10 Live Chat Metrics to Track and Improve Customer Satisfaction

Meeting customer needs is a top priority for business leaders. As more and more of us prefer to chat with support agents via live chat sessions rather than over the phone or email, it’s more crucial than ever to make the most of this valuable communication platform.  But how do you know whether your chat platform is effective? How can you ensure chat conversations create a positive customer experience? By measuring live chat metrics. If you have a live chat support service, you must monitor and improve it regularly, just like you would any other strategy. There’s no use trying to figure out what’s working and what isn’t based on a few customer complaints, your overall revenue, or just a gut feeling. Instead, you need clear and measurable insights that give you the data you need to improve your service and customer satisfaction rating. 

» What are Live Chat Metrics?

Live chat metrics measure the performance and effectiveness of your live chat support services. These are typically quantitative – often numbered scores related to response times or 1-10 customer satisfaction scales. In essence, they help you get a sense of how well your agents use your chat tool and how happy customers are with their chat experience.  Tracking metrics is helpful for any business with a chat service. It doesn’t matter what you sell or where you are, whether in an area code 570 location or further afield; these metrics are universal measures of chat performance. 

Image Source There are various live chat metrics you can measure. This post will cover metrics under the following three categories:

• • Customer satisfaction: As the name suggests, these metrics help you gauge how well your live chat service lives up to customer expectations. Does it meet their requirements? Does it solve their problems? Essential metrics include customer satisfaction scores, net promoter scores, and number of repeat chats. 

• • Agent performance: A live chat tool can only be as good as the agents who use it, so you must measure how efficient and effective agents are. This includes scoring them on average handle times, first contact resolution, and chat abandonment rates. 

• • Efficiency: With the above in mind, you also need to measure the overall efficiency of your customer service team as a whole. By taking into account metrics like queue lengths and response times, you can see the big picture as to how well your team performs. 

» Why Measure Live Chat Metrics?

  Customer needs are constantly changing and new technologies are seemingly emerging daily. As a result, many businesses are changing the way they approach the customer experience.

Image Sourced from acquia.com Live chat is becoming an increasingly common customer service tactic. But there’s no point jumping on the trend, integrating it into your website, and moving on. You need to understand whether your team is using live chat effectively, employees are happy with the service, and it’s adding value to your marketing efforts. That’s why it’s so crucial to measure metrics, so you have accurate data that you can act on now and in the future. Let’s look at a few key areas where your company might benefit from measuring live chat metrics: 

• • Improve customer satisfaction: By measuring customer satisfaction regarding your chat tool, you can spot areas for improvement. This is essential to run an effective customer service team (and the business as a whole) and maintain a positive brand image. 

• • Assess agents: Live chat metrics are a clear indicator of how well your agents are performing. You can use these metrics during performance reviews and to help you develop training plans for individual employees and the team as a whole. 

• • Streamline operations: If your business is fast-paced (as many are today), you want to streamline as much as you can. In a support center, this means having the right number of staff to handle a high chat volume without compromising on the quality of service. 

• • Back your decisions with data: Whether it’s a meeting with investors or a new hire, live chat metrics give you the data to inform and support your business decisions. 

» 10 Live Chat Metrics to Start Tracking Today (And How to Improve Them)

1. First Contact Resolution (FCR)

Was a customer’s issue resolved straight away? Or did they have to contact your team multiple times?  First contact resolution (FCR) measures the percentage of customer issues that are resolved during their first interaction with your live chat customer service team. If it’s high, you can rest assured that your customers are getting the help they need promptly and efficiently.  Top tip: If you want your customer service reps to be effective in handling customer inquiries, they need to be properly trained and equipped. Not only should their training ensure they fully understand your product, but you should also equip them with an accessible knowledge library so they can quickly and easily find the information they need on every chat. 

2. Queue Length

Queue length and average wait time, which are often measured together, are two crucial metrics.  Queue length indicates how many customers are in the chat queue waiting for an agent. Meanwhile, average wait time tells you the average time each customer has to wait before they’re connected. 

Image Sourced from kayako.com It comes as no surprise that long queues and long waits lead to unhappy customers. According to Kayako, almost one-fifth of customers cite long wait times as the most frustrating aspect of live chat services. So, if you want to ensure a smooth customer journey, measuring and refining this metric is key.  Top tip: By using historical data, you can predict when peak traffic hours or peak seasons are for incoming chats. This will help you optimize staffing so you have more agents available during your busiest hours. 

