14 chat etiquette tips for business communication

Overview

Modern customers appreciate convenience, and swift responses when interacting with your organization. This has led to a rapid adoption of live chats between customer support teams and customers. Chats allow your business to personalize your customers' experience which fosters trust among your customer base. Introducing live chat services to a business typically leads to a 6% overall growth in revenue.

However, despite the advantages of live chats, just under half of consumers responded to surveys stating that they had a negative live chat interaction within the last month. The cause? Poor chat etiquette practices employed by organizations, lead to their support team not using the correct tone in their responses. To ensure you earn the trust and loyalty of your customers, you need to know some chat etiquette rules.

What is chat etiquette?

Chat etiquette is the term given to a set of rules and conditions applied to chat to maintain a positive tone when providing online support to customers. Chat etiquette is integral for effective online support services as it ensures the conversation stays on topic, it keeps the customer happy and protects your online reputation.

Chat etiquette rules are typically used by customer support teams to establish expectations on many different components like the tone of messages, grammar, standard of service, using empathy and so on. As a result, organizations will often create their own unique set of chat etiquette rules to suit their ethos and brand.

14 essential chat etiquette tips for professional customer service

To effectively implement chat etiquette into your customer service operations, you need to be aware of some of the best practices for doing so. Relying on these practices will allow you to set realistic rules and expectations for how your team should respond, while also simplifying the process.

Here are some tips for practicing professional chat etiquette: 

Tip 1 — K.I.S.S (Keep it simple stupid)

We often tend to overestimate the knowledge our customers have about our products or services. As a result, we use professional jargon when we chat with our customers. However, it is important to communicate our message in the simplest way we can. 

• Try and keep the messages short.

• Break the message up into shorter sentences. Writing long messages robs the customer from the option to intervene.

• It’s ok to use standard abbreviations in chat conversations.

Tip 2 — Keep the tone positive

To truly connect with your customers, you need to incorporate a positive tone in your chat conversations. Do not use negative words or tone if you can positively say the same thing. 

✓ “This feature will be available within two weeks. I’ll let you know once we roll it out.”

✘ “We don’t have this feature and it won’t be available for about 2 weeks.”

Tip 3 — Check for grammar and spelling

Good grammar, spelling, and punctuation is a trust signal. It shows that you care about your customers. Conversely, bad grammar can cost you opportunities; it makes customers think twice about doing business with you. 

• Read the message backward. It’s a great way to spot spelling errors.

• Have a fellow live chat agent proofread the message for you. 

• Read your message out aloud because errors are more easily heard. 

• Ensure that your live chat agents are trained to have exceptional grammar and spelling skills. 

• Buy a language tool such as Grammarly.

Tip 4 — Start the chat conversation with a friendly greeting

There are no second chances for a first impression. Nothing delivers customer satisfaction quite like a consistently delightful and welcoming chat conversation. 

• Be professional and courteous. It can be helpful to use canned responses when handling multiple chats simultaneously. 

• Modulate the tone of the greeting depending on the situation.

• Address the customer by their name. If you don’t have the customer’s name, it’s okay to use a generic greeting like “Hey there!”

Tip 5 — Write as you speak

Formalized writing style clashes directly with the way we read online. To a customer reading a highly formal message, it comes off as robotic. However, when you write as you talk, you can convey the message in a conversational tone that is aligned to the reader.

• Short sentences are key; they sound way more natural.

• Start some of your sentences with ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘nor’, ‘for’, ‘so’, ‘yet’, or ‘or’.

• Be mindful of voice and tone.

• Add interjections like ‘Ouch’, ‘Phew’, and ‘Duh’. But be mindful of your customer’s situation and how often you use them.

• Include personal pronouns like ‘you’ and ‘I’.

• Include contractions such as ‘you’re’, ‘that’s’, etc. when possible. 

Tip 6 — Build an engaging chat conversation

Chat support is an opportunity to strengthen existing relationships with your customers through an engaging chat support environment. 

• Be a proactive listener

• Ask questions to ensure that you have understood the customer clearly.

• Use reflective listening. Simply paraphrase what they just said.

• It’s best to put your mobile phone away. 

• Mirror your customer’s tone; don’t mimic it. 

