7 reasons why live chat increases conversion on websites
Conversions on websites are literally the fuel that keeps an Internet business running. Some fuels work better than others.
Fortunately, most conversion factors can be derived with a little research. Google Analytics, eye-tracking software, and even customer surveys can help your conversion specialists in the right direction.
There is one function in particular that increases conversions more than any random color change or move of a button, and it is called live chat.
Live chat immediately changes the consumer’s perception. It gives websites additional credibility and gives potential customers the peace of mind that customer service is a priority. Consumers who are looking for information definitely love live chat, and even regular shoppers enjoy the benefit of having a price or function confirmed before proceeding with their purchase.
There are several ways in which live chat increases conversion. Here are seven of the most important ones:
1. Stimulating incentives
Some companies offer customers incentives when they use live chat, such as coupons/discounts or free shipping. This can help your company in two ways.
First, if someone submits a coupon, there is a greater chance they will actually buy the product.
Second, the live chat feature will be used more often, because people will want to claim the discount. By increasing the use of live chat, we get a better idea of the questions and potential issues customers may have on the site. This enables our client to continuously improve their website and increase customer satisfaction.
2. Approaching visitors at the right time
A live chat option that appears at the right time can mean the difference between a conversion and a bounce.
Therefore, it is of crucial important to position the live chat feature in the right place in the sales funnel. If you deploy it too early, you may not receive a lot of questions, because potential customers are still considering their options. If you deploy it too late, you may lose potential customers who are frustrated because their questions are not answered early enough in the funnel.
So when is the right moment? What is the right place in the funnel?
Our most common strategy is to use our client’s analytics software to find the page with the highest bounce rate. That is the hot spot. Once the live chat is active, we can find the exact roadblocks on the path to conversion.
We recommend companies to place the live chat function in the header of the page. If the button for live chat is next to the shopping cart button, customers are reminded that they can chat with an employee every time they check their cart.
3. Taking action based on customer behavior
In many ways, live chat is the ultimate market research tool.
It offers customers the option to provide direct feedback regarding the website, the product, or the experience. We can gain even more value if our live chat operators ask the visitors of our clients for input. A common strategy we use is presenting a short survey at the end of the live chat (and sometimes at the start).
Moreover, during live chat, we receive the unfiltered truth about the company we are representing. Contrary to a phone conversation, live chat enables potential customers to express how they really feel in a confidential live chat. This gives us valuable insights and the more we see patterns, the more reason for our client to act. This inevitably improves the customer experience and increases conversion.
4. Analyzing chats on pain points and buzzwords
Any conversion specialist finds it worthwhile to save customer data and customer conversations with the help of software.
We allow our chat operators (current and new) to dig through our enormous chats archive to get a feel for the jargon and perfect their sales pitch.
By analyzing a series of chats, we can discover patterns, for instance that many website visitors are struggling to find the shipping costs. In the same way, we can find certain buzzwords that will help with completing the transaction.
5. Showing an immediate and professional presence
After analyzing the chats, we will have a better idea of the most common questions, and therefore, the most common answers. Oddly enough, publishing a FAQ page is not the definitive solution. These questions will still appear in the live chat.
Fortunately, we can use our advanced knowledge database and see what the visitor types into the live chat in real-time. This way, we can rapidly answer the question, which immediately increases customer satisfaction.
If a customer has a more complex question, we usually have a procedure to follow based on patterns in chat. For instance, if a customer has a problem with a certain function, and he uses a particular operating system, the procedure will inevitably provide the appropriate solution.
All this impresses people. Many customers expert their problem to require a lot of time to solve, but if we see what the customer is typing in real-time and our knowledge database immediately gives the answer to the chat operator, who then informs the customer, then the customer will be amazed. Impressed customers often become brand ambassadors and recommend our client’s company to colleagues and friends.
6. Increasing sales
Upselling and cross-selling in live chat is only possible if the chat operator is experienced. We regularly analyze trends, such as combinations of products that are ordered together, to generate upsells.
When visitors ask questions about the product quality of our clients, this is an excellent opportunity for a cross-sell or even an upsell. Present both situations. Suggest a similar product or service in the same price range with better ratings, or a more expensive product with good reviews.
The strategic selling options are endless with live chat. We can name various discounts, bundle offers, and subscriptions that will help customers save money while becoming long-term customers in the process.
7. Use live chat across the entire company
Some potential customers have very complicated questions, which our live chat operators are not always able to answer personally.
To resolve this issue, we ask our clients to make their specialists available and involve them in live chat. This means our chat operators will have the information needed to send customer questions to those specialists.
Moreover, protocol need to be developed to provide immediate solutions to high priority questions. For instance, if a shipment is lost or incorrect, our operator needs to be able to provide a solution themselves within a few minutes.
Together, live chat gives our clients the ability to improve customer satisfaction, increase conversion, and cherish long-term, high-quality customers.