responses for common queries: Develop and include a set of pre-written answers tailored to frequently asked questions and routine issues. This ensures quick, consistent, and accurate responses to customer queries.
• Scenario-specific templates: Different situations call for different responses. Having templates specifically designed for complaints, product inquiries, returns, and other common scenarios can guide agents to handle each situation with the appropriate tone and information.

Gorgias offers dynamic, reusable answers, so your agents can build a template of canned responses for all your FAQs. These are easily accessible for agents to swiftly locate and use when replying to customers.

         

If you want some tips on how to craft these templated responses, check out this article with tips for responding to frustrated customers for a good start. 

3) Specialize agents in specific channels or issues

Just as every customer is unique, so too is every communication channel. Providing specialized training for agents in their chosen channels — be it phone, email, social media, or live chat — ensures they are not just familiar but highly skilled in navigating the nuances of these platforms.

But you can take this one step further by encouraging agents to become connoisseurs of specific product lines or types of issues. This deep dive into a particular area enables them to provide not just answers but insights, elevating the customer experience from good to great.

However, remember that specialization doesn’t mean working in silos. It's still crucial for specialized agents to also have a broad understanding across all areas. 

💡 Tip: With Gorgias, you can auto-assign tickets to an agent based on issue or channel. This way, you’re routing tickets to agents who can best help every customer. 

4) Promote a customer-first mindset across the entire organization

A tip that we love from Amanda Kwasniewicz at Love Wellness is the idea that to truly excel in customer service, a customer-first mentality needs to be woven into the very fabric of your organization. 

This goes beyond the customer service department and includes everyone, from the C-suite to the front lines.

She suggests organizing workshops that paint the picture of the crucial role a customer-centric approach plays in every department. These sessions should highlight how each team member's contributions echo in the symphony of customer satisfaction.

“At Love Wellness, we believe that every single team member plays a vital role in creating a haven of care and understanding. That’s why we created an immersive customer experience training program that involves each and every one of us, including the president of the company and even our office manager!” she said.

Read more: Why customer service is important (according to a VP of CX)

Additional resources to support customer service teams

For those who are eager to dive deeper into the world of customer service and sharpen their skills even further, Gorgias offers a treasure trove of resources. 

Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to refine your expertise, these materials are designed to enhance your understanding and execution of top-tier customer service:

• Customer Service Terms: A comprehensive glossary to get you fluent in the language of customer service. 
• Customer Service Phrases: This collection of key phrases can help guide your communication towards more positive and impactful interactions. 
• Customer Service Skills:An outline of the essential skills every customer service professional should master, for any situation. 
• Customer Service Tips: A series of actionable tips that can be implemented to improve your customer service delivery immediately.
• Customer Service Email Templates: Save time and maintain consistency with a variety of templates that cover common customer service scenarios. 

Each of these resources is designed to instruct and inspire your customer service team to exceed expectations and create memorable customer experiences.

Enhance agent support with Gorgias

Exceptional customer service isn't just about the right words; the helpdesk tool you use is equally important to enhance efficiency and deliver exceptional service. 

Gorgias is tailored to provide such support with innovative features that streamline your customer service processes. Let’s review a few in detail:

Automate responses with reusable Macros 

Macros are pre-scripted customer service templates that accelerate response times by using automation to tackle those repetitive but essential customer inquiries that come in droves. Think of them as pre-made customer service scripts. 

Often called ‘empty-calorie tickets,’ queries like “Where is my order?” don't require personalized responses and can be time-consuming if handled manually. Automating responses to these repetitive questions frees your agents to focus on more complex issues.

Here are some other times when Macros help:

• Welcome emails: A friendly and informative welcome message can set a positive tone for the customer relationship.
• Order status updates: For updates on transactions, shipping, and delivery, a Macro can provide customers with the information they need promptly.
• Refund confirmations: When processing refunds, a clear and courteous Macro can assure customers that their request has been handled.
• Customer loyalty messages: Keep your loyal customers engaged with updates and rewards information through efficient Macro communication.

Enable customers to find answers themselves

A staggering 88% of customers prefer to find answers independently, according to Statista. This tells us that the modern customer values autonomy, which is why self-service options are key.

Self-service options are resources for customers to get the answers they need without contacting an agent. These include FAQ pages, help centers, chat widgets, and interactive quizzes.

Here’s how each self-service option can benefit you:

• FAQ page: Centralizes customers’ most commonly asked questions on one page to prevent your inbox from being filled with the same questions.
• Help center: Larger in scope than an FAQ page or contact center, a Help Center is a database of detailed resources like articles and how-to videos to help customers learn more about your brand and product.
• Chat: Chat can turn into a self-service option with the implementation of Quick Responses, or preset conversations that can answer customers without a live agent.
• Interactive quiz: A fun self-service addition to online stores that carry highly specialized products, like skincare, health supplements, and apparel. 

Here’s a great example from BrüMate, which uses a product finder quiz in its customer knowledge base:

         

Use live chat for pre-sales support

Live chat has become an indispensable tool for connecting with customers in real-time. Some inquiries present a great opportunity to sell a specific product, which Olipop shows here: 

         

Gorgias live chat is designed to integrate seamlessly with the leading platforms for ecommerce customer support. It allows you to manage live chat tickets alongside those from email, phone, and social media, providing a unified interface to serve your online customers more effectively.

Chat campaigns can trigger when certain conditions are met (like visiting/dwelling on a certain page or being a repeat shopper). You can hit these targeted shoppers with personalized product recommendations or provide a unique discount code. 

