With the explosion of smartphones, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies, we’re living in a very fast digital world, where speed is king. Customers want things now, and they usually get it – if not from you, then most likely your competitor.
If you think about how you communicate with friends and family – you most likely use a messaging app or service like iMessage or Whatsapp. And because we talk to most people via messaging, we’ve come to expect to talk to businesses that way too.
Faster than email and easier than phone calls, many smart businesses are starting to implement live chat messaging features like Tawk.to or Whatsapp on their website. This software enables you to have real-time conversations with your customers while they’re on your website. It’s quick, convenient and customers love it because it’s 100x faster than any other digital service channel. What’s more is that these companies are seeing a tangible return on investment.
So how can your business adapt to this shift in communication? There’s more to live chat than simply providing quick customer support. We’ve rounded up the top benefits to show you how live chat can positively impact your business.
Let’s get started!
Benefit #1: Increase Sales & Conversions
Studies have found that companies who use live chat see on average, a 20% increase in conversions. This is a result of responding to the user while they are still on your website, to “hold their hand”, help them overcome objections and reach a buying decision. Think of it like an online concierge or sales assistant. The personal service adds to the charm because friendly service still works wonders.
Not only does live chat help you increase sales, but it can also help increase the value of a sale. By using the chat to talk to the customer and understand their needs better, you can recommend products and services by up-selling to increase their order value.
35% more people made a purchase online after using live chat.
Source: eMarketer
Benefit #2: Real-Time Convenience to Customers
Live chat is a great opportunity to improve customer support and provide a memorable experience on your website.
There are two types of users who typically use live chat. The first is potential customers who want to know more information. Let’s use a guest house as an example:
Difficulty finding information: “Where can I find directions to the guest house?”
More information: “Is the guest house within walking distance to any good restaurants?” “Do you offer baby cots for the rooms?”
Compare services/products: “What’s the difference between your luxury room and deluxe room?”
We’re sure you’ll agree that answers to these types of questions influence the user’s purchase decision. Studies show that more than 38% of online customers make their purchase decision due to live chat sessions.
The second group of users are existing or current customers. Here are some examples of why they would use a live chat:
Check the status of their order or booking: “Please can I confirm my booking for Tuesday night?”
Terms and Conditions: “Do I get a refund if I cancel my booking?”
Suggest improvements in your service: “It would be great if you can include more photos of the rooms on your website.”
Live chat has the highest satisfaction levels for any customer service channel, with 73%, compared with 61% for email and 44% for phone.
Source: eDigital’s customer service benchmark
#Benefit 3: Build Trust
It’s human nature to be sceptical of buying things from people you don’t know. In a physical store, you have the option to see the product and talk to a sales agent to build trust and answer questions immediately. On a website, it can be difficult to build that rapport to make the sale. Trust is extremely important to consumers, especially in today’s economy where customers are more conscious of spending their hard-earned money. With a live chat, it gives you the ability to have a direct conversation with the user, and build trust to close the sale.
90% of customers said the “Live Chat” button gives them confidence that they can get help if they need it.
Source: ATG (now acquired by Oracle)
Benefit #4: Gain Competitive Advantage
The good news is that as relatively new software, many businesses have yet to implement this functionality and thus do not provide real-time support to their customers. This gives you a huge advantage over your competitors.
57% of customers abandon their purchase if they can’t get their question answered quickly.
Source: Forrester
Benefit #5: Reduce Support Costs
This one is particularly useful for larger companies who receive large volumes of queries a day. Customer care call centres can be expensive, where one agent can handle only one phone call at a time. With a live chat, an agent can engage in up to six simultaneous chats, which means you’ll need a substantially smaller team to handle requests, cutting your support costs.
Live chat is more than 50% cheaper than handling phone calls.
Source: Forrester
Conclusion
It’s clear to see that the live chat benefits for your business are huge and we have personally seen an enormous improvement in conversion rates on our clients’ websites due to the efficient and immediacy of the experience.
While you can certainly continue to offer traditional ways for customers to contact you, why not communicate with them in a channel that they prefer and use that to provide an unforgettable experience? By doing so, you will also retain more customers.
Keen to implement this powerful functionality on your website, or would like some more information on how it can benefit YOUR business? As an Online Marketing Business, we’re ready to help your business reach new heights and more customers. Get in touch with us today!
