May 21, 2019
Live chat service is widely being acknowledged as an indispensable part of the online strategy for most businesses today. More and more website visitors have come to depend upon the real time interactions with live chat agents who guide them through the website and are ever present to respond to their queries.
In fact, as per a report by Forrester: “Online chat adoption among customers has significantly risen in the past few years, from 38% in 2009 to 43% in 2012 to 65% in 2015.”
It is these interactions that significantly increase the likelihood of converting your website visitors into potential leads. If you are still debating whether or not your website actually does need live chat support, here are some pointers to help you make a decision.
Signs that your website needs live chat service
1. Abandoned carts and incomplete sign up pages
If you are experiencing high cart abandonment rates, it means your visitors are not convinced enough to go ahead with the purchase. Making available managed live chat support will help clearing any last-minute apprehensions your customers may have and gently encourage them towards the sale.
In addition, people may also have concerns about payment methods and data security. Offering personalised assistance in the form of live chat assists in allaying any doubts your visitors may have and gets them to complete the transaction with peace of mind.
2. Your website attracts a lot of traffic, but the conversion rate is low
This is an extremely common scenario which indicates that your visitors are not engaged enough to remain on your website and are quickly bouncing off to another one. This means you need to take better care of your audience when they are on your website so that they do not feel the need to seek information elsewhere. Live chat service can offer the highest level of personalised customer support by addressing and resolving queries in real time.
3. Your technical support team receives a lot of email
If your client is unable to find answers to their problems on your website, they will email your support team requesting assistance. If your team finds itself getting flooded with emails about technical glitches, it is a strong indication that there is an urgent need to correct the situation. If you are not able to handle the volume of emails and respond promptly, you may end up losing precious clientele. A managed live chat service providing expert support can easily prevent such a problem from arising in the first place.
4. You offer a complex or expensive product or service
If your business deals with a complicated service, you definitely need to provide your visitors with pro-active real time support, if you want to keep them interested. A managed live chat is the best way to educate your audience about your unique selling points and show how it is going to be of value to them. You can offer on the spot assistance by sharing screenshots or help videos with your audience and try to dispel any persisting doubts they may have.
In addition, if your business deals with expensive products, visitors will spend a much longer time doing their research before making a purchase decision. A courteous live chat service can play the role of a friendly advisor who has the best interests of the customer at the core of every interaction. This helps build a steady rapport and trust with your brand and is likely to take the customer deeper into the buyer’s journey.
5. You have little knowledge about your website visitors
Not having sufficient insights about your website audience will limit your marketing strategy and targeting efforts. It is important to know if you are getting relevant traffic and other metrics like session duration, referral source and geographic location. Live chat service facilitates collection of such and other important data that can help build your ideal buyer persona which can guide you through your marketing and customer acquisition campaigns. You can get detailed reports about other advanced parameters too that you can use to pleasantly surprise and delight your customers.
6. You need to raise the bar on your level of customer service
Retaining existing customers is as important as looking for new opportunities. If your current level of customer service is not on par with industry standards, it may lead to dissatisfied clientele who will simply move elsewhere. With social media as a powerful tool at their disposal, poor customer service can inflict much damage on a brand’s reputation. Once again, live chat support can be the ideal way to complement your customer service. You can provide your audience with an ever-willing assistance at any moment they choose to, showing that you care about your customers and are taking proactive steps to solve their problems. This will go a long way in keeping your clients loyal to your business.
To find out more about how your business can benefit from live chat service get in touch with us at CommVersion today.
