Today, the world sends about 15 million text messages per minute. While this figure may seem overwhelming, it clearly shows that we have come to prefer texting over calling on many occasions. And it is for a reason, as texting has multiple advantages – it creates less stress, it allows you to think about what you are going to answer, it is multitasking-friendly, it is more secure as cannot be “overheard”.
Such popularity of texting resulted in its overstepping the boundaries of dedicated messaging apps and becoming part of other apps functionality in the form of in-app chat. You can find live chats in virtually any kind of customer-facing app. Whenever the business includes communication, it more often than not will benefit from implementing a live chat feature.
Let’s look at the most common use cases of real-time messaging in various industries.
#1. eCommerce
Similar to the communication in offline commerce, online shopping also needs ways to establish a connection between parties in a sale. Online stores and marketplaces need to provide a communication channel for buyers to chat with sellers or assistants.
With a real-time chat, online merchants create much better customer experiences and increase trust, as customers get an opportunity to learn more about the business and the goods before making a decision to purchase.
In a chat, buyers can discuss the sale conditions, the price, and discounts, learn about the delivery and return terms. In their turn, the seller can present their goods better by uploading additional images, certificates, links to customer reviews, etc.
The features to consider in a live chat for eCommerce:
- File upload
- Presence and/or typing indicator
- Audio calling
- Video calling
#2. Online events
Online, or virtual, events were popular even before the Covid-19 pandemic but with its onset, they became the new normal for businesses that need to bring people together but can no longer do it offline.
There are many types of online events – shows, conferences, presentations – but they all have a common organizational structure – a host and a number of viewers joining online. In all cases, a live chat will be a useful enhancement offering the viewers an opportunity to provide feedback and the hosts – to receive it.
There are multiple use cases of live chat in virtual events. In a webinar, the chat will become a medium for the attendees to ask questions and get answers. In a conference, the chat can offer both group and one-on-one communication to allow the attendees to discuss various subjects. In an enterprise meeting, the chat allows employees to ask questions, make suggestions and express their concerns.
The features to consider in a live chat for online events:
- File upload
- Audio calling
- Video calling
- Moderation
#3. On-demand services
The market of on-demand services is very large and continues to expand. Simply put, this business format means that customers make a request for a certain service, and the available vendors respond with their proposals. The app in this case serves as a marketplace allowing the customer to meet the vendor.
Here, a live chat seems as natural as it can get. Customers and vendors use the chat feature to discuss the price and conditions as well as post updates in case of any changes. In addition, customers should have an opportunity to connect to the marketplace support.
The features to consider in a live chat for on-demand services:
- Presence indicator
- Audio calling
#4. Healthcare
Remote medicine, or telemedicine, is being actively developed. In addition to its usual applications as a solution for hard-to-reach areas as well as for chronic patients who need regular checkups and prefer not to spend time on hospital visits, telemedicine has become the go-to solution during the pandemic.
A live chat feature in a healthcare app allows patients to talk to doctors in real-time getting professional consultations when they need them. When a chat has a video calling option, it becomes a virtual examination allowing doctors to actually see the patient and make a more precise diagnosis. The chat is also a channel to exchange various documents – test results, patient’s histories, scan images, etc.
The features to consider in a live chat for online healthcare:
- Presence indicator
- Audio calling
- Video calling
- File upload
#5. Live video streaming
Video streaming is used in many areas – news, sports, entertainment, blogging. In any case, a live chat will add value to the stream as it establishes a communication channel between the audience and the broadcaster. This way, a streaming session becomes two-way communication with the audience being able to comment.
In this case, live chat brings a significant increase in user engagement and retention, as users want to stay on to see the response to their comments, and if the broadcaster chooses to read certain comments during the live stream, that engages the audience even more.
The features to consider in a live chat for live video streaming:
- Moderation
- Message reactions
- Profanity filters
#6. Business collaboration
Many businesses implement an internal messaging tool to enable employee communication. The most optimal feature set in this case should include various calling options, conferencing, file exchange, and, of course, live chat.
Live chat in an enterprise communication tool gives an opportunity for immediate, real-time messaging to quickly resolve any issues or coordinate actions. It is also a perfect medium of exchanging files of various formats.
The features to consider in a live chat for live video streaming:
- File upload
- Presence and/or typing indicator
- Group and one-on-one chat
- Audio calling
- Video calling
#7. Fintech and banking
The banking industry leans heavily on secure communication because, by its nature, customer communication is a significant part of its work. Every day, hundreds of customers need support with their banking operations, request certain actions to be performed, ask for assistance in self-service, etc. In this situation, live chat integration in a banking app brings considerable benefits.
In many ways, live chat in a banking app relieves customers from the need to visit the bank in person which saves time for both the customer and the bank personnel and reduces personal contacts which are especially important during the pandemic. As a result, banking operations are performed quicker and more efficiently. Banking apps should also consider implementing a chatbot as a first-line support tool to help customers with their basic questions.
The features to consider in a live chat for banking apps:
- File upload
- Chatbot
- Screen sharing
#8. eLearning
Online learning has been around for a long time, however, the pandemic pushed it into the limelight. In the conditions of reduced contacts and various restrictions, eLearning remains the only way to get quality education.
In a learning process, it is extremely important to establish communication between the teacher and the students. Education is never a one-way street, students should always be able to ask questions and request clarifications. In their turn, teachers need a communication tool to share supplementary materials and links. In the online format, such communication can be effectively achieved with live chat.
The features to consider in a live chat for banking apps:
- File upload
- Audio calling
- Screen sharing
#9. Dating
Regardless of the format – online or offline – dating is downright impossible without communication. After the initial meeting, either in real life or as a result of a matching algorithm, people need to talk to find out if they want to continue the relationship.
It may be safe to say that live chat is one of the central features of a dating app. Users should have an easily accessible and intuitive way to start a conversation with their matched parties. Eventually, if they want to take their connection to a new level, they might need audio and video calling options to start a real conversation.
The features to consider in a live chat for a dating app:
- Presence and/or typing indicator
- Image sharing
- Audio calling
- User blocking
#10. Online games
The statistics show that there are almost three billion gamers worldwide. Many of them engage in multi-player online games where teamwork gains special importance. The best way to organize and coordinate your team in a game is, of course, through an in-game chat.
In online games, the focus sometimes needs to be placed on audio chat rather than texting, as gamers may be too busy with playing to actually type their messages.
The features to consider in a live chat for an online game:
- Presence and/or typing indicator
- Audio calling
- Profanity filters
- Message templates
How to implement live chat using QuickBlox solutions
QuickBlox has developed a set of live chat APIs and SDKs that you can use either to build your own chatting application or to integrate the chat feature in your app. The QuickBlox solution allows you to build a high-performance secure chat with as much customization as you need. At the same time, when you apply the APIs and SDKs developed by the QuickBlox team, you get significant time and resource savings, as you reuse the pre-built features that have been already thoroughly tested.
For more details, see how to use QuickBlox chat integration tools and contact us to discuss a solution suitable for your business needs.
