Chapter 1. Is video chat really what you need?

Firstly, “video chat” is not the same as “web chat” or “live chat”. In this picture, taken from the 2016 Dimension Data report, you will see web chat and video chat are presented as entirely different contact center channels.

The term “web chat” suggests a one-to-many text interaction – a single agent may handle several non-voice chats with customers simultaneously.

The term “video chat” suggests a one-to-one video interaction – business representatives use software to interact with one customer at a time in real time, using voice, video and web-collaboration tools (e.g. screen sharing, co-browsing, or file sharing).

The 2016 Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report by Dimension Data indicates that a only a very small number of contact centers currently employ video chat technology. However, this is soon set to change, as many contact centers report they plan to implement it within the next year.

It is a common misconception to assume that video chat is the same thing as video calling.

Video is an essential component in many video chat use cases. It is most often delivered as two way audio + one-way video (the customer can see the agent, but not vice versa). It provides a more personalized, ‘in-store’ customer experience, by allowing agents to effectively utilize their non-verbal presentation skills while keeping preserving a level of pseudo-anonymity for their customers.

Two-way video is used when customers need to show things to the agent, to provide a more complete view of the problem.

For some interactions, the video functionality of a video chat session isn’t required and may be disabled. Examples of this include customers needing support in navigating websites, filling out forms, or resolving difficulties using software products. Neither the customer nor the contact center agent require video here, but the web-collaboration tools provided by video chat are of great help in quickly resolving the issue