To sum it up: You're not only addressing customer needs in real-time with live chat but also creating opportunities to influence purchasing decisions positively.

Integrates your helpdesk with the rest of your tech stack

Gorgias boasts a suite of over 100 app integrations, covering every facet of your store's tech stack like CRMs, loyalty tools, ERPs, and more. Some popular choices are Shopify (ecommerce), Okendo (reviews), Yotpo (loyalty rewards and referrals), and Recharge (subscriptions). 

This extensive range means that Gorgias can likely connect with whatever tools you use to manage your ecommerce business, creating a streamlined workflow for your customer service agents.

The real win with these integrations? They let your agents get super personal with support. 

When an agent pulls up a ticket, they’re able to see everything they need to know— past buys, loyalty points, you name it. This means they can give spot-on help that feels really tailored to each customer, cutting down on all that back-and-forth and making the whole experience smoother.

“Having quick access to previous order info in the helpdesk is super convenient and helps us turn our support agents into sales people.”

—Ian Anderson, Operations Manager @ mnml

Boost revenue through improved customer satisfaction

When it comes to turning satisfied customers into sales, Gorgias users are living proof of the potential.

Take Kirby Allison, for instance, who saw a 23% uptick in conversions after automating 30% of their customer support tickets. Or consider TUSHY, influencing a whopping 25% of their sales through Gorgias Convert.

These success stories highlight a clear message: customer service strategy isn’t just about problem-solving but about creating opportunities.

Ready to see the difference a proactive customer-first approach can make for your bottom line? Give Gorgias a try.

Consumers are increasingly multi-screen and multi-channel. From desktop to mobile to tablet, they interact with businesses through Instagram DMs, Facebook Messenger, emails, support chat, and even phone calls. 

Though omnichannel customer service lays a valuable foundation, communicating effectively as a brand involves weaving marketing, sales, and customer service into a cohesive omnichannel communication strategy. 

An omnichannel communication approach makes it easier to talk to customers in a personal way, helping drive sales and keep customers loyal. 

This article explores how centralizing communications offers your team — from marketing and sales reps to support staff — the tools and insights they need for a consistent customer experience. 

By doing so, you don’t just react to customer needs; you anticipate them, opening avenues for proactive engagements that positively impact both relationships and revenue.

Omnichannel communication: an overview

Omnichannel communication is a customer-centric approach that integrates different methods of communication and business channels into a unified, seamless experience for prospective and existing customers.

Omnichannel communication goes beyond just offering multiple avenues for customer interaction; it creates a seamless and integrated experience across all touchpoints. 

How omnichannel works

Omnichannel communication focuses on three key facets—data unification, fluidity of customer interactions, and data-driven insights. By focusing on these key tenets, omnichannel communication moves beyond being a buzzword to a strategic approach that places the customer at the center of your business operations. This strategy allows retailers to deliver an experience that is consistent, contextually relevant, and highly personalized.

Data unification

Centralizing customer data from various digital channels like email, social media, and in-store interactions enables a more consistent and personalized experience. Also, it serves as the foundation for customer profiles. These profiles are critical for delivering targeted offers, rewards, and personalized service to shoppers.

Fluidity of customer interactions

Customers don’t experience channels; they experience your brand. They want to transition effortlessly between online chats, phone calls, and physical visits and have a conversation pick up right where it left off. This seamlessness is particularly beneficial for ecommerce retailers, who can use these channels to provide real-time updates such as stock availability or order status, enhancing customer satisfaction and reducing friction.

Data-driven insights 

Turn data into actionable insights. By analyzing integrated data across platforms, you can discern valuable patterns in customer behavior and preferences, allowing you to continuously refine your marketing strategies and improve the overall shopping experience.

Omnichannel communication moves beyond being a buzzword to a strategic approach that places the customer at the center of your business operations.

Omnichannel communication in action

While the concept sounds promising, how does it manifest for a single brand?

Graza excels at omnichannel communication, offering its customers a seamless and enriched experience across various touchpoints. 

Using Gorgias Live Chat, they provide real-time customer support, resolving queries when customer service reps are online. As an alternative, their customer service email channel serves as both a satisfaction tool and a means for personalized marketing, sending targeted offers. 

On social media platforms — like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram — they respond to customer inquiries and engage the community with educational content about their single-origin olive oils. 

This multi-layered approach ensures that every interaction is not just a transaction but an opportunity to deepen the relationship. The outcome is higher customer satisfaction and increased brand loyalty, leading to repeat purchases and a more robust bottom line.

Omnichannel communication vs. multichannel communication

We’re in a platform renaissance: retailers now have many ways to connect with customers. 

However, not all channel strategies are created equal. Understanding the differences between omnichannel and multichannel approaches is critical to developing a communication plan that meets customer expectations. 

Data integration sets omnichannel apart

Both omnichannel and multichannel strategies use multiple channels for customer engagement. Omnichannel takes it a step further by integrating data across these platforms. This provides cohesive and personalized customer experiences, rather than fragmented interactions that are often the result of multichannel approaches.

Customer continuity is a hallmark of omnichannel

An omnichannel strategy focuses on offering a seamless customer experience across all touchpoints, whereas multichannel often treats each channel as an isolated silo. This can result in a disjointed and less satisfying journey for customers who hop from one channel to another, asking the same question to different customer service reps.

Instant communication and real-time interaction

Omnichannel doesn’t just collect data; it leverages real-time analytics. This level of insight can drive data-driven decision-making, which is generally absent in multichannel strategies. This makes multichannel less effective for optimizing customer engagement and marketing efforts.

