Benefits of Live Chat on Your Website

For many online shoppers, the inability to get instant feedback about certain products or services deters them from making that final buying decision and clicking the buy button. I don’t know about you, but when I am in the middle of clicking the Buy button and need some quick clarifications or answers, having a live agent to ask questions to always makes it easier for me to buy the item.

The great news is that businesses are being proactive about this by adding the live chat ability to their websites instead of just allowing potential customers and clients to drop off their website or worse still, go buy from their competition.

If you haven’t integrated a live chat support system into your website, chances are that you’re losing customers by the minute. Doubt that? Well, let’s show you what excellent live chat support can do for you.

Consumers Love Live Support

In fact, live chat support is so important that 44 percent of all customers consider it one of the most important features any website can have when they want to buy a product or hire a service.

Done correctly, it can help provide customers with immediate answers to their questions whilst still in a buying mode. Besides, it beats them having to wait while trying to call a customer agent.

Also, customers are more likely to revisit a website with live chat support as they consider it more professional and trustworthy. For many, having this feature actually reassures them that there is indeed someone at the other end of the buy button, not just some bot.

Drastically Saves Cost for Your Business

This feature can help cut down on overhead costs. Agents can handle multiple client requests, thus ensuring that there’s little or no need for extra manpower to fulfill support requests.

This also means less contact with the support centers via phones - resulting in lowered running costs. As a result, customer questions are answered faster and in real time, resulting in faster decision making on their part and possible increase in revenues for you.

Great for Your Conversion Rates

A survey by Emarketer showed that almost 40 percent of purchases made on an ecommerce store or a website was because there was a live chat support agent that answered their questions.

That’s 40 percent more sales and revenue that those businesses wouldn’t have made without that feature. Another Forrester survey showed that it helped drive conversion rates on a Fortune 500 company’s website to double digits, resulting in increased revenues and sales.

The reason this works so well is that customers are able to quickly get clarifications on whatever they were confused about and proceed to make a purchase. Also, there is the extra benefit of upselling opportunities wherein support agents are able to recommend even more products to the clients, leading to increased dollar spend per client.

Provides Competitive Edge Over Competition

It’s interesting to note that many companies are routinely ignoring the inherent opportunities that live support provides. This means that you can take advantage of this and snatch some of your rival competitors’ clients and business. This tool positions you as professional and credible, and as you know, credibility does go a long way in reinforcing buyer confidence.

Help Document Major Customer Issues

The key to rolling out even more effective products lies in your interactions with your customers and clients. Live chat software can help you identify major customer pain points, which can lead to even finer product and an entirely new line of products.

Companies that routinely engage their clients and customers get real time feedback on everything from their website’s user friendliness to product suggestions and valid customer concerns.

Now that you know this, what should you know or consider before integrating it into your website?

Ensure You Have Sufficient Manpower

Let’s face it, this is a 24/7 job description, particularly when you run a retail store online. You need to be sure that you can handle this if you run a very small operation.

If you cannot handle this yourself, see if you have enough money to hire a dedicated live chat support agent who will be perpetually logged on to the website. Of course, this isn’t possible because we all must sleep. So, that means hiring two individuals at least.

Determine Your Needs

There are a lot of live chat software in the market. Some are free, others cost a premium to use. The difference between both lies in their individual options and features.

Small retailers and businesses can still work with the free options while bigger businesses will have to consider using the premium software.

If you don't already have a live chat feature integrated into your current website, give us a shout and let's us bump up your credibility. Truly a smart move, especially before the holidays!