Categories: Live Chat

12 Live Chat Metrics to Measure for Effective Customer Support

December 18, 2024

Live chat has emerged as a game-changer in customer support, enabling real-time interactions that deepen customer engagement, boost loyalty, and elevate experiences. It’s crucial to monitor its corresponding impact on the customer experience to increase its effectiveness and ensure smooth operation.

Tracking and measuring live chat metrics enable businesses to point out areas for improvement, optimize resources, and refine strategies for productivity.

This blog article will discuss various live chat metrics and benchmarks to help you provide effective customer support.

What are live chat metrics?

Live chat metrics are performance indicators used to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of live chat as a customer support tool. These measures help businesses identify areas of improvement in live chat.

Importance of measuring live chat metrics

Tracking live chat metrics improves customer engagement and is crucial for effective customer service.

According to a survey by Nice, live chat is rated as the top digital channel for customers’ self-service (52%), followed by email (47%).

Live chat metrics help businesses monitor the effectiveness of live chat for websites, agent performance, and customer experience.

Below are the benefits of live chat metrics for businesses.

Helps in performance evaluation

Live chat performance metrics provide an understanding of the output of your agent and live chat team. They indicate how effectively and efficiently your agents respond to customer queries and how quick the response is.

Pinpoints areas of improvement

Live chat performance benchmarks and KPIs allow you to identify areas of improvement in your business. Measuring live chat metrics and analyzing trends helps you get tips for improvements on live chat to keep your business on track.

Enhances customer satisfaction

When customers feel heard and supported, they are more likely to leave positive feedback. By addressing areas of dissatisfaction, businesses can improve customer loyalty and enhance brand perception.

Optimizes resource allocation

Live chat metrics—like peak chat time and the number of chats per agent—help you understand the workload of your support agents and allow for effective resource allocation. This minimizes employee burnout and ensures your agents are always available through efficient routing and staffing.

Assists in training and development

Live chat metrics provide insight into agent skill level and efficiency. Tracking agent-level metrics helps you initiate training in areas such as problem-solving, communication skills, and product knowledge, which enhances support agent development.

Boosts sales and conversions

Measuring and tracking e-commerce live chat metrics can be a tool for boosting sales.

According to SuperOffice, live chat leads to an increase of 48% in revenue per chat hour and a 40% increase in conversion rate.

By monitoring conversion rates in chat interactions, you can effectively assess and process your sales tactics.

Improves productivity and efficiency

Live chat metrics, such as average resolution time and average queue time, provide insights into the productivity and efficiency of your support agents. They help you measure agent efficiency and identify areas of improvement or areas for reallocation of resources.

Top live chat metrics you need to track

Let’s dive into the most essential live chat metrics you can employ to gain insight into your live chat support strategy.

First-contact resolution rate (FCR)

This live chat KPI helps you understand your agent’s ability to respond to a question the first time a customer reaches your brand’s website. A high FCR indicates that customers are getting their responses swiftly without having to repeat the same concern.

How to measure

You can easily measure your FCR rate by using this formula:

First Contact Resolution Rate

How to improve FCR

Assign chats directly to agents with the appropriate skills to ensure faster resolution and eliminate the need to transfer tickets between team members.
Embed a knowledge base link in the live chat widget so that agents can quickly find information to accurately resolve issues.
Enhance collaboration with other agents to work toward a solution.

Average resolution time (ART)

This live chat metric refers to the amount of time it takes for a support agent to end a conversation successfully. A low average resolution time indicates that less time was spent to resolve the issue, reflecting efficiency and satisfaction. In contrast, a high handle time indicates that customers are waiting for resolution.

How to measure

To get the average resolution time, you need to:

Measure the resolution time: The time between when a customer sends the first question and the first agent’s reply.
Measure the total number of customer questions: The sum of all received customer questions.

Average Resolution Time

How to improve ART

Compile effective canned responses and enable typing previews to help agents provide quick and accurate responses.
Set up a comprehensive knowledge base and FAQ for customer self-service to reduce inquiries and assist your agents.
Route chats to the appropriate agents to ensure they are attended to effectively and efficiently.

