12 tips for video consultancy

No software download, no login

Place no obstacles in the way of your client. It should always be possible to launch video consultation with a click – without software installation and without needing to create an account first.

Smiling at the camera is not enough

The Internet can help you do so much more than just transferring images and sound. A good video consultation solution enables you to show your screen, view documents, presentations, graphics and photographs together, fill out forms and surf websites together. Of course, you should never show your entire screen, just the previously selected applications.

Bringing to conclusion

Once you have explained everything in the video consultation session, and filled out all of the forms, then you should also be able to conclude the deal directly. The solution should include an option that allows your clients to sign electronically without needing to change media.

It doesn't always have to be video chat

A video chat consultant is only able to advise one client at a time. A text chat consultant is able to communicate with multiple clients at the same time. For some topics, text chat is perfectly sufficient. But it is not easy to predict exactly what will be required for every individual instance. For this reason, maintain your flexibility: Make sure that you are able to switch from text chat to video chat as required. A text chat consultant should be able to pass the client over to a video chat consultant, without interrupting the connection or losing the chat history.

There should be many ways to contact the consultant

In some instances, you already have the email address of the client. In this case, all you need to do is send a link to start consultation. But often this is not possible, or too complicated. It should be possible to offer targeted proactive and context-related video consultation on a website, naturally in line with the availability of consultants. It should be possible to place a button on the website. The button should, however, not be static, it should "know" whether consultants are available and whether there will be a waiting period. The option should also be available to display a portal in which the individual consultants are shown, with a photograph, enabling the client to choose a specific consultant. Of course, support should be provided to enable video consultation to launch from a telephone call. A complete solution also offers the ability to provide video consultation in parallel via kiosk systems.

Multiple supported video standards

You cannot prescribe what the visitors of your website should have installed on their computer. Home users in particular may frequently use older computers. In order to ensure that the video chat works on many computers, a good video consultation solution should by default support the modern WebRTC, but also Flash which is still very widely used. Ideally a fall-back should also be available in the event that both of these cannot be used.

In today's world, mobile support is essential

The majority of website visitors today use a tablet or smartphone. If this is the case, they will often have neither Flash nor WebRTC available. For this reason, there should be a video consultation App. In addition, it should be possible to integrate the video consultation simply into a separate App for Android or iOS.

Works even without Internet...

An internet connection crosses many stations. And this may result in interruptions. As long as the connection is re-established immediately, this isn't a problem. Try this test: Simply pull the network plug for a few seconds or switch the Wi-Fi off...

Gentle introduction to consultation

Do not immediately confront your website visitors with the question whether they would like to activate the camera prior to the start of a conversation. Allow the client to switch the camera on as and when they choose to do so. Some will be seated in a large open office and are not able to respond the way they may wish to. For this reason, start gently, and allow your website visitor to choose when to activate the camera and microphone. This procedure should be supported by a video consultation solution.

Servers located in Germany

You're allowed to be careful when it comes to data protection. You cannot prevent personal data being exchanged during a video chat. But even if the entire communication process is encrypted, data can still be intercepted on the server. For this reason, you should meet the German standards with regard to data protection. If you have special requirements of data protection and security, use a solution that you can operate in your own computer centres, this puts the security of the server in your own hands.

Video Ident: Not just for banking

The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority have described a procedure that enables clients to be identified in video chat that meets the money laundering laws. A procedure that meets these requirements can also be employed in many other areas. For this reason, a good video consultation solution should also be able to map the process described by the BaFin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority).

Just the product is not enough

For your consultants it is a major undertaking to show themselves to the client on camera, especially if the client themselves continues to remain invisible. Help your consultants to prepare themselves for this situation and to break down their inhibitions and fears. A good video consultation solution provider has extensive experience of this process and is able to support your consultants with the appropriate coaching.