The advent of the internet has brought many different job opportunities. One is freelancing, which involves earning money by providing services without having to have a traditional employer-employee relationship. Freelancing has become more common in recent years, and many people are looking for tips on how to succeed as a freelancer.
In this article, I will talk about one such opportunity: chat support. Chat support is a type of customer service that occurs over text messages with customers who need help with a product or service. I’ve been working as a chat agent since 2009 and learned some valuable lessons along the way; I hope this information helps you succeed as an online chat agent!
| Takeaways |
|---|
| Enhancing your freelancing career through chat support expertise |
| Developing valuable skills for freelance chat support |
| Expanding your job opportunities as a chat support specialist |
| Improving communication and problem-solving abilities |
| Increasing your earning potential in the freelancing industry |
| Building a strong reputation as a chat support expert |
| Leveraging the flexibility of remote work in chat support |
| Networking and collaborating with other professionals in the field |
| Nurturing client relationships for long-term success |
| Staying updated on industry trends and technologies |
| Continuous learning and professional development as a chat support expert |
| Embracing the challenges and rewards of a freelance chat support career |
Understand Your Customers’ Needs
An effective chat support specialist is able to respond to every customer’s needs. How can you do this? By understanding their needs.
You can start by clearly defining what your customers need from you. There are many ways to go about doing this, but one effective method is simply asking the right questions.
For example, ask yourself:
- What kinds of questions are people asking?
- What problems are they trying to solve?
- How can I help them?
Once you have a good idea of what your customers’ needs and wants are, you’ll have an easier time getting into the right mindset when interacting with them.
If you’re looking to enhance your freelancing career by becoming a chat support expert, our Complete Guide to Online Chat Support provides a step-by-step walkthrough that covers everything you need to know about excelling in this field.
Speed Up The Learning Curve
Learn from your mistakes. It is okay to make mistakes at first. In fact, it’s part of learning and improving. Making mistakes only proves that you are trying to learn and improve yourself. However, always remember to learn from your mistakes. Never commit the same mistake twice if you can avoid it.
Study the best in the industry and their techniques in providing great customer service and support. Observe how they handle customers who are cranky while making sure they remain professional and polite all throughout the conversation until the issue or issue is resolved or followed up accordingly by another department that handles returns, refunds, exchanges, and orders cancellations.
Always aim for self-improvement on a daily basis by monitoring your performance on a weekly basis or any time you feel like something is missing in your progress or performance and review.
how you can do better next time when dealing with online customers to ensure that there will be no misunderstanding or miscommunication on both ends of the conversation during every chat transaction (this is why every freelancer should have CRM software).
Establish A Connection With Your Customers
Be friendly. When you are communicating with a customer, you represent the company that you are working for. This means that your company’s name and brand should be reflected in your communication style. To ensure that customers perceive a company as friendly, every support agent must practice friendly communication.
Maintain composure, even in difficult situations where customers might express their anger or frustration. If the situation calls for it, feel free to joke around but don’t be too informal unless the customer seems okay with being informal themselves.
Use words like “please” and “thank you” to show respect to customers and make them feel appreciated for taking time out of their day to talk with your team.* Show empathy: It is better if agents can show empathy towards their customers’ problems and situations because this makes the whole process more personal.
Understand needs: Identify specific needs of clients based on what they say or ask during chat conversations.* Ask questions: Don’t assume anything when talking with customers because there’s always a chance that it could lead to confusion or misunderstandings.
Are you aware of the hidden aspects of a freelance chat support career? Discover 14 things you didn’t know about this profession in our insightful article on Freelance Chat Support Career.
Maintain Good Writing Skills
Read a lot. As with all writing, reading extensively can help you develop your own style and make you familiar with grammar and punctuation rules.
Learn about grammar and punctuation. If you have not done so in the past, learn about grammar and punctuation rules including proper use of commas, apostrophes, capital letters, semicolons, and colons.
This will help you write clearly and avoid errors that could confuse customers or come across as unprofessional.
Avoid cliches, jargon, and abbreviations. Some phrases or words may be difficult for customers to understand if they do not live in your country or speak the same way as you do. Write naturally but avoid using cliches (for example: “at the end of the day”) or jargon that is specific to a certain profession (“the UI is down”). Instead of using abbreviations such as “UI” for user interface, use full words like “website”.
Improve Your Time Management Skills
If you are trying to become more organized and productive, here is a list of tips to help you manage your time better:
Set a schedule. This can be tricky because chat support is often live and requires real-time responses. But the flexibility that comes with working from home allows for some room for negotiation when it comes to reasonable downtime for yourself.
Use reminders and checklists so you don’t forget important things (and there will be days when you feel completely fried and need structure).
Try not to multitask and focus on one task at a time, or else you may end up giving subpar answers that waste your client’s valuable time.
Minimize The Number Of Typing Errors By Using The Right Apps And Extensions
Anyone who has ever had to type a lot is already aware of the frustration that comes with errors. It can be a tedious task to go back and fix all your misspelled words, accidental symbols, and extra spaces. For freelancers who chat online, this can become a major issue. Not only will typos make agents look less professional, but they can also cause confusion and slow down the process.
Here are some of the best ways to avoid typing errors:
- Use Grammarly extension. With 1 click you get suggestions for improving your writing style, grammar mistakes will be fixed automatically before you send them and it is available on all browsers as an extension.
- Use autocorrect functionality in your browser or use other autocorrect tools like “PhraseExpress” which allows you to create keyboard shortcuts for frequently used phrases or sentences.
- Use templates instead of typing from scratch every single time so that you don’t need to type as much during chats, thus reducing the chance of making mistakes.
