Are you looking to increase sales, reduce customer support costs, or improve customer satisfaction? If so, you may want to consider using live chat or an instant messaging platform.
Customer service is a crucial function for any business, and it should come into play from the very beginning, like pre-sales and after-sales support. Previously, phone calls and email were often the primary way contact centers communicated. As the online world continues to grow, communication through messaging apps has become more common among consumers.
What are the statistics you should know!
The customer service skills you establish will reflect the experience you create for customers and can significantly impact your success. That's why providing excellent customer service at all times is essential because it can make or break your success.
Live chat is already a valuable tool for companies:
67% of B2C organizations offer live chat customer support, and 74% use it to generate leads and increase sales.
The previous year, 74.5% of live chat conversations occurred on mobile devices. This is already an 82% increase from the prior year.
The average customer contact time decreased to 35 seconds. Some companies tend to do it in less than 10 seconds.
Customers want businesses to provide them with various contact methods, including messaging platforms. In fact, 71% of customers demand real-time digital support through these messaging platforms. (Conversocial, 2020).
87% of customers rate their live chat conversations as positive.
79% of companies who integrated live chat support positively impacted leads, sales and revenue.
How to use live chat to drive online sales?
Most online shoppers have questions while they are shopping. They want to know if a product is in stock, the return policy, or how soon they will receive their order. These are all valid questions that can be answered with live chat.
By offering live chat on your website, you can answer these questions quickly and easily, leading to more sales. Here are a few tips on how to use live chat to drive online sales:
1. Be available during peak shopping hours. This way, you can answer any questions that potential customers may have.
2. Train your staff on how to use live chat. They should be able to answer common questions and direct shoppers to the right products or pages on your website.
3. Use live chat to upsell and cross-sell products. If a customer is looking at a specific product, you can suggest similar or complementary items they may be interested in. This can lead to more sales and larger orders.
4. Offer discounts or coupons through live chat. This kind of incentive customers to make a purchase right then and there.
5. Make sure your live chat software is easy to use and user-friendly. If it's difficult for customers to use, they will likely give up and go elsewhere?
6. The best: Make sure that your live chat software is integrated with your website and CRM system. This will allow you to seamlessly track customer interactions and provide a more personalized experience.
How to use live chat to offer a better customer service experience?
1. Make sure your live chat software is easy to use and navigate. Your customers should be able to quickly find the chat window and start a conversation with you.
2. Train your customer service team on using the live chat software and handling customer inquiries. They should be able to efficiently resolve any issues that come up. Provide them with scripts and guidelines so that they can deliver consistent, high-quality service.
3. Offer proactive assistance once they have spent some time browsing a page of your website.
4. Respond to customer inquiries promptly. Nobody likes to be kept waiting, so make sure you respond quickly when someone reaches out through live chat.
5. Follow up with customers after their inquiry has been resolved. This helps build trust and shows that you care about their experience on your website.
6. Add effective methods like co-browsing and screen sharing. Co-browsing is a technique in which agents and customers view the same web page in real-time. This allows the agent to guide the customer through a task or answer any questions they may have. Screensharing is similar to co-browsing, but instead of just sharing a web page, both parties can see each other's entire screen. This is especially useful for more complex tasks requiring multiple steps or visual demonstrations.
7.Use data and analytics from live chat sessions to improve your ecommerce strategy over time. Track metrics such as Chat Volume, Average Response Time, and First Contact Resolution Rate to identify areas for improvement.
How live chat reduces your customer service cost.
Phone support has historically been the most common way for companies to provide customer service. However, it can be very expensive. Toll charges and labor cost add up quickly.
Furthermore, Forrester research has shown that live chat is typically 17-30% cheaper than phone calls. However, it's not as expensive as some might think: rather than paying a provider by the minute, you pay them based on subscription level, and there are no toll-calling costs.
But the main reason behind this is the productivity of live chat agent. Agents can multitask and assist multiple visitors at the same time. With proper training, most agents can handle three or more chats simultaneously.
Conclusion:
Many online shoppers today prefer the convenience of live chat when they have questions or concerns about a product or service. As an online business owner, you can use this to your advantage by offering live chat support on your website.
Not only will this give customers the immediate assistance they need, but it can also help boost sales and conversions. If you're not already using live chat on your website, now is the time to start!
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