More tech setup for better communication

To make an omnichannel strategy work, you need strong tech systems that bring together data and tasks from different channels. While this may cost more at first compared to simpler multichannel setups, the benefit is happier customers and smoother day-to-day running of your business.

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Different channels to focus on

In the retail landscape, multiple channels connect your brand and your customers. To harness the full power of an omnichannel strategy, you need to focus on integrating different types of customer service and specific channels that offer different advantages for customer engagement. 

Selecting the right mix of channels allows you to meet your customers where they are and offer them a consistent and seamless brand experience. Keep in mind that different communication channels have different customer expectations. According to data collected by Gorgias from over 12,000 ecommerce brands, here are the average response times for different communication channels:

Email

• Below average: 1 day
• Average:12 - 24 hours
• Above average: Under 4 hours
• Stellar: Under 1 hour

Social media

• Below average: 1 day
• Average:12 - 24 hours
• Above average: Under 4 hours
• Stellar: Under 15 minutes

SMS

• Below average: 1 hour
• Average: 10 minutes
• Above average: Under 5 minutes
• Stellar: Under 1 minute

Live chat

• Below average: 1 hour
• Average: 10 minutes
• Above average: Under 5 minutes
• Stellar: Under 1 minute

With that in mind, here are some channels to consider including in your own omnichannel communications strategy:

Email

Email remains a powerful tool for businesses to speak to customers, allowing for targeted marketing campaigns tailored to specific customer segments. Personalized follow-up emails are also critical for nurturing long-term customer relationships and encouraging repeat purchases.

SMS

SMS is an increasingly effective channel for businesses, offering real-time customer engagement. Targeted SMS campaigns can reach specific customer groups with timely offers and updates, while personalized follow-up messages help sustain long-term relationships and promote repeat business.

Social media

Platforms like Facebook and Instagram facilitate immediate customer engagement and provide a wealth of data on customer preferences and behavior. This data can be integrated into your larger omnichannel strategy to refine marketing campaigns and product offerings.

Live chat

Live chat offers real-time, on-site customer support, which can drastically improve conversion rates. Resolving customer queries and concerns in real time removes barriers to purchase and enhances customer satisfaction.

Mobile app

A dedicated mobile app can be a hub for personalized promotions and a streamlined shopping experience. A well-designed app can significantly boost customer engagement, build loyalty, and even integrate with your in-store experiences.

In-store experience

Physical stores are not just about sales; they offer tactile and immediate experiences that are challenging to replicate online. They also provide opportunities for cross-promotion with online channels, making a thoughtful in-store experience a vital part of a cohesive omnichannel strategy.

Phone support

Even in the digital age, phone support retains its value. According to a report, 43% of consumers favor non-digital customer service methods, such as in-person consultations or phone calls. Many customers prefer the immediacy and personal touch of voice support, especially for resolving complex queries or deciding about high-ticket items.

The impact that an omnichannel strategy can have on your company

Implementing an omnichannel strategy has far-reaching implications for your business, affecting everything from customer engagement to your bottom line. Here, we delve into how this integrated approach can drive revenue, increase customer loyalty, and offer other pivotal advantages for your ecommerce business.

Boost brand awareness and reach

A solid omnichannel strategy amplifies brand awareness by offering unified messaging across all customer touchpoints, whether social media, email, or in-store interactions. 

This consistency strengthens brand recognition and facilitates customer engagement as they know what to expect from your brand. This multi-pronged strategy, leveraging both digital and traditional channels, ensures you’re where your customers are.

Parade, an undergarment brand committed to comfort and inclusivity, maintains a solid social media presence that includes customer support on platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Using Gorgias tools, Parade offers customers a seamless omnichannel communication experience.

Drive more revenue

Omnichannel communication isn’t just about convenience — it’s a revenue multiplier. Customers who feel understood and valued across all touchpoints are more likely to become repeat buyers. This is achieved by harnessing data for personalization and ensuring consistent, real-time communication. Here’s how:

• Personalized offers. Tailoring offers to individual customer behavior increases both engagement and spending. 
• Seamless interaction. Providing consistent and timely responses across channels boosts customer trust and satisfaction, further fueling revenue growth. 
• Real-time updates. Immediate inventory updates across platforms prevent stock-out situations, safeguarding potential sales. 

Increase customer loyalty and satisfaction

Earning customer loyalty is about creating brand advocates through consistently exceeding expectations. Exceeding expectations across all channels fosters a sense of reliability and trust in your brand. Here’s how:

• Brand credibility. By delivering a consistent and high-quality experience across all touchpoints, your brand becomes a trusted name that customers gravitate back to.
• Immediate support. Real-time support minimizes customer wait times and leads to higher satisfaction and positive reviews. 
• Enhanced loyalty programs. Managing loyalty programs with unified data allows tailored rewards based on individual customer behavior, increasing lifetime value. 

Bychari boosts brand trust through omnichannel communication

BYCHARI is a luxury jewelry brand established in 2012, known for its unique and modern handmade pieces designed for women who desire luxury while appreciating simplicity. The brand excels in omnichannel communication, offering a variety of customer touchpoints, including a contact form, live chat powered by Gorgias, calls, and emails. 

To empower customers 24/7, especially when live support is unavailable, BYCHARI also provides self-service options like comprehensive FAQs, and uses Gorgias Flows to automate tasks such as order tracking and management.