Missed chats

This metric shows lost opportunities for you to engage with customers. A high number of missed chats indicates customer frustration and the defects of live chat as a support tool.

An agent may miss a chat due to various reasons:

Resource misallocation.
Being busy with other tasks.
The customer sending the request during the agent’s off hours.

How to measure

To get the missed chats rate, use the formula below:

Missed Chat Rate

How to minimize missed chats

Set up notifications and achievable SLAs to track chats that need to be solved and assigned to an agent.
Adopt a live chat tool that can route customers to other channels easily during peak times for continued support.
Allocate resources effectively during peak times to ensure agents are available to handle customer queries.

Chat duration

This refers to the total time a live chat conversation lasts, from when a customer starts a chat to when a customer or agent ends it. It shows how your agents respond to customer inquiries and provides the necessary information.

How to measure

To determine chat duration, you can use the formula:

Chat Duration

How to reduce chat duration

Implement AI and automation to complement the agent’s efficiency in support delivery.
Integrate a knowledge base for instant response to common inquiries.
Use predefined responses to increase agents’ efficiency by providing quick support.

Conversion rate

Not all customer interactions result in business. The conversion rate in live chat refers to the percentage of interactions that lead to an intended outcome or action. The conversion can vary based on the nature of the interaction.

There are different types:

Sales conversions: For online businesses, conversion might mean a live chat conversation that leads to a purchase of a product or a service.
Support resolution: This type of conversion indicates a support-oriented interaction where a customer successfully receives assistance for a product.
Content promotion: On informational or content sites, conversion can mean a user reads content or downloads a document.
Account creation or sign-up: For service platforms, a conversion might mean a user creates an account or signs up for a service. Some also offer subscriptions to the platform.
Lead generation: For businesses that seek leads, conversion can involve collecting contact information for follow-ups and calls.

How to measure

You can use the formula below to measure the conversion rate:

Conversion Rate

How to improve conversion rate

Activate personalized welcome messages for visitors on your website to make them feel invaluable.
Use AI to qualify leads by asking preset questions.
Start a proactive chat with customers on specific pages, like product or pricing pages, to resolve all customer queries

Average queue time (AQT)

The average queue time metric is also known as the average wait time. This is a measure of the average time a customer takes waiting in a queue before they are connected to a support agent. It shows how efficient the support team is in responding to customer questions.

How to measure

Average queue time can be measured by using the formula below:

Average Queue Time

How to improve AQT

Efficient chat routing ensures that chats are attended to by the right agent, minimizing time wasted on chat transfer.
Centralize customer interactions with an omnichannel inbox to ensure consistent support.
Hire more agents during peak hours to reduce chat volume.
Implement prioritization strategies to ensure urgent tasks are handled promptly.

Peak chat time

This is a live chat performance metric that refers to a specific period when the customer chat requests are higher than usual. The peak chat time metric allows you to track available opportunities. Many users visit the live chat, and this can lead to conversions if managed well.

How to measure

Analyze past data to identify trends and recurring peak chat times.
Get feedback from agents on busy periods.
Consider external factors such as marketing campaigns.

How to prepare for peak chat times

Allocate adequate resources early to manage the chat volume and avoid customer frustration due to longer response times.
Hire enough agents to ensure their availability to manage the chat influx.
Outsource customer service to automate tasks, handle increased requests, and streamline support.

Chats-per-agent metric

The chats-per-agent metric is a live chat KPI that measures the average number of chats handled by a support agent at a given time. This metric assesses every agent’s effectiveness, promptness, and efficiency of live chat support.

A high number of chats per agent may suggest a heavy workload, leading to customer service burnout.

How to measure

Measuring chats per agent is simple when using a formula.

Chats per Agent

How to improve chats per agent

Use a knowledge base to provide self-service to simple inquiries and minimize the workload.
Provide regular training of agents to enhance their product knowledge and problem-solving skills to help them handle chats efficiently.

Agent utilization rate

This live chat metric measures the amount of time your support agent spends on effectively assisting customers. A high agent-utilization rate indicates efficient customer support, while a low rate indicates inactive support agents.

