In recent years, live chat has become a popular tool for customer service. It’s quick, easy, low-cost, and accessible – businesses love having it and customers love using it. And yet, it is severely underutilized. Almost 80% of people say that they would use live chat if the option was presented to them. But almost 40% of those who have used it weren’t completely satisfied. That is a big missed opportunity. And the problem isn’t necessarily in the tool itself. It’s in how we use it. After all, you can have the best moving software available and if you don’t know how to make the most of it, it won’t make a difference. So today, let’s talk about how you can use live chat to boost conversions by as much as 45% percent because if you can harness the power of live chat, the payoff will be significant.
What is live chat and what does it have to do with conversions?
Live chat is an online communication tool. It allows you to communicate with customers through your website in real-time. Chat is just a tool; it’s what you say in a chat that dictates the outcome of it. As such, chat can be one of the best moving lead providers, conversion rate optimizers, or customer service tools – it all depends on how you use it.
What kinds of sites can use live chat to boost conversions?
Virtually any website can benefit from implementing a live chat. We frequently see them on e-commerce websites but they’re becoming increasingly popular in other industries too. A moving company website may use it for estimates, for example. An SEO blogger can offer additional explanations to beginners. Even government websites have started implementing them as an alternative to phone support.
How can you use live chat to boost conversions specifically?
Although live chat is typically used as a form of customer support, its versatility makes it a great tool for improving conversion rates too. If that is your goal, however, you’ll need to utilize the chat in a specific way.
Be proactive and offer assistance
Customer support representatives can be exceptionally helpful and even very pleasant to speak to. Despite this, most customers prefer not having to contact your team. So take the pressure off them – reach out first instead. If a customer is spending a lot of time on a certain page, start up a chat with them and ask if there’s something you can help them with. This shows that you care about your customers. It can leave a great impression on a user and lead to a better relationship with them. Not to mention that you’ll resolve any potential issues before frustration sets in by being proactive.
Make it easy for your customers to chat with you
If someone needs your assistance, they shouldn’t have to look hard for it. This will only make their problem worse and make them less likely to trust your business. So make your chat easily available and clearly visible on the page. Use software that is intuitive and has a good interface. Your customer will appreciate being able to contact you without any fuss.
Target the right pages
Some websites offer live chat support on all pages. But if you want to focus on specific pages, then it’s important to choose the right pages to target. Your best bet is to install the chat on the pages that lead to the most conversions. That way, you’re targeting users who are already primed for conversion, and chatting with them will only increase your chances of making the sale. If you’re not sure which of your pages have high conversion rates, consult with your moving company digital marketing team. They’ll point you in the right direction.
Use surveys and canned responses wisely
Your team is not as large as your userbase. So it’s impossible to assign an agent to every person who visits your website. Sometimes, this will result in there being more people needing chat support than there are agents available to provide that support. You can help resolve this by combining live chat with chatbots, automatic responses, and pre-chat surveys.
A chat can, for example, start with the user filling in some basic information about their issue. Then, a chatbot would activate and attempt to resolve the issue with a few pre-programmed responses. For many users, this will be enough. Only those who really require assistance from a representative will be put through one of your agents. This will significantly reduce the workload of your team without lowering the quality of service provided or the rate of conversion.
Offer quality personalized support
People like to feel special. If they feel like they don’t matter to you, they’re unlikely to spend their time and money on your business. Live chat is your opportunity to show your customers that you care about them and their unique needs. Since your agents will be speaking directly to customers, they can get to know them better and offer them personalized support tailor-made for their problems. This will make them more likely to convert and even return. Of course, for any of this to happen you must first ensure that you have a skilled customer service team. Hire service-minded people and provide them with quality training – it pays off.
Use the information you get to improve your business practices
Live chat can be an invaluable source of information. You just need to have a good system for storing and analyzing that information. So have your representatives log all contacts with customers. Then, you can identify which questions come up often and why. You may be able to improve your website in a way that will lower the number of users who require assistance in the first place.
Follow these key tips in order to successfully use live chat to boost conversions
Much like any other tool, the success of a live chat depends on your ability to use it well. So if you want to get the best possible results, you need to:
- respond promptly and accurately: no one likes to wait for help – greet customers promptly and offer solutions within minutes
- adopt the right tone: chat tends to be informal, but you’ll want to train your agents to adjust their tone to the customer they’re speaking to
- be available as often and as much as possible: you may not be able to offer live chat support 24/7/365 but try to keep it available at least during your work hours
- follow up if necessary: a customer shouldn’t have to contact you multiple times to get their problem resolved – if you can’t fix the issue immediately, reach out to your customer with a solution later instead of waiting on them to contact you again
- ask for (and be open to) feedback: after the chat is over, allow your customers to fill out a survey about the experience and use it to guide further development
If you follow these tips, you’ll be able to use live chat to boost conversions, grow your brand, develop better customer relations, and inspire loyalty in your users. So invest in quality chat support because the results are worth it.