Optimize marketing efficiency

Centralized data and analytics make your marketing campaigns smarter and more efficient. When you understand your customers’ behaviors and preference across channels, your targeting becomes dynamic and your messaging more personalized. Here’s how:

• Clearer ROI tracking. Aggregating data from multiple channels into one dashboard sharpens your view of ROI, enabling quicker strategy adjustments. 
• Channel-specific insights. Detailed analytics help pinpoint which channels are driving customer conversion and engagement more effectively.  
• Efficient personalization. Using cross-channel data, both customer service and marketing teams can tailor their interactions, saving time while boosting customer engagement. 

Enhance customer data analysis

A holistic view of customer data from multiple touchpoints uncovers insights that can drive quick, informed decisions. This rich data not only refines marketing efforts but also helps product teams tailor their offerings. Here’s how: 

• Actionable insights. Integrated analytics convert behavioral patterns into actionable tactics for sales and marketing adjustments. 
• Improved customer segmentation. Comprehensive data allows for more precise customer categorization, enabling highly targeted campaigns. 
• Maximized impact. This granular level of data enhances the effectiveness of each customer interaction, contributing to long-term business success. 

How to create an omnichannel communication strategy

An omnichannel communication strategy can transform customer engagement and drive meaningful business results. This section will guide you through the essential steps for crafting a practical omnichannel approach that aligns with your retail goals.

1) Measure engagement across channels

Understanding your customer’s journey begins with measuring engagement across multiple channels. Use analytics tools to capture key metrics such as click-through rates and time spent on various pages, providing a quantitative foundation for your omnichannel communication strategy. By comparing these performance metrics, you gain insights into which channels are most effective in capturing and holding customer attention.

While these analytics can offer a comprehensive view of customer activity on marketing platforms, don’t overlook support channels. Platforms like Gorgias can measure engagement metrics within customer support, supplementing your overall data collection. Gorgias Support Performance serves as a control center for tracking key metrics such as ticket volume and agent activity, offering actionable insights to improve customer experience and measure engagement across various platforms.

Combining this support data with your broader analytics will provide a fuller understanding of customer engagement, equipping you to refine your omnichannel strategy.

2) Focus on brand voice and values in employee training

Employee training ensures that your omnichannel communication strategy reflects your brand’s voice and values. Developing a robust employee training program can instill these crucial elements in all customer-facing personnel, setting the stage for consistent brand representation. Real-life scenarios can serve as effective teaching tools, guiding employees on maintaining branding consistency during interactions, whether via email, social media, or SMS.

Given that companies evolve, your training materials must keep pace with any shifts in brand messaging or objectives. Regular updates to these resources can help your support team adapt to changes and continue to offer an aligned and cohesive customer experience across all touch points. 

Don’t miss our article on customer service training, which provides 15 valuable activities your team can try to improve customer interactions.

3) Centralize customer data

When creating an effective omnichannel communication strategy, the importance of centralizing customer data can’t be overstated. A CRM system aggregating customer information from various touch points into one database is invaluable. It brings together disparate data and provides an integrated view of customer interactions, helping your team make data-driven decisions.

To realize the full potential of this centralized approach, ensure your CRM seamlessly integrates with all communication channels your company uses, enabling real-time data updates. Data from customer support platforms like Gorgias can then be merged with the information in your CRM, enhancing the quality and depth of the customer profiles that drive your omnichannel strategy.

4) Foster interdepartmental collaboration

Effective omnichannel communication necessitates collaboration that extends beyond the confines of individual departments. One approach is to conduct regular cross-departmental meetings where teams can share and discuss customer data insights. This guarantees everyone is on the same page about customer behaviors and needs, contributing to a holistic customer engagement strategy.

All departments should be aligned to respond more cohesively to customer needs. Amanda Kwasniewicz, the VP of Customer Experience at Love Wellness, ensures that her team collaborates broadly by having an internal communication channel for discussing customer concerns. 

“We have a channel in Slack dedicated to customer feedback,” she says. “Dropping in feedback is part of the team’s daily and weekly responsibilities, which helps them get familiar with the content. It also allows our team to dissect them and collaborate on how we can improve.”

Establish a feedback loop, particularly with customer service, to continually share frequently encountered customer issues and trends. This feedback can catalyze improving products, services, and customer communication strategies.

5) Deliver personalized messages on customers’ channels of choice

Elevate your omnichannel strategy by tailoring your communications to the specific channels your customers prefer. Leveraging your centralized customer data, identify which channels—email, social media, or in-app notifications—are most effective for reaching your audience. Then, craft personalized messages that are not generic but informed by customer behavior and past interactions.

Continuously monitor how well personalized customer service resonates with your customers by tracking engagement metrics such as click-through and open rates. Equally important is collecting and analyzing customer feedback to understand the qualitative impact of your efforts. Based on these insights, make necessary adjustments to your messaging strategy, ensuring it remains aligned with customer preferences and behavior.

6) Harness automation to interact with customers 24/7

According to a report from Statista, 88% of consumers anticipate that brands will offer self-service support options. Automation is vital for maintaining a 24/7 connection with your customers. Implement chatbots on your website and social media channels to answer frequently asked questions immediately, enhancing user experience and satisfaction through proactive customer service. 

Employ customer experience automation tools like Gorgias Automate to configure automated Flows for common customer queries. Fable, a brand dedicated to elevating dining experiences with premium dinnerware, utilizes Automate to provide round-the-clock customer service. Their automated flows are designed to swiftly answer common customer queries, such as active discounts and return procedures, ensuring customers can always find the information they need.

