Did you know that 51% of online shoppers are more inclined to purchase from a company that features live chat online on their website? Live chat is so popular that 75% of customers say they prefer it over other business communication channels.
With so much potential to boost revenue, if your Ecommerce business doesn’t feature live chat, you could be limiting your income. Here’s why live chat is so effective at improving conversion rates for Ecommerce businesses.
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What Is Live Chatting Online: How Does It Work?
Live chat online is a form of messaging software that allows customers to interact with customer support agents in real time.
Live chat software is easy to install on your E-commerce site and customize to your business needs. When people visit your site, you can program the chat box to pop up automatically and engage customers or leave it to the customer to initiate a conversation.
That’s one of the benefits of live chat. It isn’t just reactive. You can also use it proactively as part of your conversational commerce strategy to drive sales. For example, you can promote a new product or offer a returning customer a discount on their next purchase.
Not every chat box has a human behind it. Some are powered by AI chatbots that provide automated responses. These types of chatbots are great for answering simple queries and directing customers to a knowledge base.
But for more complex queries, most customers want to talk to a live agent.
Why Do Customers Prefer Live Chat?
Live chat statistics show that the satisfaction rate for live chat is higher than other types of communication channels — 73% compared to 61% for email and 44% for phone calls. Here are three reasons live chat is so satisfying for customers.
Convenience. When customers visit your E-commerce store, they may have questions about a product or be looking for a product in a different color or size. What’s easier — making a telephone call and waiting in a queue to speak to an agent or clicking the chat box at the bottom of their screen and getting help instantly?
Speedy response times. According to Zendesk, 73% of customers say a good customer experience involves quick responses. If queries are not answered quickly. Many won’t hesitate to leave your site and go in search of what they want elsewhere. That means you lose a sale, and your competitor gains one.
Less pressure to purchase. Some customers want to browse without a salesperson pushing them to buy. The primary goal of live chat is to enhance the customer experience rather than push sales. The customer can browse and make inquiries about products without feeling pressured to buy.
How Can It Increase Conversations In Your Online Business?
Adding live chat to your website could increase conversions by 12%. Chatters spend up to 60% more than non-chatters, with the average return for a single chat being $249. Imagine if just 500 customers spend $249 in a year — you’ll net $124,500 in sales!
Here’s why live chat is so effective at increasing conversions.
1. You Can Capture More Leads
Generating leads is one of the more challenging tasks that sales teams face. Live chat provides another channel to source leads. When a visitor to your site makes contact via live chat, you’ve already got a prospect. How can you turn that prospect into a lead?
- Set up a pre-chat form that captures basic contact details such as name and email address before you start the chat.
- Link your live chat software with your customer relationship management (CRM) system. Any queries requiring follow-up or routing to a different agent or department will automatically be captured in the CRM system.
2. It Provides Immediate Answers To Your Customer Inquiries
With immediacy being so important to most customers, you have a short window of opportunity to win a customer. Some queries could influence their decision to buy or abandon the purchase.
For instance, they may ask questions like “Do you have a returns policy?” or “Do you offer free shipping?”. If you can provide a fast answer and it’s the one they want, it could persuade them to choose your company over a competitor’s brand.
That beats a chatbot that only answers certain questions and can upset customers.
3. It’s Available On Every Page Of Your Website
Live chat online follows visitors across your site. That increases the opportunities for engagement. The smarter your chat software is, the more it can adjust its assistance as customers move from one page to another.
For example, when a customer is on the home page, your chat could initiate contact by saying, “Hello, how can I help you today?”.
If they move to a product page, it could say, “Did you know you can get 10% off your first purchase?”
4. Live Chat Online Increases Customer Retention
According to SuperOffice, 63% of customers said they were more likely to return to a website that offers live chats online, especially if the live chat experience was positive.
And if they return, guess what – they’re likely to make another purchase.
The Takeaway of Live Chats Online
The statistics make it hard to ignore the importance of live chat in E-commerce marketing. It’s clear that online live chat significantly influences customers’ purchasing decisions now and in the future.
Offering a live chat service is sure to boost your online business’s conversion rate and increase your company’s net earnings.
Do you offer live chat on your e-commerce site? I’d love to hear how it’s working for you in the comments below.
FAQS: Live Chats
Live chats online are chats that are in real-time with a real person.
They help customers get the answers they are looking for in real-time.
Statistics show these chat sessions do increase sales for online stores.
Customers love the convenience of chats online.
Chatbots only answer specific questions and can make customers angry when they can’t get the answer they are looking for.
Yes, they can be set up that way to make it easy to access.
She has 30+ years of experience in marketing/advertising with 12 years of experience in content marketing, social media, blogging, and SEO.
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