Live chat can be a game changer for any business that uses it correctly. Before the days of live chat, customers had to contact companies via phone or email if they had any questions, but this can sometimes prove to problematic. Now with live chat, tough, instead of dialing a number or composing an email, customers can type a quick question into a chat box and have it answered almost instantly. And the best part is, your business can generate more sales and increase customer satisfaction.
Provide Pre-Sales Answers Faster
The prime purpose of live chat is to assist your customers whenever they need any kind of assistance. A study by Forrester Research found that “many online consumers want help from a live person while they are shopping online; in fact, 44% of online consumers say that having questions answered by a live person while in the middle of an online purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer.”
The bottom line is that customers feel more confident doing business with companies that make support easy, hassle free and instantaneous, and this is something you can’t always do with phone support. Live chat allows your agents to link users to appropriate documents or content directly, instead of having to walk them through troubleshooting and resolution procedures step by step.
If your sales and customer service teams can access CRM, ERP or data stored in other cloud-based apps you use to run your business in real time, the service provided will help to strengthen your relationships with the customers. Data integration apps such as SYNC, IoT Pulse, or Sync2Pay allow your staff to access key data instantly, so customers and leads don’t have to wait days to get the answers needed.
Provides An Additional Form Of Communication
Not all customers like phones, and if they fill out a standard contact form, they don’t know if they’ll get their questions answered in time. Real-time communication is the fastest way to resolve problems and address complex product questions.
Live chat provides customers with immediate access to help. Instead of following a complex phone tree, customers can get answers when they want them. According to Econsultancy, 73% of customers were satisfied with their live chat experience, surpassing all other channels, including email and phone.
Increase Conversions
The American Marketing Association found that B2B companies who used live chat see, on average, a 20% increase in conversions. With live chat, you can immediately respond to questions or concerns while prospects are in a buying frame of mind. This can reduce bounces from your website, and help drive sales.
One of the main reasons people use live chat is to avoid telephone hold times, or waiting hours or even days for an email response. Prospects and customers alike want answers right away, so a fast response time will increase your close rate and your bottom line. A study by Apexchat revealed that live chat can increase online leads by as much as 40%.
Build Customer Loyalty
Live chat is by far the easiest and quickest way to make a connection with your customer. It facilitates more personalized interaction and encourages real conversations. With more transparent communication, the agent on the other end can better assist the user, and represent your business in the best light.
Additionally, live chat allows you to give quick answers to questions about your products, solve problems faster, and assure your customers that you’re there when they need you. All of which is a simple, yet very effective, recipe for improving both customer service and loyalty. A Zendesk report found that in the first quarter of 2015, “live chat led all other channels in customer satisfaction at 92%.”
At Commercient, customer satisfaction is our #1 priority which is why we love serving our customers via live chat and other forms of communication. Our specialists are available Monday through Friday, and would love to hear from you.