Create an omnichannel customer experience with Gorgias

Despite the benefits of a unified approach to customer communication, a 2022 report found that only 12% of digital platforms are “highly integrated.” Gorgias can be your key partner in achieving an omnichannel communication strategy, offering core helpdesk capabilities designed to seamlessly integrate customer interactions across multiple channels. Gorgias ensures that you meet and exceed customer expectations while driving revenue.

Data enrichment for agents communicating with customers

Gorgias equips agents with enriched customer profiles, pooling data from different channels — including social media, voice, and SMS — to provide context during interactions. This feature allows for quicker, more accurate support, as agents don’t have to switch between each communication platform to gather customer history.

A centralized hub to manage customer interactions

Gorgias is a one-stop hub, consolidating communications from email, chat, social media, and more, enabling easier management and response. The centralized system facilitates proactive support, which can directly impact sales by addressing customer concerns before they abandon their shopping carts.

Tools to customize branding in different channels

Gorgias allows you to maintain consistent branding by customizing the look and feel of your customer support channels. This ensures that no matter the channel, customers always have a uniform omnichannel experience that reinforces brand identity and trust.

Cupcakes and Cashmere, founded by Emily Schuman in 2017, has gained a devoted following for its curated jewelry, loungewear, and home goods. To extend this trust and cohesiveness into customer support, the brand uses Gorgias, its chat widget color-matched to the brand’s palette, ensuring a visually seamless and engaging user experience across its website.

Explore Gorgias for omnichannel communication solutions

If you’re focused on streamlining customer interactions across various channels, consider exploring what Gorgias offers. With features that centralize communication, enrich agent information, and ensure brand consistency, Gorgias aims to make the omnichannel communication strategy more manageable and effective for ecommerce retailers. 

Take a closer look to see how these capabilities could fit into your existing operations and customer engagement efforts. To learn more about Gorgias, book your demo today.

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TL;DR:

• Email is a common customer service channel but can be slow and challenging to manage.
• To maximize email as a support channel, use it as a stepping stone to faster channels.
• Email allows for longer, more detailed responses and is accessible on all devices.
• To effectively use email, use contact forms instead of listing an email address, funnel customers to faster channels when possible, prioritize tickets by topic and urgency, use templates for consistency, enrich emails with customer and order information, and supplement emails with self-service resources.

As of June 2022, 64% of US customers prefer email when contacting brands, so it’s clear why email is a mainstay in customer support programs. Even still, the Internet’s snail mail can sometimes translate to a slow and negative experience. 

So, how do you maximize email as a customer service channel? You use it as a stepping stone to point customers to faster support channels.

Email is simply the medium; the resources are your answer. From including Help Center articles in your emails to replacing a raw mailto link with a user-friendly contact form, we’ll present plenty of ways to transform email into an efficient support channel.

The good and bad of email as a customer service channel

Like all channels, email has its benefits and weaknesses, but you can’t rely on it alone. Here’s what you can expect from email as a customer service channel.

The good 👍

Email is a commonly preferred channel for customers

It would be unwise to skip offering email support when more than half of customers prefer it over social media. Email support provides a vital bridge to connect with customers, especially if you’re a DTC business that can't engage with your shoppers in person.

Email allows for longer, more detailed responses to inquiries 

Email can illustrate solutions for customers with embedded links, images, and attachments — something instant channels like social media DMs and SMS would handle with more difficulty.

For example, look below at Dr. Squatch’s eyecatching promotional email. Their use of multiple high-quality images, call-to-action buttons, social links, and logos proves how email can accommodate the most elaborate messages.

Email is accessible

If you have a digital footprint, email is almost always a requirement. You need it when creating a new account or when contacting people. It’s even accessible on all devices. Email’s prevalence means customers will expect online stores to offer email support at the very least.

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The bad 👎

Email tends to be a slower channel

The average first response time for email is 7 hours and 34 minutes. While most people tolerate how slow email is, it still doesn’t make for the best customer service experience. Urgent customer questions about product defects or bank account issues require rapid responses that other channels are better suited for.

Email inquiries can be challenging to categorize and prioritize

Email allows for more creative liberty than other messaging channels but also has downsides. Since customers are free to format their own subject lines and messages, the responsibility of sorting through your inbox is on your agents. 

The problem here isn’t just about maintaining a clean workspace but ensuring urgent messages like angry customer emails aren’t overlooked due to a messy inbox.

How to use email as part of your customer support program

Support teams often feel their inbox is an obstacle course rife with concerned customers and a flood of recurring questions. Luckily, there’s a solution: use a customer service helpdesk that can consolidate email and other support tickets to keep your inbox and support team at bay.

Here’s how to effectively use email as a support channel with a helpdesk like Gorgias.

Don’t list an email address — use contact forms instead

Why? To maintain organization 🗂️ and increase service quality ✨

Plainly leaving your email address on your contact page can be intimidating for customers. What should they put in the subject line? Will they actually get a reply back? Since this contact method has practically no guidelines, you’ll want to set parameters to make reaching out more approachable.

How? Do away with a raw email link and use a contact form. Contact forms provide structure to emails. Thanks to step-by-step guidance through drop-down menus and required fields, you can sort emails even before they reach you.

💡 Tip: We recommend that merchants don't direct customers to an email address for support. Instead, use a contact form to intake email support. Contact forms are superior because messages get structural data that helps customer service agents categorize and prioritize incoming tickets.

Funnel customers to faster channels when you can

Why? To increase customer satisfaction (CSAT) score 👍

Don’t forget that you can start an interaction via email and move to a different channel. This tactic isn't new — it's known as omnichannel communication. After all, 46% of customers expect a response time of 4 hours or less, and if switching support channels is the key to providing faster service, then go for it.