- Use macros for functions such as “add customer”.
Interested in getting hired for freelance chat support services? Learn valuable tips and strategies in our comprehensive guide on How to Get Hired to Do Freelance Chat Support Service to increase your chances of landing rewarding opportunities.
Use Canned Responses Wisely
A canned response is a message you can store and reuse in the future. Think of it as an email template that you can insert into conversations with customers, or even between team members.
How to use canned responses
You can insert a canned response from your web browser or mobile phone. Canned responses are also great for internal communication you can send them to colleagues in order to better collaborate on customer questions and issues.
Best practices for creating good canned responses:
First, clearly define the problem at hand so that your response is as relevant as possible.
Next, focus on keeping things simple and clear by avoiding complicated jargon or technical language; approach the subject matter from the perspective of someone who’s not an expert in your domain.
Finally, be sure to proofread your content before saving it; there’s nothing worse than sending out a response that has a glaring typo!
Get To Know The Ins And Outs Of Chat Support Tools That You’re Using For Work
Get to know the ins and outs of chat support tools that you’re using for work. If you don’t have any experience with chat support yet, it’s a good idea to do some research on the most popular platforms (like Freshdesk, Zendesk, Zopim, and others) and get familiar with them.
Learn how to use their shortcuts, canned responses, and templates, or create your own customized messages.
You should also figure out how to add or remove other agents or admins from your account as per your client’s requirements, as well as how to transfer or escalate tickets when necessary. This will allow you to seamlessly collaborate with other team members when necessary, without having to ask your clients for help.
Be Friendly Even When Dealing With Difficult Customers
Many of the fields involving chat support are notorious for having difficult customers. No matter how hard you try to please them, there will always be someone who will complain. Here are some reminders:
- Be friendly even when dealing with difficult customers.
- Be polite and professional at all times.
- Be respectful and patient with your customer.
Ready to take your freelance chat support career to the next level? Our article on How to Become a Highly Paid and Respected Freelance Chat Support Specialist provides valuable insights and advice on positioning yourself as an expert in the field.
Listen To What The Customer Has To Say And Empathize
Read all the details and instructions carefully before starting the job so that you can troubleshoot easily if problems arise later on. Being a quick study helps in this instance too!
Write accurate answers or send links to articles or pages that have the solution to their problem so that they understand what is going on behind the scenes.
Unlock the secret to finding the best freelance chat support job by checking out our informative post on The Secret to the Best Freelance Chat Support Job. Discover the key factors to consider and steps to take for a successful career in chat support.
Conclusion
Chat support is a great way for a freelancer to make money in the comfort of his or her own home. It requires few skills but provides many ways for you to grow as an employee and as a person.
Working from home gives you the flexibility to take care of errands throughout the day and still complete your tasks. It also gives you plenty of time to pick up important skills on your own that will help you in the future.
These are just some reasons why chat support is growing at such a rapid pace, and why it’s so popular among freelancers looking for part-time work.
If you’re interested in becoming a chat support agent, try using sites like Upwork or find agencies that hire remote agents directly by searching keywords like “chat support careers” on Google.
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources that you may find helpful:
How to Break Free: Turning Your 9-5 Job into a Thriving Freelance Career: Discover practical tips and strategies on transitioning from a traditional 9-5 job to a successful freelance career.Short Description: Learn how to break free from the constraints of a 9-5 job and transform your career into a thriving freelance venture.
How to Get Clients: A Guide for Freelancers: Gain valuable insights and tactics for acquiring clients as a freelancer and growing your freelance business.Short Description: Find out effective strategies and techniques for attracting and acquiring clients as a freelancer.
What Is a Freelancer? Definition, Pros, and Cons: Understand the concept of freelancing, its advantages, disadvantages, and how it can impact your professional life.Short Description: Explore the definition, benefits, and drawbacks of being a freelancer, and gain insights into the freelance lifestyle.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some of the best freelancing sites?
- Upwork
- Fiverr
- Freelancer.com
- Knowledge of these sites will be necessary as they offer a good amount of chat support gigs.
What Are Some Of The Best Chat Support Tools?
Zendesk, Chatlio, Olark, Intercom, and Drift are some good options. These tools provide you with the necessary resources to do your job smoothly and efficiently.
Don’t worry about becoming familiar with all of them for now; we’ll discuss which ones you should eventually learn in further sections.
What Are Some Of The Best Support Communities?
The Support Driven community is a very active one that consists mostly of people who work in customer support roles such as Community Managers and Customer Success Managers. It also has an active Slack channel where members can share tips and advice on how to handle certain situations or customers as well as connect with other like-minded individuals.
Other than that there’s also Intercom which has many resources on their blog including webinars so it would be worth checking out if you want more information about this type of work!
How do I find freelance job opportunities?
There are multiple ways to find freelance job opportunities. You can leverage online platforms specialized in freelance work, join freelancer communities, network with professionals in your industry, or directly approach potential clients and companies.
How do I determine my freelance rates?
Setting freelance rates depends on several factors, including your skills, experience, industry standards, and the complexity of the project. Researching market rates, evaluating your expertise, and considering the value you provide to clients can help determine your rates.
How can I manage my finances as a freelancer?
Managing finances as a freelancer involves tracking income and expenses, setting aside funds for taxes, creating a budget, and considering retirement planning. Using accounting software, hiring a professional accountant, and staying organized can help with financial management.
How do I maintain a work-life balance as a freelancer?
Maintaining a work-life balance as a freelancer requires setting boundaries, creating a schedule, and prioritizing self-care. It’s important to establish clear working hours, take breaks, and engage in activities outside of work to avoid burnout and maintain overall well-being.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.