Video Call Center: Pros & Cons of Contact Center Video Chat

The popularity of video chat has increased for consumers and businesses alike. 

As a result, many brands have opted to add video call functionality their contact center.

The reason why is simple: these businesses want to create a more human customer experience.

That said, who's to say whether video call center software is right for your business?

How do you weigh up the pros and cons of launching a video call center?

In this article, we'll aim to answer these questions for you. We'll cover:

• What is video chat?
• The pros and cons of live video chat for your contact center
• The impact of video on the overall customer experience

Let's get started with some quick definitions.

What is video chat?

Video chat is a customer-facing contact channel that's seamlessly embedded within your website or app.

For instance, say you're an ecommerce business looking to provide a more personalized and convenient online experience.

By offering free video calls with your customers, you could engage with them face-to-face in real time, offering them the same service you would in person.

This allows you to effectively take the in-store experience online with video customer service. 

What's more, the best video call center software can be integrated within your CRM or contact center solution. For example, Talkative's video chat supports deep integrations with a range of these systems, including Salesforce and Mitel.

‍Pros of a video contact center strategy

Now that we've got a better understanding of how video chat works, let's look at the channel's key benefits.

In simple terms, video is an excellent way to:

• Build a personal connection with all types of customers
• Express and explain complex issues online
• Provide a seamless customer experience

Let's go through each of its benefits one by one. 

1. Personalization & rapport

Live video chat is as close as you can get to an in-person interaction over the internet. 

It means video chat is a fantastic engagement channel for offering customer support and next-level experiences.

‍Video is much more personal than a standard voice call, and this personal touch is something that businesses can use to enhance their customer experience. 

For instance, a video chat advisor can create a stronger relationship with a customer compared to other channels.  

They can engage in an actual human conversation, while also asking for additional information to provide further convenience and personalisation.

That way, advisors are not only able to match customer expectations but exceed them.

‍Remember: whatever your industry, people do business with people. 

Adding video to your call center will only help to keep your customers coming back for more. 

2. Professionalism

Video chat displays professionalism and a brand image more than any other channel.

This is particularly useful if you're looking to establish and build on your business's identity.

After all, your customers want to know they are dealing with a brand that can handle their issues and solve their problems.

Live video chat allows you to showcase your professionalism and quality like no other medium to date.‍

3. Diffusion tool

It's an unfortunate truth that the average contact center deals with a fair share of customer complaints.

Thankfully, live video chat can be used as a way to diffuse customer tension. 

When customers face an unknown voice over a standard phone call, they feel disconnected. It's easy for tension to rise.

It's the same on live chat too.

Introducing video to your contact center can help negate this tension. 

As the customer can see the advisor, they'll understand that they are talking with a real person.

What's more, the customer can see that they're paying attention to their concerns and problems.

It's why video chat is a great channel to deploy alongside live chat or voice calls. 

That way, if a customer is getting frustrated, you can quickly transfer to video without skipping a beat.

This means you can better handle your customers' requests and build empathy to continue delivering quality support. 

4. No distractions

When you're on a video chat with a customer, you have to focus on resolving issues and answering questions.

This means that you have to be fully engaged with the customer throughout the interaction, visually as well as verbally.

This reassures your customers that their advisor is entirely focused on them and offering the best customer service possible.

5. Security compliance & recording for training

No matter your industry, data security compliance within your contact center is of utmost importance.

The great news is, a video chat app can be embedded within your website in compliance with many regulatory bodies.

What's more, you can also record, pause, and play live video calls for viewing at a later date.

This is excellent news for your business’s customer support supervisors, as it allows them a more flexible analytical approach to quality control, monitoring, and training new employees.

6. Video calls can be cost-effective

The idea of integrating live video chat into your contact center can seem daunting and sound expensive.

But this doesn't have to be the case.

Firstly, an omnichannel package, like the solution offered by Talkative, means an affordable and simple installation, as well as a seamless connection to all your other contact channels. 

No downloads or plugins are required.