How? Let’s say a panicked customer wants to reverse duplicate charges on their credit card ASAP. This interaction could take multiple back and forths spanning several business days. Instead, you can reap the benefits of voice support, SMS or WhatsApp by directing them to your phone number.

“Being able to organize and divert tickets internally, having a good FAQ, making sure that you're actually solving the problems instead of putting band-aids on them, all goes into [reducing] resolution time.” —Zoe Kahn, Manager of CX & Retention at Chomps

Prioritize tickets by topic and urgency

Why? To maintain organization 🗂️ and increase customer retention 🤝

A common customer service mistake is treating tickets on a first-come-first-serve basis. This can lead to more unhappy customers because some tickets are less urgent than others. This is where prioritization can be effective.

How? First, categorize incoming tickets with Gorgias Rules and Tags. Do this by determining the conditions for which tickets should be tagged with an “Urgent” tag. For example, emails containing the word “cancel” will be tagged “Urgent.” Now your most high-value tickets will be solved and your loyal customers won’t need to worry.

How to prioritize unsatisfied customers: Set up a Rule to identify and auto-tag customer complaints as Urgent so you can turn their day around with exceptional customer service.

Use templates to create a consistent standard of service

Why? To increase service quality ✨ and enforce brand voice 🗣️

Being an advocate for personalized customer service doesn’t mean automation needs to be off-limits. Automation can and should be your best friend. 

Automating customer service reduces response times and standardizes service quality. Automation can also capture data from customer interactions, letting support teams make data-driven improvements to their operations.

How? Use Macros (pre-written sample emails) to immediately answer questions about common topics, such as shipping information, return policies, and product-specific questions. Macros are a convenient way to compose professional messages, like customer apology emails, while allowing agents to add a personal touch.

📚 Related: The risks & rewards of customer service automation

Enrich emails with customer and order information

Why? To increase customer satisfaction 👍 and service quality ✨

The biggest challenge about sending emails as a business is striking a balance between valuable and bothersome. It’s not only about crafting attractive promotional emails but making even the most mundane “Your order has shipped!” emails pop with purpose.

How? Integrate your ecommerce platform of choice, whether it’s Shopify, BigCommerce, or Magento (Adobe Commerce), with Gorgias. You can view customer information from your chosen platform in the Customer Sidebar and extract the data to automatically populate emails.

Supplement emails with self-service resources

Why? To increase customer satisfaction score 👍 and reduce ticket volume 🔻

In ecommerce, a self-service resource is any resource that answers customer issues without talking to an agent. They include a Help Center (or knowledge base), FAQs, or automated chat widgets. 

How? Create a Help Center with linkable articles that can be inserted into customer support emails. This is especially useful for new customers who may want to ask several frequently asked questions. A Help Center effectively acts as technical support, while freeing up agents to deal with more unique tickets.

A successful customer support program should maximize self-service options to minimize manual effort.

Metrics to track your email performance

How well are you serving your customers through email? The answer lies in measuring how quickly you accomplish support tasks like opening and closing a ticket. But it's not only about speed. Tracking metrics is invaluable for troubleshooting gaps in your customer service operations.

Here are three metrics that can shed a light on how well your customer support team is using email.

Average first response time

Average first response time is the average time it takes for your customer service team to send the first response to a customer after receiving a request. 

🕒 Industry average: 18 hours (Timetoreply)

🟢 Time to aim for: Under 4 hours

🔻 What slows it down: Inadequate staffing, lack of automation, and poor prioritization

➕ How to improve it: Use automation like Rules, Tags, Macros, and more self-service options

Average resolution time

Average resolution time refers to the average amount of time it takes to resolve or address a specific issue or request, typically measured in hours or days.

🕒 Industry average: 18.1 hours (Gorgias) 

🟢 Time to aim for: Same day

🔻 What slows it down: Inefficient process, disorganized inbox, and complex issues

➕ How to improve it: Reroute tickets to faster channels like voice, and build self-service options like a Help Center

First contact resolution rate

First contact resolution rate or FCR rate measures the rate of resolving a customer inquiry within the first interaction. An excellent FCR rate indicates that your support team is well-trained to be able to solve issues efficiently.

🕒 Industry standard: 70% (Fullview)

🟢 Rate to aim for: 78% (Qualtrics)

🔻 What slows it down: Complex issues and lack of customer service skills training

➕ How to improve it: Add more self-service options, ensure agents are given complete information on product/service knowledge and resolution techniques

[Callout] How to calculate FCR: Total number of requests resolved with one interaction in a single time period / the total number of requests in the same time period

Once you’ve got the hang of the basics, you can refine your operation by tracking 25 more customer support metrics.

Manage email — and all your other channels — with Gorgias

Email is stronger when combined with other channels — no one knows this better than multitasking expert Gorgias. 

As a powerful helpdesk tool, Gorgias offers omnichannel support and powerful automation features like Macros and Rules that make managing email effortless. You can even supercharge Gorgias with integrations to ecommerce apps like Shopify, Yotpo, and Shipbob to keep you focused on delivering support without distractions. 

Ready to bring in a crowd of happy customers? Book a demo now.

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TL;DR:

• Conversational customer service replaces tickets with real-time conversations. Customers get instant help through chat, messaging, social media, or voice instead of waiting for email or phone responses.
• AI automates repetitive inquiries. It can answer common questions like order status, shipping, or returns while agents focus on complex issues.
• Conversational AI understands questions and retrieves real data. It connects to systems like ecommerce platforms and help centers to provide accurate answers and complete actions.
• The result is faster support and more efficient teams. Brands can provide 24/7 assistance, improve customer satisfaction, and scale support without increasing headcount.