3. Response Time

We’re all too busy to spend an hour trying to resolve an issue via live chat. Instead, customers need speedy responses that get straight to the heart of their problem.  Customers expect an immediate response to their inquiries and may abandon live chat sessions if initial response times exceed even five seconds.  Top tip: There are ways you can be proactive and anticipate customer needs over live chat. Rather than waiting for customers to initiate a chat, use automated pop-up tools on your website to invite customers to chat with you. These can be based on user behavior, such as navigating to a specific page, especially ‘contact us’ or ‘FAQ’ pages, or when online customers add items to their basket. 

Screenshot Sourced from Dialpad.com

4. Average Handling Time (AHT)

Average handling time (AHT), or average resolution time, is the average time each agent (or your team as a whole) spends on a single live chat interaction. This includes the moment the chat begins to the moment it ends.  Customers want their issues resolved fast, and a lot of back-and-forth can quickly lead to unhappy customers.  Of course, it’s important to strike a balance between quality and speed. Trying to rush through customer chats won’t leave them any more satisfied. But average handle time remains a central pillar of live chat metrics.  Top tip: A ready-to-use library of prewritten responses can help your agents deal with customer inquiries quickly without sacrificing quality. That said, you should train your customer service team to edit and personalize these so customers don’t feel like they’re receiving canned responses. 

5. Chats Handled per Hour

Every contact center needs efficient chat agents to ensure that resolution times are quick and queues are short. It also makes sure your investment in customer service is well spent. Chats handled per hour measure how efficient each agent is. It is a key metric for measuring their performance as well.  A low rate might suggest an agent is inefficient and needs further training. Again, balance is important. Burnt-out agents trying to resolve customer questions as quickly as possible won’t keep customers happy.  Top tip: Not every customer inquiry needs human interaction. Invest in chat software that includes a chatbot that replies to customer FAQs. This will free up your customer support agents for more complex issues. 

6. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Score

Want to know whether each chat interaction leads to a satisfied customer? Sending a customer survey after the chat ends can help you measure customer satisfaction scores. Original image created by author; Customer live chat survey from Pets at Home Typically, customers rate their chat experience on a scale of 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. You could also ask them to say whether or not their issue was resolved, but try not to overload them with questions.   Top tip: There are various ways to improve CSAT scores. Ensure agents have access to customer information, such as past chat transcripts, or a ticketing system to quickly access relevant information about the problem. 

7. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Have you ever seen a website pop-up after a chat or purchase asking you: Would you recommend us to others? Perhaps it asked you to answer on a scale of one to ten. This is how businesses measure net promoter score (NPS), a valuable metric for measuring customer happiness.  Not only does NPS give you insight into chat performance, but it also helps you see whether or not customers would advocate for your brand.  Top tip: If a customer provides a low NPS, consider a follow-up email or call to find out why they’re dissatisfied and what you can do to improve their experience. By addressing their concerns, you could turn detractors into promoters. 

8. Repeat Chats

Repeat chats are closely tied to your FCR scores. How often do customers need to come back to discuss the same issue? If the average repeat chat number is above or even close to two, you have a problem. 

Image Sourced from coveo.com A high number of repeat chats means customer issues aren’t being resolved correctly or the communication they’re receiving from your agents lacks clarity.  Top tip: If customers are returning for repeat chats, you need to dig deep to find out why. Are there any common themes? If so, could you create more comprehensive resources or additional training for your team to address them?

9. Chat Abandonment Rates

Have you ever become so frustrated with an online conversation that you closed the chat box and left? Chat abandonment rates measure how often customers leave a chat before their issue is resolved.  While not every customer will leave a chat out of frustration, a high abandonment rate means something is amiss. It might reflect poorly on your agent's performance or the chat system as a whole.  Top tip: Real-time monitoring can help managers spot when a chat might be at risk of abandonment. By implementing sentiment analysis tools, managers can quickly escalate a chat or suggest messages to the agent to keep the customer reassured. 

10. Employee Feedback

Sometimes, the best people to inform your live chat metrics are the agents themselves. Your employees can provide direct feedback on what works and what doesn’t. Regular feedback surveys for live chat agents are a simple way to spot problems.  Remember these should be quantifiable, so include a clear rating system, so you have actionable data, as well as options to provide more in-depth feedback to guide you in making improvements.

Image Sourced from HubSpot.com Top tip: Use employee feedback to inform your training strategy. By creating a culture of ongoing training and development, you can meet problems head-on and encourage staff to collaborate in improving your live chat results. 

» Back Your Business with Live Chat Metrics

Customer service is always evolving, and as both businesses and customers shift their conversations online, companies need to be proactive in how they provide digital support.  Customer satisfaction is the ultimate measure of success and can lead to increased revenue and greater customer loyalty. So, it’s crucial to measure how satisfied customers are with your live chat offer. By tracking and analyzing the 10 metrics discussed here, you can spot areas for improvement and be proactive in improving customer satisfaction.