In this digital age, people are more and more likely to seek out customer support online. It’s often faster and easier to message a business online than to call them. While email and social media can be valuable platforms for customer service, they don’t match the instantaneous support a chat box can provide. A live chat can also set your business apart. How many companies can you think of right now that utilize live chats? Not nearly as many as you would expect. And once set up through a provider, live chats can be a relatively hands-off tool that makes you and your employees' lives easier.
Why is having a live chat important?
Customers have come to expect instant access from companies. Chat boxes are easy to use, convenient, and feel personal. Speed is vital to converting leads, and no other medium can compare to the response time of a live chat. For instance, it can often take up to 48 hours to hear back from a company’s support email, and sometimes even that is only an automated message. In 48 hours, that potential customer has likely already moved on and is no longer thinking about your offering at all. If they had gotten an answer in just a few minutes, there’s a much higher likelihood they would have made a purchase. In fact, the American Marketing Association found that B2B companies who used live chat see, on average, a 20% increase in conversions.
Need more convincing? Live chats:
· Increase conversions
· Save time, and in turn, money
· Build trust
· Give a competitive advantage
· Improve customer service
· Provide valuable data
· Provide personalized service
Live Chat versus Chat Bots
Although chat bots certainly have their uses, some people are still skeptical about talking to an AI. Bots aren’t as personalized, and they don’t have the capacity to think critically. A live chat service will offer trained agents that can convert questions to leads and reliably filter out questions that won’t end in leads. This saves you time and money. For services, especially with medium to large lead values, a live chat is the best option. With companies now offering 24/7 live chats, there’s even fewer reasons you would want a bot over a real, live human.
What essential features should a chat box have?
A chat box will only be effective if it’s noticed. That’s why it should pop up with an introductory message when someone lands on your website. It shouldn’t be overly aggressive or take up the majority of the page, and a customer should be able to minimize it. Some chat services will open in a new browser window, which is distracting and more time consuming to click out of. The chat box should exist in the same window the customer is already viewing. A live chat service should also offer custom replies and answers. Form responses are a bot’s job – if you utilize a live chat, a trained agent should be offering custom responses to your leads. Finally, response time should be fast and service available 24/7. A chat box isn’t useful if it’s only available half the time.
Now that we’ve covered all the essentials, reach out to us here to learn more about how to get a live chat installed on your website today.