Customers expect instant answers, but most support teams are still working through ticket queues.

If your team is constantly answering the same questions about orders, shipping, and returns, it becomes harder to keep response times low and customer satisfaction high.

Conversational customer service offers a different approach. Instead of forcing customers to wait in support queues, brands can resolve common questions instantly while giving agents more time to focus on complex issues. 

This guide explains what conversational customer service is, how it works, and how support teams can implement it right away.

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What is conversational customer service?

Conversational customer service is a support approach that helps customers through real-time conversations across channels like live chat, SMS, social media, and messaging apps.

Instead of submitting a ticket and waiting hours for a reply, customers can ask questions and get immediate answers through natural dialogue. These conversations may be handled by AI, human agents, or a combination of both.

The goal is to make support feel as natural as talking to a store associate.

For ecommerce brands, conversational customer service typically helps customers:

• Check order status without logging into their account
• Start returns or exchanges through a simple chat conversation
• Get product recommendations based on preferences or past purchases
• Resolve shipping issues without waiting for email responses

What makes customer service “conversational”

Conversational support is different from traditional ticket-based support because it focuses on real-time dialogue rather than delayed responses.

Its differentiators are:

• Real-time answers: Customers receive help instantly instead of waiting in a queue
• Natural language interactions: Customers ask questions the same way they would ask a person
• Context-aware conversations: Systems remember previous messages and customer data
• Omnichannel support: Conversations happen across chat, messaging, social, and voice

Example of conversational customer service

A shopper opens chat and asks: “Where is my order?”

A conversational support system can instantly:

1. Identify the customer
2. Pull their order details
3. Respond with the tracking status

If the customer asks a follow-up like “Can I change the delivery address?”, the system understands the context and either updates the order or routes the conversation to an agent with full history.

How conversational customer service relates to conversational AI and CX

Conversational customer service is one part of a broader customer experience strategy.

To understand how these ideas connect, it helps to think of them as three layers:

In practice, conversational AI enables conversational customer service, which improves the overall customer experience.

For ecommerce brands, this connection shows up in everyday interactions like:

• Pre-purchase questions: Helping shoppers choose the right product
• Order support: Providing instant updates on shipping or delivery
• Post-purchase help: Managing returns, exchanges, or product issues

Because these conversations happen in real time, they connect support with the rest of the customer journey.

Instead of treating support as a separate function, conversational systems allow brands to assist customers during discovery, purchase, and post-purchase moments — all within the same conversation.

Conversational vs. traditional customer service

The main differences between conversational and traditional customer service come down to speed, scalability, and customer experience:

• Speed: Customers receive answers instantly instead of waiting in ticket queues
• Convenience: Support happens in familiar channels like chat, SMS, and social messaging
• Scalability: AI handles repetitive questions while agents focus on complex issues
• Context: Systems use order history and past interactions to personalize responses

Traditional support models rely on tickets while conversational customer service replaces this with real-time conversation threads. 

How conversational AI works in customer service

Conversational AI helps automate customer support by understanding questions, retrieving the right information, and responding in real time.

Behind the scenes, the system follows a simple process.

1. The system understands the customer’s message

When a customer sends a message, the AI analyzes the text to determine what the customer wants.

It identifies:

• Intent: what the customer is trying to do (track an order, start a return, ask about a product)
• Key details: order numbers, product names, dates, or locations
• Sentiment: whether the customer sounds neutral, confused, or frustrated

2. The system retrieves the right information

To generate accurate responses, conversational AI pulls data from the systems that store customer and order information.

For ecommerce brands, the most important connection is the ecommerce platform itself, such as Shopify. This is where the system retrieves real-time customer and order data.

For example, when a customer asks “Where is my order?”, the AI can instantly retrieve the order record and provide the latest tracking update.

3. The system generates a response

Using the retrieved information, the AI generates a natural language response.

For example, if a customer asks about their order status, the system can pull tracking data and respond instantly.

If the customer asks follow-up questions, the AI maintains context so the conversation continues naturally.

4. The system performs actions when possible

Modern conversational AI can take action on behalf of customers, not just answer questions.

Examples include:

• Starting a return or exchange
• Updating a shipping address
• Applying a discount code
• Modifying a subscription or order

This reduces friction for customers and resolves issues faster without requiring agent involvement.

5. The system escalates when needed

Not every request should be automated. When the AI detects complex issues or customer frustration, it escalates the conversation to a human agent.

The agent receives:

• The full conversation history
• Customer details and order data
• Any actions already taken by the AI

This allows the agent to step in without asking the customer to repeat information.

Continuous improvement over time

Conversational AI improves as it processes more interactions.

When agents take over conversations or customers provide feedback, that data helps refine the system. Over time, the AI becomes better at understanding customer questions and resolving common issues automatically.

Benefits of conversational customer service

Conversational customer service improves both the customer experience and support operations.

Key benefits include:

• Faster resolutions: Customers get answers instantly instead of waiting in queues
• Higher agent efficiency: AI handles repetitive questions so agents can focus on complex issues
• More personalized support: Conversations use customer data and order history for context
• Lower support costs: Automation allows teams to handle more volume without increasing headcount

24/7 support and faster resolutions

Conversational AI allows brands to provide support around the clock.

