Benefits of Live Chat on your website
As more and more people turn to online shopping many customers are disconnected from someone who can answer their questions in real time. Rather than watching potential customers click away from their e-commerce sites, many businesses have been adding live chat support. As it turns out, live chat has the ability to provide the convenient answers that customers want, while also adding significant benefits to the staff and bottom line of companies.
A study called “Making Proactive Chat Work” that was conducted by Forrester Research found the following:
“Many online consumers want help from a live person while they are shopping online; in fact, 44% of online consumers say that having questions answered by a live person while in the middle of an online purchase is one of the most important features a Web site can offer.”
An online chat system provides customers with immediate access to help. Wait times are often much less than a call centre, and customers can easily multi-task while waiting. Additionally, the pain of having to dial a 1300 number and navigate through a maze of numeric options is non-existent.
The key is that customers have someone who can immediately walk them through a sale if they become confused or have a question that can make or break a sale. This helps eliminate bounces away from retail websites and ensure that full shopping carts make it through check out.
A customer’s frustration or need that has yet to be filled is called a pain point, and marketing teams mine social media and message boards for these pain points. Marketers such as Markus Allen turn these pain points into profit: “Armed with these pain points, we can either write new content (for a blog or for an article) or create benefits/advantages for our advertising.” In addition, pain points can turn into sales opportunities with customers.
Live chat provides immediate access to customers’ pain points. When customers use live chat, they’ll try to ensure that a product will perform as advertised or that a promotion will provide the discount they want. In addition, as live chat representatives talk to customers, they can find out ways to improve a company’s products and services.
A Few Tips on Making Live Chat That Much Better
Live chat can obviously increase your business potential, but only if it’s executed correctly. Here are some important tips to ensure you make the most out of live chat software:
- Train your team!
- Don’t be to robotic
- Don’t forget to promote your social networks
- Be prepared for increases in chat volume
- Take note of customer feedback
