Engaging Members via Live Chat

Core Experience

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

Learning objectives

3

Speak to the skills needed to deliver member support via Live Chat.

Describe what members expect from us when they contact Chime.

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

List the tools available to Live Chat agents to keep the chats moving along.

Discuss some strategies to build rapport with members.

When members contact Member Services they have expectations from us:

• Accuracy
• Speed
• To keep them in the loop
• Knowledge

What do Members Expect From Us?

4

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

How do you give Members accurate answers to their queries? It’s important to know what you’re solving and you have the necessary information you need to solve it.

​

As the agent interacting with the member, you will be asking a mix of questions:

• Open Ended - These types of questions invite the Member to express their needs & yield a wide range of answers. Most useful at the beginning of a chat.
• Probing - These types of questions help you to follow up & probe deeper for specific info. They are most useful to help you develop a plan to investigate the query.
• Checking In - These types of questions are used to verify facts/ info with the Member.
• Closed Ended - Closed ended questions typically yield a yes/ no answer. These allow you to confirm understanding with the Member.

​

Accuracy

5

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

What can you do while waiting for the member to respond?

​

1. Read - the members chat message & the ChimeBot history carefully before taking action.

​

1. Check - the notes on the members account by clicking on ’internal notes’ in Zendesk.

​

1. Confirm - information & details. Always clarify with the member if you’re unsure.

​

1. Check - the members account history by clicking ‘User Profile’ in the Twilio Flex chat widget.

​

Being a knowledgeable agent

6

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

Members are tracking how long it takes to solve their query. Think of a time when you encountered a long wait time to get a response from an agent, you were probably wondering why their response took so long.

​

You can control your chat responses:

• Let the member lead - Go with the members flow of questions, if you see the typing bubble let them finish typing before you hit send.
• Keep track - Keep track of the members questions if they are asked out of sync & remember to answer all of them.
• Indicate Returning - Indicate when you’re returning to an earlier question. “To answer your earlier question”
• Answer One At A Time - Always answer questions one by one to prevent member confusion.

​

Speed

7

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

To help us manage the time we spend serving our members there are some automations to be aware of:

​

1. If you have not replied to a new chat within 3 minutes, the system will automatically re-assign it to the next available agent.

​

1. For all automations, the timers will restart with activity, for example if the timer is awaiting a response from the agent and you respond- it will reset.

​

1. If it’s an ongoing chat and you are inactive, i.e you don’t respond to the member- the chat will automatically re-assign after 10 minutes to the next available agent.

Automated Re-assign

8

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

To help us manage the time we spend serving our members there are some automations to be aware of:

​

1. Member Delays - It’s likely the member may get distracted. To help you manage your time the system will automatically bump & move chats to the wrap up state.
2. Automatic Bump Chat - A chat bump is a reminder. If the member has been inactive for 3 minutes, an automated response will be sent by the system.
3. Automatic Close Chat - If a member leaves the chat at any point an automated response chat will be sent to them by the system & the chat will move to ‘wrap up’ state.
4. Automatic End Chat - If a member has still not responded after an additional 4 minutes an automated response end chat will be sent & the chat will move to the ‘wrap up’ state.

Automated Chat Time

9

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

Members want to know what’s happening as you’re resolving their issue. In this section we’ll show you how to keep Members in the loop by communicating early & often.

​

We keep the member in the loop through:

• Setting expectations - Always tell the Member you will need a moment or a few minutes to research a resolution.
• Checking back in - If 2 minutes have passed since the Member heard from you, check back in & continue to keep them in the loop while you are researching.
• Aiming to education - If it applies, share details or a Member facing Knowledge Base article with the Member on how they can self serve in the future.
• Offering an explanation - Let the Member know what’s happening.

​

Keep the Members in the Loop

10

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

Members expect you to have knowledge of their bank account service history when they’re interacting with you.

​

How does an agent remain knowledgeable with so many members & different tickets?

​

In this section we’ll show you how to structure your approach & leverage your resources so you have the right information on hand.

​

Knowledge

11

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

What can Chat agents do to be a knowledgeable agent?

12

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

In live chat, out of sync chats are normal.

​

Many people type as they think or type a question or response then forget to check back.

​

Since members will be on their mobile device, it is likely they will get distracted by other notifications coming in. So you can expect to receive some delayed responses or responses out of chat order.

​

A knowledgeable agent keeps track of questions the member asks and checks Admin and internal notes when investigating a solution.

Being a knowledgeable agent

13

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

Building Rapport

14

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

What are some ways to build a positive rapport?

15

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

1. First Impression - Always adjust the opening to include the members name & reflect their question from the Bot history.

​

1. Listen - Show members you are “listening” by free-forming a probing question to clarify your understanding & typing quick responses such as “got it”, “I see”, “Ok”.

​

1. Acknowledge - When a Member is done fully expressing their issue, acknowledge it with genuine empathy. “I realize this whole thing is frustrating for you.”

​

Building a positive relationship

16

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

Building rapport is when you build a trusting, friendly relationship with someone. It’s important to set a positive tone from beginning through the end of a chat.

4. Yield - Yield in conversation. Let the member finish typing sentences if they are typing.

​

4. Pace - Mirror some words the member uses to build rapport.

​

4. Detail - Mirror the amount of detail the member is giving. Keep responses

short but explain more if the Member is asking.

Building a positive relationship

17

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

Building rapport is when you build a trusting, friendly relationship with someone. It’s important to set a positive tone from beginning through the end of a chat.

• Not a bot - Members want to know they are talking to a live human and not a chat bot. They have selected chat to speak with a live agent. Show them you’re human!
• Use Names - Always adjust the opening response to greet the member by their name & include your (alias) name. Use the members name throughout the chat.
• Mirror Face to Face- Keep chat exchanges short, as if you were talking face to face. Type a short response to acknowledge you’re listening as the member is sharing their issue. Mirror the words they use to show you’re reading their responses carefully.
• Conversational tone - Maintain a friendly conversational tone throughout the chat & use “We or I” instead of ‘Chime’ as this will sound more natural to the member.

​

Be Human

18

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

How can we be human and build positive rapport?

Pop Quiz

19

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

Select the best option or options.

Which of the following is a Live Chat best practice?

1. Always adjust the opening canned response to greet the member by their name & include your (alias) name.
2. Not spending time scanning canned responses to see if there’s text you need to adjust.
3. Always adjusting each and every canned response.

Live Chat

20

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

Select the best option or options.

If a member has been non responsive on the chat for 3 minutes you should:

1. Send the end chat response.
2. Click “end chat”, complete wrap up and move to next ticket.
3. Send the reminder response.
4. Send the thanks for waiting response.

Live Chat

21

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

Select the best option or options.

How can you show members you are “listening” on live chat?

1. Members do not expect you to listen to them.
2. Ask for their number and call them.
3. By sending a free for “I am listening” response.
4. By typing quick responses such as “got it”, “I see”, or “thank you for sharing.”

Live Chat

22

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT

To recap

23

• Members expect accuracy, speed, being kept in the loop and knowledge when they contact Chime.
• Use a mix of open and closed-ended questions to elicit responses from the member while gathering information.
• We have automations in the system to assist in keeping the chat interactions moving along and to a resolution.
• Build rapport through connecting with the member, being human with them and ensuring they feel “heard.”

ENGAGING MEMBERS VIA LIVE CHAT