Over the past several years, live chat has grown into an integral part of the online shopping experience. Using live chat, shoppers can get answers to their questions within seconds without making a phone call or waiting for a reply to an email. Live chat isn’t the best option for all shoppers, but for many it can mean the difference between a lost customer and a sale.
Does Live Chat Really Work?
If you don’t prefer to use live chat, you might wonder if it’s truly an effective method of improving your conversions and establishing leads. While live chat is relatively new for many companies, case studies indicate it as one of the most highly effective ways to convert shoppers into customers. According to Boldchat’s Live Chat Effectiveness Research Report, 47 percent of survey respondents said the presence of a live chat option made them more likely to make a purchase.
The presence of live chat alone doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see improved sales and conversions. Slow chat responses and hard-to-navigate chat windows can actually harm your overall conversions in a short period of time. In order to make the most of live chat, you’ll need to implement it effectively.
How Can I Make the Most of My Live Chat?
We’ve compiled a number of tips you can use to improve your live chat option. By following the tips below, you can create a live chat experience your customers will be happy to use.
1. Carry over your website design to your chat window.
A crudely designed chat window will push customers away. When your chat window is properly designed, it will do less to interrupt your customer’s shopping experience. Improve your chat box’s design by:
- Using the same color scheme as your website.
- Incorporating your company’s logo.
- Using a size and shape that doesn’t disrupt the rest of your page.
2. Avoid automated greetings.
Automated greetings are a big turn-off for many shoppers. They are impersonal and do little to convey a sense of trust with your shopper – similarly along the lines of robotic phone operators, which are typically enough for most callers to hang up within seconds.
Every chat request you receive should be answered by a real human. This shows your shopper you are invested in giving them the answers and shopping experience they need, and they’ll be more likely to continue with the chat process.
3. Answer thoroughly and in a timely fashion.
Shoppers are using the livechat option because they don’t want to wait for a reply to an email, or to be put on hold. Every chat request should receive a response within a minute or two, preferably in less than 30 seconds. The more quickly you can reply to your chat requests, the happier your shopper will be.
In addition, your chat representatives should answer each question thoroughly. There will be cases when you’ll need to direct your shopper to an email or phone call interaction with your company, but keep this to a minimum. Your shopper doesn’t want to come to live chat for an answer, only to be redirected to your phone line or email.
Does your website incorporate live chat? How has the feature helped improve your conversion rate? What are your tips for running and effective livechat service? Let us know in the comments below!
