Boost your live chat channel tips

Perhaps you’ve been using live chat for some time without achieving the results you’d originally envisioned. If so, there are a few things you can do, amongst which, leaving things as they are now. But, if you would like to optimize your live chat channel and achieve better results, continue reading, because below, we will tell you all about the best way to give your live chat channel a real boost. 

Mention your chat channel on your contact page

Firstly, it is important to know that many people don’t chat simply because they don’t know it’s available. This could be your first obstacle. Ask yourself the following question: does my website make it clear that customers can chat with me? Many people will immediately go to the contact page if they want to ask you a question, which means they’re not on the pages of your website and might not be able to see the chat button. Notify visitors of the fact that you’re available for chat at the top of your contact details, and make sure that customers can directly open a chat window on this page.

Make your chat button noticeable

It could be the case that visitors aren’t aware of your chat button due to the fact that it’s simply not as noticeable as it could be. Does the window align with the appearance of your website and is it large enough? Experiment with the appearance and the size of the window and record which variants generate most clicks. You might need to use entirely different colors than those used on your website to make the button more visible. Nonetheless, always make sure that everything looks like a unified whole, or else it might damage the trustworthiness of your company.

Promote your chat channel

As a contemporary company, you’re undoubtedly using social media. You might only be using Facebook and Instagram, or you could be employing all imaginable channels. Regardless of which channels you’re using, make sure you use it to promote your live chat. Write a post about it or include it in your contact details. The most important thing is that customers know that the live chat option is available. You could consider sending a short email to your most reliable customers or posting it as a news report on your company’s blog.

Another often-forgotten way of letting your customers know they can chat with you is by mentioning it while they’re waiting in line on the telephone. They might prefer to hang up and talk to one of your live chat operators instead. This ensures a faster service while at the same time relieving pressure on your call center.

Actively talk to visitors

If customers are on your website but seem to doubt, like in a physical shop, it is important to engage with them at the right time. For this, employ proactive chat. This allows you to send visitors a personalized message and start talking to them at exactly the right time.

You can specify times for this; if your customer has been on the same page for five or ten minutes, for example, or if they’ve been browsing your website for half an hour. The personalized message you use can be configured differently for particular situations. It is important to experiment with this to find out what works best with your customers. Also, experiment with the aforementioned times to find out what the ideal time is to open a chat conversation.

Add a human touch to conversations

When chatting, it is important that the people you’re talking to have the feeling that they’re talking to a real person. This is why it is important to make all messages sound as personalized as possible. It is also important to use written language instead of spoken language while chatting.

Literally writing what you would say on the telephone will give customers the feeling that they’re talking to a robot. Many people find it important to sense a human touch during chat conversations. Tip: use emoticons. They will make the conversation feel more personal and make sure conversations remain light and informal.

Listen to your customers

Customers chatting with you clearly have a problem or question, otherwise they wouldn’t be chatting with you. However, live chat can also be used to generate considerably more information. There could be a deeper underlying problem at the heart of your customer’s question. Is the same customer regularly confronted with the same problem? Investigate whether there might be a problem with the configuration of his or her account. Your website might also be malfunctioning, something which had previously gone unnoticed.

By tackling the root causes of problems, you not only make sure that customers’ problems are solved, but also that their problems will not repeat themselves in the future. Your customers will feel truly understood and assisted, because you saved their future time.

Don’t say no to your customers

To make sure that people keep returning to your live chat channel, it is important not to say no to your customers; a “no, but…” is always better. By indicating that, although you cannot help customers with their immediate question, you can offer alternatives or solutions for the problem, customers will have a more positive experience of the service you provide.

Therefore, don’t tell customers that a pair of shoes is unavailable. Rather, tell them when they will be in stock again and ask them (with or without obligations) whether you should reserve or pre-order them for them. Always avoid using the word no; it has negative connotations.

Analyze chat conversations

If your goal is to increase conversion rates and you are receiving plenty of incoming chats, something might be going wrong with the conversion process. To find out whether this might be the case, it is important to analyze conversations. Data collection is important in this. Are you not collecting chat data yet? If so, it’s important to start right away. Analyzing data is important for all forms of live chat.

Make sure you have competent chat operators

Once you’ve collected the necessary data, you can start to analyze conversations. A potential reason for bad conversion rates might be that your chat operators possess insufficient knowledge regarding your company, products, service policy – or a combination of the three. Perhaps you “simply” used your customer-service and/or salespeople to man your live chat channel without properly training them. This is not the right approach.

A product or company might be the solution if your personnel aren’t functioning adequately. Also, investigate whether the problem is structural or if the problem centers on an individual, a few people or a particular group of people. Regardless, it can’t hurt to provide interim training refreshing peoples’ memory. Aren’t you sure whether your personnel have been sufficiently trained?

Give customers the best possible chat experience

Most importantly, you should give your customers a genuinely positive chat experience, or they will opt for a different communication channel next time around. Respond on time, write using proper spelling and grammar, be clear and to the point, and give your customers a personal experience. Customers will be more inclined to use your live chat channel next time if they feel like you really helped them the last time they used it. And that is exactly what you should be aiming for.

Now, you can get to work on optimizing your live chat channel. Are you still having trouble? Regardless of the purpose for which you are employing live chat, it might be a good idea to outsource your live chat to a professional and specialized provider.

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