According to Forbes, companies that have a customer-centric mindset bring in 5.7 times more revenue and outperform those that don’t by nearly 80%. However, providing consistently excellent customer service can be challenging without the right tools. Today we decided to interview Viktor Zeman, co-founder of LiveAgent, about what makes good customer service, and how to provide it.
Viktor has founded several software companies, is a member of the COVID-19 Emergency response council in Slovakia, and an acknowledged subject matter expert in the field of cloud infrastructure, storage, and technology.
Viktor Zeman, Co-Founder of LiveAgent (SME)
Q: When did you start LiveAgent? What was the inspiration behind it?
It all started with our sister company called Post Affiliate Pro (PAP.) We needed a tool that would help us answer all our customer queries about PAP from one place. Since there was nothing like that out there in 2003, we decided to build our own tool that could do everything we wanted. In essence, we wanted an all-in-one tool that would integrate and streamline all our communication channels into one dashboard, and provide extra features such as reporting, automation, and live chat. So in 2006, we built LiveAgent as one of the pioneering multi-channel help desk and live chat software.
Q: Tell us more about your product and what pain/problem do you solve?
LiveAgent is a one-stop-shop for customer support teams that require a multi-channel help desk solution. It enables collaboration, organizes and prioritizes queries, and streamlines all communication channels into a single dashboard.
LiveAgent was built to solve five main problems:
- Eliminate monitoring of multiple accounts (email, social media, etc.)
- Eliminate the need for multiple tools
- Provide a secure solution that eliminates account sharing
- Give teams a comprehensive overview of all incoming tickets
- Foster collaboration in both remote and in-house teams
Q: What industries do you serve and who are your current customers?
LiveAgent is ideal for customer service teams of all sizes and in all industries. Our customers are in accounting, legal, automotive, banking, insurance, e-commerce, entertainment, fashion, healthcare, HR, marketing, telco, real estate, retail, SaaS, travel, hospitality, and even web hosting. A few specific examples of our customers are Huawei, BMW, Slido, and Oxford University.
Q: Now that we know more about your background, can you share some of LiveAgent’s features and benefits?
LiveAgent’s main features include a built-in call center, a knowledge base builder, a native live chat widget, social media integrations, reporting and analytics, automation, and gamification features. We have over 180 help desk features that were all designed to save time and provide insights into customer problems.
The main benefit of using the software is the amount of time you save, and the level of service you provide. Because you don’t have to monitor multiple accounts and LiveAgent receives tickets from all communication channels, you can focus on providing excellent service for your customers.
Q: What is a multi-channel help desk software and why is it important in today’s online marketplace?
A multi-channel help desk software allows you to communicate with your customers across multiple channels through a single dashboard. This means that you can chat in real-time, reply to social media messages, answer phone calls and video calls, and even reply to emails from your dashboard. In essence, a multi-channel help desk securely stores all your customer communication and information under one roof.
Having a multi-channel help desk software is important because consumers are more demanding than ever. They not only want amazing products but excellent customer service too. Consumers expect knowledgeable and quick answers that provide first response problem resolution. And a multi-channel help desk software helps agents do just that.
The hybrid ticket stream allows you to follow your customer’s entire journey across different channels in the same hybrid ticket. In this manner, the software assists you by providing you with all the necessary information to provide excellent customer service in a timely manner.
The matter of fact is that if you don’t provide this level of service to your customers, they won’t hesitate to leave you for the competition. To put it simply, in this day and age, it’s simply not good enough to have an excellent product. The level of service is just as, if not more important.
Q: Adopting a new software system is a scary thing for many companies, what does it look like to begin integrating LiveAgent into a company’s workflow?
Our philosophy is customer-centric, and therefore we’ll always put the customer first. If you decide to start using LiveAgent we’ll help you get set up and be available 24/7 if you have any questions. If you’re migrating your data from another help desk software, our senior technicians will be happy to do the heavy lifting for you for free.
When it comes to integrating LiveAgent into your company’s workflow, there really isn’t much to fear. The software is intuitive, and also comes with an internal setup guide/tour that walks you through the software. Once you connect all your accounts and get set up, the only thing you need to get used to is that you won’t need any other tool to answer customer queries effectively.
LiveAgent eliminates third party application use because it has internal chat and call capabilities, as well as a synchronized workflow, and agent collision detection features. There’s no need to fear that you’ll ever miss a ticket, answer the same ticket twice, or erase your colleague’s work.
In addition, LiveAgent integrates with over 40 third party applications so you can keep using your favorite apps within LiveAgent if you want.
Q: If a business is equipped with the right tools, such as LiveAgent, how can they win new customers and retain existing ones with so many competitors on and offline?
As I touched upon earlier, it’s all about the level of service you provide. It has to be knowledgable, quick, personalized, and of course pleasant. If you consistently deliver these service experiences for your customers, they will develop a sense of loyalty towards your brand and become brand ambassadors that share their positive experiences with your business with their peers, friends, and family.
About LiveAgent
LiveAgent is a European based company that’s helping businesses grow and take care of their customers since 2006. It’s ideal for remote and in-house teams of all sizes and industries. Discover the power of our native live chat, universal inbox, built-in call center, robust reporting features, and advanced automation. Try LiveAgent today with a free 14-day trial. No credit card required.