Tip 7 — Create canned responses

There’s a good chance that you are handling multiple chats simultaneously. And to do it effectively, you need to use canned responses. Live chat software comes packed with a canned response feature that lets you set these quick responses up.

However, remember to —

• Keep it conversational. (Read Tip 5!)

• Set clear expectations in situations that require a follow-up.

• Remember, canned responses are not a replacement for personal responses. 

• Review your canned responses regularly.

Tip 8 — Always be empathetic

Customer service, whether on the phone, email or via chat, requires a good understanding of emotional intelligence (EQ). In chat, EQ is key to developing true empathy and empathy goes a long way in building customer loyalty. There are two strategies for building empathy into your chat strategy —

• Mirroring your customer’s emotions signals trust.

• Personalizing your chat conversations makes the customer feel important. 

Tip 9 — Use humor cautiously; avoid sarcasm

Humor can be a differentiator for your chat support. However, jokes can fall apart or be misinterpreted, particularly if you are using live chat. If you’ve known the customer for a long time and you know they would appreciate humor, then it doesn’t harm to throw in a few jokes. However, if the customer is frustrated with your product, it’s best to avoid humor and get to the solution as quickly as you can. The same rules apply for sarcasm, except we’d strongly recommend that you avoid using it in its entirety. 

Tip 10 — Make a sincere apology

Giving a sincere and effective apology is hard work. To a customer, it’s infuriating when we don’t admit to our side of the problem. When we acknowledge a mistake, what we are essentially telling our customer is that they are right, we see their perspective, and that we understand it.

• Be really sorry. 

• Validate your customer’s feelings even if you don’t necessarily agree with everything your customer is saying.

• Explain the situation and address all the points that the customer raised. 

• Explain how you’ll handle this better the next time. 

Tip 11 — Be proactive

As a live chat agent, you may gain some valuable insights and perspective by quickly looking through the previous chat conversations with your customer. Customers appreciate the effort you take into familiarizing yourself with the issue and saving them the time and effort of repeating themselves all over again.

A good live chat software provides continuous conversation history allowing live chat agents to pick up where the customers left. 

Tip 12 — Offer quick responses

One of the important reasons for customers’ preference for chat as a support channel is speed. Quick responses don’t just save time for the customer but it also makes them feel important. Additionally, faster responses mean better productivity for you as a live chat agent. Some of the ways in which you can offer quick responses are by setting up autoresponders in your live chat software, using canned responses, providing self-service, or implementing a friendly chatbot.

Tip 13 — Check to see if the customer has more questions

One of the important reasons for customers’ preference for chat as a support channel is speed. Quick responses don’t just save time for the customer but it also makes them feel important. Additionally, faster responses mean better productivity for you as a live chat agent. Some of the ways in which you can offer quick responses are by setting up autoresponders in your live chat software, using canned responses, providing self-service, or implementing a friendly chatbot. 

Tip 14 — Ask for feedback at the end of the chat

Customer feedback is important because it works as a guiding force for your support team and the organization as a whole. The right time to ask your customer for feedback is at the end of the chat conversation after you have addressed their issue. The timing is perfect because their experience is quite recent. You can do this by asking them to fill out a short survey or simply rate their experience with a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

Bonus tip — Chat etiquette for bots

We’re past the point where we debate whether or not we want to implement chatbots in our customer support strategy. Most companies have adopted chatbots to assist live support agents with repetitive and mundane questions.

We need our chatbots to interact frequently enough to positively impact the team’s productivity. We also need them to interact thoughtfully so that we don’t lose our customers to bad experiences. Where do we draw the line? A good way to address this is to create guidelines on how the chatbots will respond to customer requests. 

• Do not mask your chatbots as live chat agents. This sets the wrong expectations. Customers will be disappointed when they don’t receive the kind of responses expected from a live agent. 

• However, train the bot to converse like a live agent would with a customer.

• Train the chatbot to engage in small talk, but also ensure that it keeps the conversation brief and helpful. 

• Train the bot to look for the intent behind the customer’s questions and help them with the next best course of action. This also enables engaged conversation with the customer. 

• Make sure you tailor your chatbot’s tone to be an extension of your brand. 