Secondly, video chat is proven to be one of the most valuable channels for both customer services and sales departments.

For instance, shoppers that use Talkative's video chat are as much as 4x more likely to make a purchase.

What's more, 94% of customers rate video chat as a positive experience.

It's proof that video chat is well worth the investment for your customer satisfaction scores.

7. Reduces requirement on brick & mortar locations 

Face-to-face interactions are an important way to communicate with customers.

Nevertheless, physical locations can also prove a considerable expense. 

And if the Covid-19 outbreak has taught us anything, it's that businesses can't always rely on in-store customer interactions.  

Live video chat is the perfect way to mitigate both of these downfalls.

It allows face-to-face customer service without the cost of having a physical store.

Moreover, it ensures face-to-face interactions can continue when customers cannot visit you in person. 

‍The coronavirus pandemic has likely changed the future of stores and customer service for the long term. 

In this sense, video is a vital investment to increase remote sales and meet your customer service goals. 

Cons of live video calls for contact centers

Despite all the great benefits we've mentioned so far, video chat is not for everyone.

Take a look at the list below and consider whether the cons of video chat might cause issues for your organization.

1. Can show negative surroundings

If your contact centre is a bit run-down and doesn't give a professional image, you might want to avoid video. 

At least until you've had a chance to review or transfer potential video staff to a new area.

Of course, this isn't the most significant issue to worry about - what's more important is the service you offer.

Still, it's good idea to consider the visual image you portray to your customers. 

After all, they'll have certain expectations of you as a brand, and you don’t want to damage your overall customer perception.

2. Requires additional training

Adding video calling into your contact center will require more training for your customer support teams.

Just like you need to train them on phone calls or live chat, you need to train them to use video chat effectively.  

And if you plan to train employees in large numbers, this could impact your service delivery while you're getting things up and running.

Of course, improving the quality of your support or sales team is never a bad idea - and it'll have to happen eventually.

This is because future contact centers will demand a more highly skilled and trained agent.

It means that it might be better to focus on improving your training services sooner rather than later to make sure you're ahead of the game.

3. Lack of multitasking

Being on a video stream with a customer means that the advisor can't multitask like they can with most other channels.

For example, with live chat, an advisor can handle two or three web chats at the same time.

A video or voice interaction, however, requires undivided attention. 

Again though, you can view this in two ways.

As we mentioned in our pros list, not being distracted by other interactions can help you avoid incidents of poor customer service.

On the other hand, it could reduce the efficiency of your customer-facing teams if they're used to dealing with multiple interactions at once.

The best solution for this issue is to dedicate a smaller team to your website's video chat function.

That way, you'll have customer advisors who can respond to all kinds of queries from different channels, all ready to interact.

4. Could be expensive

While we might sound like we're contradicting ourselves, it's worth pointing out:

Live video chat can be very cheap to implement.

But sometimes, it can be more expensive than you might hope.

Ultimately, it depends on several factors.

For instance, do your existing systems need a wholesale upgrade to accommodate video?

Do you need to purchase new camera equipment?

What about the number of customer advisors you need to deploy or the necessary upgrades needed to make their surroundings more video-friendly?

The answers to these questions will all reflect how much it costs to get video off the ground.

So, for best results? Get in touch and ask for advice.

As a company that's achieved a fantastic track record for delivering a high-quality video chat solution, Talkative can provide you with the best advice on how to make your video solution affordable.

The takeaway: is video chat right for you?

Video chat support has become more popular for a few key reasons:

• It creates a humanized digital customer experience.
• It increases sales and average purchase value. 
• It's been proven to boost resolution speed and customer satisfaction.

With this in mind, it’s important that businesses don’t underestimate the value of video customer service - or they may get left behind.

Luckily, Talkative can help you get started.

Our video chat is one of the most flexible solutions on the market, from our no-code chat widget builder to deep integrations with systems like Salesforce.

It means we can work with you to create the best experience possible for your customers and your agents. ‍

Want to learn more? Book a demo today and discover how you can embrace the video contact center with Talkative.