How to measure

To measure the agent-utilization rate, use the formula below:

Agent Utilization Rate

How to improve agent utilization rate

Create and set achievable customer support goals to reduce exhaustion among agents.
Spread productive work hours in different shifts and provide employees with days off to avoid burnout.

Net promoter score

Net promoter score (NPS) is a live chat metric that measures customer satisfaction and willingness to refer your brand to others. The NPS should operate on a scale of 0-10 and should ask something like:

“How likely are you to recommend our services to others?”

This NPS question helps you to see:

Detractors (0-6): These are unsatisfied customers who are unlikely to recommend your services to others. They give negative feedback on the experience.
Passives (7-8): These are partially satisfied customers who cannot actively promote your brand to others.
Promoters (9-10): These customers are satisfied and loyal to your brand. They are likely to become your brand ambassadors.

How to measure

Net promoter score can be calculated through:

Net Promoter Score

Calculating your NPS doesn’t have to be overwhelming task! Instead of going through manual calculations, why not take advantage of BoldDesk’s Free NPS Calculator?

This tool delivers accurate results easily, allowing you to focus on delighting your customers!

How to improve NPS

Engage with detractors to find out what went wrong and why they’re unhappy with your brand.
Incorporate customer loyalty programs to improve brand advocacy.
Communicate with your promoters to know what to improve on, as they are likely to provide feedback.

Customer satisfaction (CSAT) score

This is a live chat metric that measures customer satisfaction with your product, service, or interaction. A CSAT survey allows customers to rate their experience on a 1-5 scale, where the lowest score is indicated by 1, and the highest score is indicated by 5.

This live chat KPI is crucial in improving customer loyalty and experience.

How to measure

Follow this formula to measure customer satisfaction:

Customer Satisfaction Score

How to improve CSAT

Attend to customers’ problems faster to foster positive experiences.
Add more communication channels for customers to raise concerns.
Keep promises made to the customer, be it on discounts or product quality, to enhance their loyalty.

Feedback rate

This is a live chat metric that measures the percentage of chat sessions where the customer provides feedback on experiences compared to the total number of chat sessions. High feedback rates show customer satisfaction and allow you to make in-room adjustments, such as improving the chat experience and product or service quality.

How to measure

To measure the feedback rate, you will require the following formula:

Feedback Rate

How to improve feedback rate

Routinely ask for feedback at the end of every interaction by adding comment sections and ratings.
Use post-chat surveys to capture information on customer behavior.

Optimize live chat performance metrics with BoldDesk

You can actively optimize live chat performance metrics by investing in powerful help desk software, such as BoldDesk. Its AI-powered live chat software features enhance your customer support online.

Its live chat widget is embedded with features, like file sharing and automated canned responses, which help your support teams respond more efficiently to customer inquiries.

BoldDesk’s Live Chat

AI and automation in live chat enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of live chat support. They streamline responses to common queries, improving the average resolution time.

Data analysis and insight: CSAT surveys for live chat provide feedback on customer satisfaction rates with your services. You can save chat transcripts and history to identify trends and make data-driven improvements.

Efficient routing: Route chats to ensure they are handled efficiently with the right support agent.

Real-time monitoring: BoldDesk provides delivery and read receipts to both customers and agents when chats are successfully delivered, opened, and read, helping you optimize response time and customer satisfaction.

Proactive chat features: Boost engagement and reduce missed opportunities with timely alerts and triggers to initiate chats with website visitors.

Collaboration: Ensure seamless internal collaboration among support agents with features like file sharing and @mentions to optimize the first-contact resolution metric.

Measure and optimize live chat metrics today!

Tracking live chat metrics is key to improving overall performance. These metrics offer insight into agent performance and customer experience. For businesses that aim to provide 24/7 customer service, adding live chat is a strategic move.

Contact our support team to set up a live demo and get a chance to sign up for a 15-day free trial from BoldDesk®!

We hope this blog was helpful. If there is a metric we didn’t mention, please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Flavian Atieno Odongo

Flavian is a technical writer for Syncfusion. Passionate about creating technical documents, formulating strategies, and doing research. She enjoys discovering new tips and terms in technical writing.