One of the biggest challenges for businesses in today’s world is to capture a customer’s attention long enough to make a sale. Many customers are interested for a few seconds, but their attention is quickly diverted to another catchy YouTube video or idyllic Instagram post before they can think twice about making a purchase.
For this reason, boosting conversions is an important goal for any successful business. Boosting conversions will turn more potential customers into new customers, and turn occasional customers into brand loyalists. Keep reading to learn how to boost conversion using live chat for business.
What is Live Chat Support?
Live chat support is a form of customer service to help visitors that come to your business’s website. This relatively new feature allows businesses to free up phone lines for customer service agents and reduce the time it takes to help a customer. Many customers prefer live chat because they don’t enjoy talking on the phone and can multitask while they communicate with a business.
How Does Live Chat Work?
Live chat is a relatively simple feature to help your business communicate with anyone who visits your website. The live chat feature may pop up after a few seconds of someone being on your website, or it may be an option the website visitor can click on at the bottom of the page. If the live chat feature is an automatic pop-up, it may include a prompt like, “We’re here to help. Chat with us if you have a question, and we’ll get back to you right away!”
Businesses can incorporate live chat by installing a chat widget to their website. The chat tool will include an agent view and a user view. Once the chat tool is installed, customers will see the chat widget on the website, and agents will have a dashboard where they can carry out multiple chat conversations at once.
Agents can communicate with multiple customers based on the priority or timing of the conversation. Some chat tools will automatically prioritize conversations for the agent.
Why is Live Chat Important?
Live chat is an important way to boost conversion rates and develop loyal customers. It allows customer service representatives to deliver faster response rates and improve lead generation. Here are a few other reasons why live chat is important for any business:
- Improved customer experience. Customers are busier than ever, and live chat is a great way to help them reach out to you on their own terms.
- Humanize your brand. When customers engage with a real human being that represents your business, they’ll feel more connected to your company. They’ll appreciate the human aspect and be more likely to purchase from you.
- Instant support. Live chat takes away many of the barriers that come with traditional customer service. There are no wait times on the phone or delays that come with email communication.
Does Live Chat Increase Conversion Rates?
Yes, live chat can increase conversion rates for your business. People who visit your website are already interested in your product, but live chat can help seal the deal as you engage with them and develop a direct relationship.
By decreasing response times and providing personalized support, people will be more likely to make that purchase they’ve been considering. In fact, studies show that 66% of customers are more likely to return to a website that offers live chat.
How Do I Become a Good Chat Support Agent?
Good chat support agents are able to help customers quickly and efficiently. They understand the needs of the customer and take care of the issue without having to escalate to a phone call. So how can you become a good chat support agent? Here are some tips:
- Be friendly. It’s harder to convey emotion through chat, so be sure to greet your customer with a friendly hello. Ask how they’re doing, but then quickly move on to the purpose of the chat.
- Respond immediately. Customers hate waiting, especially when they’re using live chat. Start typing a response as soon as the customer hits send.
- Clarify. Make sure you understand exactly what the customer is saying by repeating it back to them in their own words. Even if you think you understand, it never hurts to clarify.
- Be positive. Focus on positive language in your chat. For example, rather than telling the customer you don’t have something available anymore, you can tell them that you now have a new product to replace the older product.
Incorporating Live Chat
Ready to start using chat for customer service? Get started by researching live chat widgets and finding the one that works best for your business. Be sure to provide thorough training to your customer service agents before launching the feature on your website. Before long, you’ll notice a huge improvement in your conversions, response times, and lead generation.