Mastering the art of chat etiquette might seem daunting. With the help of these tips and a little practice, you can become a pro in no time. Always remember that the end goal of customer support is to deliver moments of wow.

Chat etiquette: key takeaways

• Chat etiquette is a set of rules and instructions regarding grammar, language, and tone used in messages by your customer service staff when interacting with customers via live chat.

• Chat etiquette allows you to streamline your chat interactions with customers, while also standardizing responses, removing misunderstandings, and establishing trust in your brand among your customer base. 

• Real-time responses are one of the best ways to increase customer satisfaction. Response time is always the number one metric discussed by customers.

• Depending on your business type, a GIF or emoji can go a long way in creating a personal touch. However, it’s not always the best idea for certain businesses (like a bank or healthcare provider).

• Ensure correct grammar, and punctuality, and use proper names rather than “Good day” when serving customers through chat requests. Avoid language like “BRB” or even complex technical jargon that might not make the customer feel heard.

• Always aim for a positive experience by being punctual, and prompt, using personal names, and ensuring the live chat conversation is constantly updated with a regular status indicator. Equip every customer service agent with templates and tools to provide an optimal experience.

• Following the tips outlined above for implementing an effective set of chat etiquette rules ensures that your instructions are effective, easy to follow, and foster support amongst your consumers.

Benefits of practicing chat etiquette

Practicing chat etiquette offers numerous advantages to your organization. Effective chat etiquette can help you to set clear rules for your customer team to follow, reducing some of the stress in their job and ensuring that your company offers consistent messaging and responses to all customers. Professional customer chat etiquette also allows you to develop stronger bonds with your customers through personalization, which helps establish trust in your brand.

Here are some key benefits of practicing chat etiquette:

Better understanding

A harmonious understanding across your customer services team is important when interacting with customers. A common understanding of what etiquette to follow allows your team to communicate consistently to customers.

You can also improve the understanding within live chats with customers. This is because there will be fewer misunderstandings of the tone or meaning behind your messages when practicing professional etiquette.

Increase customer satisfaction/loyalty

Satisfying your customer’s needs and meeting their expectations is a crucial aspect of growing a successful business. Following live chat etiquette ensures your customers do not get upset by your responses, while also ensuring that they get timely and helpful support for any issues they may have.

This establishes loyalty among your customer base, making them less likely to leave your company for a competitor. 

Professional brand image

Building a healthy professional brand image is essential for growing your business. If you do not establish a strong enough brand, then you will struggle to reach new customers. Your brand can be influenced by anything that your company does. For example, if your company supports local nonprofits, this can help you to establish a positive professional brand image. 

In contrast, your company could severely harm your professional brand image by having a negative chat response to a customer. The customer could share the interaction online which will exacerbate the damage done to your brand. 

You can protect your professional brand image by using chat etiquette to prevent negative interactions with customers. On top of this, you can establish your brand as a trustworthy operation by having continually positive interactions. 

Better efficiency

If your support team receives a message or complaint from a customer, it can be challenging to immediately know how to reply without clear rules and instructions to follow. This can make sending the response a more time-consuming process and slow down your customer support services.

Encourage engagement

When your customers receive personable responses to their questions in live chat, they will begin to interact with your organization more often. A well-executed chat etiquette practice will establish a relationship with your consumers, which could lead them to seek more interaction with your online features. 

This could mean engaging with your social media pages or posting comments on posts on your website. More engagement on your website and social media can greatly improve your SEO and algorithm performance and bring your offerings to new consumers.

Optimize your  live chat experience with Freshchat

Freshchat offers a variety of services to seamlessly integrate effective etiquette into your live chats, allowing you to establish a brand voice in all interactions with customers. 

Freshchat offers a plethora of advanced features, specifically created to optimize your chat etiquette and take your customer experience to the next level. With Freshworks, you can use smart routing features to ensure each query from customers goes to the appropriate member of your team, which boosts efficiency and prevents mistakes.

Freshchat also facilitates continuous improvement to your customer service, by analyzing your interactions and giving you actionable insights on how to make improvements. 

By leveraging Freshchat’ robust features and analytics capabilities, you can optimize your business's customer service chat experience, fostering stronger customer relationships, enhancing brand loyalty, and ultimately driving growth and success.