5 Ways Live Chat Boosts On-site Conversion
It’s not uncommon now to visit a website and be greeted by a live chat window.
There’s good reason – nearly 50% of online consumers have claimed that having their queries addressed whilst browsing and purchasing is one of the most important features a website can offer.
A whopping 91% of those who tried live chat discovered that it could help with their buying decision, resolve any support or tech issues and answer quickly and sharply.
Having ploughed so much time, effort and resources into ensuring traffic gets to the website, it can be demoralising suffering with low conversion rates.
Just one addition to the equation could optimize the conversion rate like you never thought it could. Let’s have a look at why Live Chat can boost your on-site conversion:
1. Automated greetings
Think of it this way: it’s the day before a friend’s wedding and you’re perusing a shop trying to work out what to gift them on their big day. You start straying towards a voucher when you realise you’ve no idea what to get them. (We’ve all done it!)
That’s until someone working in the shop steps in and hands you a little advice and guidance – the same principal works with live chat greetings. With a customer seemingly stumbling around on your site, you can set up a greeting to invite them for a chat when you deem necessary – that could be a minute or five into their ‘stumbling’, depending on your angle of attack.
A recent study found that amazingly, a visitor is 6.3 times more likely to convert into a customer when they are invited to live chat compared to those that don’t – if that doesn’t make it worthwhile, then not a lot will!
2. Rescue cart abandonment
Depending on where you read, shopping cart abandonment figures are currently in the 75% region.
That’s a lot of business falling at the final hurdle.
The more antiquated method of trying to retrieve those who have abandoned their shopping carts is through an email. We’ve all had them:
They’re pretty abrupt and impersonal – they don’t consider why the visitor fell short of the finish line.
Hubspot suggests that 41% of those who abandon a basket is due to a surprising shipping charge, with 42% leaving because of a lack of more information.
Around 4% of desertion emails convert into purchases. That’s not bad, but comparing that with the 42% who just needed a little more info, it looks a little weak.
Using a live chat application can bridge the gap and give people what they want – info.
A timed trigger can be an effective technique. By giving someone a nudge after 45 seconds of inactivity on a checkout page, you can address any doubts they possess and encroach on that 42%.
3. A personalised experience
A personalised customer experience can eat away at the 78% of consumers that don’t convert as a result of a poor service.
Live Chat facilitates a personal feel to customer service – add an agent’s photo to give a natural instant messaging feel.
You can even give a personalised greeting. That’s because a clever Live Chat application provides basic info such as their name, email address, location and what they have been browsing on the site.
All of this produces a happier customer: nearly nine out of ten people were happy with their experience with Live Chat. A happier customer makes purchases.
4. The reassurance factor
A Live Chat can be very useful when there is a pain or anxiety to overcome.
Being there when the customer has a worry or question can be the difference.
Taking the initiative and saying: “Hey, have you found what you’re looking for? Is there anything stopping you from making the purchase?” may sound a little abrasive, but it breaks down the nervous buyer’s barrier.
The simple feeling of reassurance from a human before committing to a large purchase (such as a new car) can be all it takes. Car manufacturing giants Ford discovered a 65% rise in European pre-orders of the new Mustang model from those who got involved in a live chat.
5. Simple surveying
Using a Live Chat is a great way of getting customers to offer their thoughts your company, its customer service, and their overall experience.
Often, you can tailor the questions to your liking. If you believe the customer is suffering with a problem during billing, you can ask them about it in a post-chat survey.
Added benefits include rating the chat itself, which can determine the level of customer service they are receiving.
Post-chat surveys have great potential for pooling valuable feedback, which is vital for service or product improvement. Knowing what a customer wants is key to providing a great overall experience.
Live Chats are proving to be a very viable conversion booster. It adds another point of contact with the consumer, simultaneously getting to know them, what they want, and how your team can do better with that information.
The offer of assistance whilst they are on your site gives a personalised customer service, and coupled with reducing sky high cart abandonment rates, the conversion rates are sure to rise.