Why Online Store Live Chat Is No Longer Optional

We've said it before and we'll say it again, live chat is one of the best conversion tools you can use for your online store.

But don't just listen to us, listen to your web visitors who actually want to see this as an option on your site. Yep that's right, 31% of online shoppers say that they are more likely to make a purchase after a live chat.

So then why are so many of you dragging your feet when it comes to this awesome tool?

Still not convinced? Check out MORE reasons why we think it's no longer optional...

1. It shows that you care

Wowing the people that land on your site is a must. If you want those sales, then live chat is a perfect tool to do that. Why? Because you can use it to greet visitors as they enter your store. Let's be honest, when it comes to a bricks-and-mortar shop it's so much easier to show that you appreciate the people that walk through the door...

So that's why live chat can really help you!

A chatting platform doesn’t have to be solely used when a customer chats to you. It can be used to greet them to your online store so that they feel welcome, and know you are there if they need the help! The great thing about live chat is that customers don't feel the pressure to respond, it's unobtrusive and genuinely shows you care.

2. It will reduce cart abandonment

So we know how frustrating cart abandonment can be. It happens a lot, and 83% of people that up and leave say it's because they didn’t get the help they needed with their purchase. So if you think about it, live chat can significantly help out those in need and move them along to your checkout.

The truth is, shoppers no longer need to wait for you to answer a call, or respond to an email. They can probably find your product somewhere else, so if you don't point them in the right direction then you may just end up losing them to your competitors!

3. It will save you money

Because live chat plugs right into your store, you'll be able to cut down on a lot of additional service costs. And due to the real-time benefits, your support agents will spend less time interacting with your customers because it's so quick and easy to use!

It will help you to become more efficient because you can handle multiple chats in one go, plus set up pre-written responses for general FAQ's. Meaning that the number of inquiries coming into your call center will be dramatically cut. And did you know that saving just one second per chat can actually result in 40-80 hours saved per year?

So that's less time spent on calls, and more time spent running your business!

4. It will help you understand problems

So your customers land on your site, and they have a problem. But you don’t have a quick way for them to find a solution, so they up and leave. Understanding what pain points your customers have is an important part of improving your overall service.

Once you plug in live chat, you'll be able to discover common problems that your customers face and make changes for the good of your store!

It can even help you when trying to come up with new ideas for content. Do you struggle to come up with blog topic ideas? Well you can use those pain points that you learn from a live chat conversion as the basis for your articles. This will help bring more traffic to your site because it will strike a chord with what your customers care about!

5. It will increase your sales

When you take into account the support and the service that live chat can help you provide, it's not hard to see why it can help you increase your conversions. It's efficient, it reduces cart abandonment, it's an effortless way for a customer to speak to a human and it helps to keep people on your site!

Combine all of those together and you've just provided your customers with the best user experience that's hard to find elsewhere.

And, because it helps you engage with customers and walk them through the sale, you can even start to make recommendations for other products – helping you to sell even more stuff!

Our Live Chat top tips:

So when it comes to supercharging your store with a live chat platform, we'd recommend considering our top tips:

  • Be a human not a robot: Sure, you may set up automated responses when you're not available but make sure you don't come across as a machine.
  • Greet your customers: When a visitor lands on your site, welcome them to your store. And provide different greetings for those who have already visited your store in the past
  • Prepare for out of hours: If you ship internationally then you may not always be around. If possible, outsource to local support agents.
  • Hire a professional team: Make sure the people on the end of your live chat are trained and know how to talk to your customers!
  • Be quick to respond: When a customer asks you a question, you need to be quick to respond! Most chat features will let the customer know when you are typing, or how long they have to wait.

Takeaway

Live chat and increasing conversions go hand in hand, so when it comes to your online store, we'd really recommend using it! The good news is, with our Ecommerce software, we've made it so easy to integrate with chat platforms such as LiveChat, so if you want to find out more then give us a call today!