Customers receive answers in seconds instead of waiting for email replies or sitting in phone queues. Common requests like order tracking, return policies, and shipping questions can be resolved immediately.

Agent efficiency and deflection

Most ecommerce support tickets fall into predictable categories such as:

• Order status inquiries (WISMO)
• Return and exchange questions
• Shipping and delivery timelines
• Product details or sizing

Conversational AI resolves these repetitive questions automatically, allowing agents to focus on complex issues and high-value conversations.

Personalization and higher CSAT

Conversational systems can access customer data such as order history, previous conversations, and product preferences.

This context allows the system to deliver more relevant answers and recommendations, improving customer satisfaction.

Cost reduction and scalability

Traditional support scales linearly: more tickets require more agents.

Conversational customer service allows automation to handle large volumes of routine inquiries, helping teams support more customers without increasing headcount.

Tools that power conversational customer service

Conversational customer service is powered by several AI technologies that work together to understand requests, retrieve information, and execute actions.

Together, these technologies allow brands to automate routine support interactions while escalating complex issues to human agents.

Channels for conversational customer service

Conversational customer service happens across the channels customers already use to communicate.

Common support channels include:

• Website live chat: Real-time conversations directly on the storefront
• Messaging and SMS: Ongoing support through text or apps like WhatsApp
• Social media: Responding to customer questions on platforms like Instagram or Facebook
• Phone support: Voice conversations powered by AI or human agents

Customers may start a conversation on one channel and continue it on another. Conversational systems maintain context across these channels so interactions remain continuous.

Conversational customer service examples

Conversational customer service is used to automate routine support requests while helping customers complete common tasks quickly.

Here are some of the most common use cases.

Order status inquiries (WISMO)

“Where is my order?” is one of the most common ecommerce support requests.

Conversational systems can instantly retrieve order data from the ecommerce platform and provide real-time updates.

Typical actions include:

• Providing tracking information
• Sharing delivery estimates
• Sending tracking links
• Notifying customers about delays

Returns and exchanges

Customers often contact support to start returns or exchanges.

Conversational systems can guide customers through the process step-by-step and initiate the return automatically.

Common tasks include:

• Starting a return request
• Generating return labels
• Checking eligibility based on policy
• Processing exchanges for different sizes or products

Product questions and recommendations

Many shoppers ask questions before making a purchase.

Conversational support can help customers find the right product by answering questions and recommending options.

Examples include:

• Sizing and fit guidance
• Product compatibility questions
• Material or ingredient information
• Recommendations based on previous purchases

Shipping and delivery questions

Customers frequently ask about shipping costs, delivery timelines, or international shipping options.

Conversational systems can answer these questions instantly using information from the help center or shipping policies.

Examples include:

• Explaining shipping methods
• Providing delivery estimates
• Clarifying international shipping options
• Answering customs or duty questions

Best practices for conversational customer service

Effective conversational customer service depends on how well automation and human support work together. 

Enable human handoff

Automation should recognize when a request requires human expertise. When escalation happens, the agent should receive the full conversation history along with relevant customer and order information so the customer does not have to repeat themselves.

Train AI on your brand voice and policies

Conversational AI should reflect your brand’s tone and follow your support policies. Training the system on help center content, past support conversations, and internal documentation helps ensure responses remain accurate and consistent.

Monitor performance and optimize continuously

Conversational systems improve through regular monitoring and iteration. Reviewing conversation transcripts and tracking metrics like CSAT, deflection rate, and resolution time helps teams identify gaps and refine responses over time.

How to implement conversational customer service

Implementing conversational customer service works best when teams start small, prove value, and expand over time. The following steps provide a practical approach.

1. Start with your highest-volume inquiries

Begin by identifying the questions your team answers most often, such as order status, shipping timelines, or return policies. These repetitive inquiries are the easiest to automate and deliver quick wins.

2. Connect AI to your ecommerce platform and knowledge base

Conversational systems need access to real customer and order data to provide accurate responses. Connecting the AI to your ecommerce platform, help center, and customer records allows it to answer questions and complete actions using real information.

3. Define escalation and automation rules

Not every request should be automated. Establish clear rules for when the AI should resolve an issue automatically and when it should escalate the conversation to a human agent.

4. Test before expanding

Launch conversational support with a limited set of use cases or channels first. Monitoring early conversations helps identify gaps and refine responses before expanding automation to more scenarios.

What to look for in a conversational customer service platform

Not all conversational AI platforms are built for ecommerce support. When evaluating solutions, look for capabilities that allow the system to access customer data, resolve requests accurately, and integrate with your support workflows.

Use this checklist to guide your evaluation:

• Ecommerce platform integrations: The system should connect directly to platforms like Shopify to retrieve order details, customer accounts, and purchase history in real time.
• Knowledge base grounding: AI responses should be based on your help center and documentation to ensure answers are accurate and aligned with your policies.
• No-code configuration: Support teams should be able to update workflows, responses, and automation rules without relying on engineering resources.
• Brand voice customization: The platform should allow you to control tone, terminology, and response style so conversations reflect your brand.
• Analytics and reporting: Visibility into metrics like deflection rate, CSAT, and common inquiries helps teams measure performance and improve automation over time.
• Human handoff: When automation cannot resolve an issue, the conversation should transfer to an agent with full context and conversation history.

Ready to bring conversational customer service to your support team?

Gorgias helps ecommerce brands do exactly that. Our platform combines a helpdesk built for ecommerce with conversational AI that can automate routine inquiries, surface customer context for agents, and support customers across every channel. Book a demo to see how it works.

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