We now live in a world of instant gratification where consumers want a convenient and easy way to ask questions when shopping online. One way to help consumers instantly connect with your business is through live chat (also known as “instant messaging”). Live chat can help in the consumers’ decision-making process as studies show that those who use the service are either considering making a purchase or are in the process of making a purchase.
At Unwired Web Solutions, we understand how important it is for your customer to connect with you throughout their buying experience. We offer a variety of services, including custom web development and custom web app development with an option of live chat.
Communication is Vital
Research has shown that roughly 44% of online customers say that having questions answered by a live person while making a purchase is one of the most essential features of a website. This means the simple act of answering a customer’s question can mean the difference between making a sale or having them walk away.
No matter how much content you have created, visitors will still have questions, making a chat option very useful. Live chat can help customers feel satisfied when they get their questions answered quickly and easily. This means they will often leave the interaction with a positive view of the site and may even leave a positive review for your business on Google.
Live chat boxes can be used in several ways to help lead to conversions. You don’t want your live chat to make customers feel as though they’re being “sold to.” However, you also don’t want a warm lead to disappear without getting any contact information, so it’s necessary to steer customers in the direction that will help them and also get their contact details. This approach kills two birds with one stone. It helps get the customer the information they want and can also give you permission to get their details and contact them.
Marketing Possibilities
People love communicating in real-time and live chat gives them what they want. But customers are not the only ones who can benefit from live chat. Marketers are also seeing a way to increase leads and sales.
Consumers also want to get a deal, and a live chat box can also offer this. Chat boxes don’t only need to be about answering a customer’s question. It can also serve as an ad or pop up. Think about using a chat box as a way to capture an email in exchange for a coupon towards your shop. By seeing the chat box itself as a way to reach out to customers, you can start the conversion process early on.
Many people believe that live chats may be the future marketing and sales teams, especially in the age of COVID when people are not meeting in person. If you can start with it now, you may have a competitive advantage in the future.
Chat Support Team
Your chat support team is the lifeblood of your live chat system. It is vital to train them specifically for your live chat, but it is one aspect that many businesses don’t think about. If you have a small business, you may be able to handle all of the live chats yourself during business hours. However, if you have a larger company, you may want to look into a live chat provider service.
When looking for a live chat service, you will want to keep in mind the language in which most of your customers will communicate. You will want to make sure that your live chat representatives use a semi-formal voice and can be flexible enough to identify and speak like your customers.
Creating a seamless chat protocol that can be followed and modified easily is important. You will want to start by creating friendly greetings that are automatic chat box pop-ups. These chat boxes can be triggered for specific interactions. For example, they can detect if someone is a first time visitor, so you can queue the chat box to pop up with a particular greeting. It can also be triggered to pop up after a certain amount of time.
Increased Conversion Rate
Many clients shy away from live chat because they feel it is just too complicated. However, when they see that research shows an increased conversion rate by almost half, they’re much more open to the idea. Live chat may not be suitable for every business, but it can be helpful for most types of online businesses that require some level of customer interaction. If you are unsure if live chat would be a right fit for your business, there are a few questions you can ask yourself:
- Do you sell products or services online?
- Does your customer service team regularly interact with customers via email, social media, or other online platforms?
- Does your business require a customer support team?
If you answered yes to all of these questions, your business is most likely a good candidate for live chat. If you want to build a personal connection and increase your conversions, then live chat may be the right option for you. Contact Unwired Web Solutions today to learn more about our services, including custom web development with an option for live chat.