Customer Service through Live Chat with Beth Bogan – 036

What’s up with all those chat services?

Who is really behind all those chats? I have no idea.

But if you want to touch your clients – while you have bedhead – and coffee – listen in to this interview I did with Beth Bogan!

Our podcasts are interviews between Justin Krane, Krane Financial Solution’s President, and various professionals, one or more of which are or have been Krane Financial Solutions clients. However, nothing stated within the podcasts should be considered a testimonial or endorsement of Krane Financial Solutions or Justin Krane, and the professionals have not been directly or indirectly compensated for being interviewed.

Beth Bogan co-founded Ace Chat with her sister. They serve a wide range of customers from doctor’s offices, marketing companies, and specialty companies. Beth believes in creating relationships through live chat that offer people the opportunity to receive the care that they need. Beth strives to create a positive environment for her clients, their patients, and her amazing team, blending attention to detail with her and enthusiastic spirit, which she has fearlessly committed to living the best life possible.

**SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR THE VIDEO!**

The Perks of Virtual Business

Running a virtual business with no brick and mortar allows for extreme flexibility and the ability to work from anywhere with a laptop.
A benefit of having employees who work virtually across the country is the talent pool you can choose from. Beth has built an amazing team she can rely on.
Being able to work abroad also means jumping on last-minute travel discounts with a carry-on to have adventures at a whim.

Building a Stellar Team

Sharing ownership of responsibilities and vision to team members who are willing, able, and capable is the best thing a manager can do to further their business.
Beth counts her biggest mistake in managing a team as not giving them full empowerment earlier. She has now handed off hiring additional staff to her team.
To choose qualified team members Ace Chat looks for qualities that suit both their business culture and the customer service industry well.
The candidates who work best are those who are empathetic, hard working, dependable, and like-minded with the rest of the staff.

Structuring a Business

Ace Chat is only offered in a monthly membership for now because they want to earn their clients’ business every single month.
Their team acts as a seamless extension of the client’s business. There is no wait on the pop-up chat window, no queue.
There is an extremely thorough checklist when a client is onboarded so that the team knows all the ins-and-outs of each entity they serve.
They strive to treat every client like they’re significant and give their customers compassionate care through chat.
Tracking usage of the chat window is very important to be successful. They run reports on the most common questions, hours, and days of traffic.
Although in business for more than 11 years, it is critical to not lose their core values and maintain the attributes of who they were at the beginning.

Best Quotes:

“The beauty of what we do is it’s virtual. I don’t have to have a brick and mortar location. I have employees in six different states, so they can be holding down the fort from where they’re working and I have the ability to go and see and do.”

“I think the biggest mistake I’ve made with my team is I’m not giving them enough responsibility for fear of overwhelming them.”

“They will consider people who are compassionate and empathetic, because that’s who we are when we’re chatting, which it doesn’t seem like you could be that in a chat, but really you can. And that makes the difference.”

“People really do have different styles of engaging. And when you have somebody who meets you where you are…some people just want short, quick, fast answers, and other people really want to tell you everything right down to the color of their copies.”

“It sounds so easy on paper, but anybody who’s ever started anything knows that blood, sweat, and tears, and late hours, and long days go into it. We’re proud to be still who we are and have not lost our core values and all because it’s important to us. We want to maintain those attributes of who we are and how we started.”