Think back to the last time you had to contact support. Chances are good that you either sent an email or called the customer support hotline. But each of these methods has its drawbacks. When using email, you probably had to wait several days for a response. And phone calls to automated solutions or standard responses from company representatives can be frustrating.
Fortunately, there is a solution to these problems that provides real-time service and a positive customer experience.
What is live chat?
Live chat support is an online communication tool that you or your business can use to provide instant support to existing customers, increase their satisfaction, and maximize customer retention.
Often, visitors to a company’s website find live chat support in the form of a chat box in the bottom right corner of their website. Live chat software is provided by many different organizations; however, good live chat software integrates seamlessly with the rest of your marketing platform
But having a live chat support system is more than just chatting on a website between your customers and your support team. You should consider your online chat as an integral part of your buying journey and marketing team’s strategy.
Benefits of implementing live chat support on your site.
By now, you’ve probably already determined that having a website for your business is a smart way to provide your customers with top-notch service.
Let’s take a look at some specific benefits of your website for live chat support.
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Maximize customer satisfaction and retention.
Satisfied customers tend to become regular customers. One of the best ways to keep your customers happy is to provide a quality product or service with impeccable customer service.
Live chat provides excellent opportunities for quality service, especially for remote companies or online service providers. It effectively makes your business available to your customers in the blink of an eye, simply through a simple on-page chat option. While a similar option can be created on social media, it does not carry the professional weight of a chat widget on a dedicated business website.
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Simplify the collection of customer data.
Collecting customer data is an integral part of any business. Whether it’s a set of email addresses or phone numbers, customer profiles play an important role in building a customer base used for all types of other marketing strategies such as email newsletters and promotions.
And online chat can make it easier to collect and record this data. For example, before each chat, do a quick poll before chatting. Your client or potential client will usually be more than willing to provide this information.
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Capture inferences that would otherwise go uncollected.
Some of the highest quality leads you will ever get as a business are the ones looking for you in the first place. And if you have a potential customer on a chat that asks what your business can do for him … there is nothing better.
Through live chat, you can start nurturing your leads as soon as you get them and ask what exactly your client wants, needs or wants. Usually, hot selling tactics are implemented through tactful inquiries and probing. But with live chat, you get a point of sale right away.
In addition, online chat can provide another unique angle for gathering leads. Typically, your most interesting features or products generate the most buzz and therefore the most clicks in your chat. Using a tool like Hotjar can provide a heatmap on your web page to determine which particular page gets the most clicks.
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Provide faster customer support response times.
If you want to provide better service, there is nothing more that customers love than a quick response to their problems. Customers who wait a long time for a product or service from a supplier are much more likely to get upset, unsubscribe, or even switch to a competing brand. Fortunately, online chat can easily cut this by providing almost instant response times.
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Save transcripts of each chat session.
When looking at customer issues in-depth, it can be quite difficult to keep track of every little detail, especially when explained remotely over the phone. Some customer problems can be quite complex and have a root cause that is actually causing the problem. And just by speaking out loud about the problem, it is difficult to visualize the problem or see the message inside.
Fortunately, with live chat, you can transcribe each chat with each individual client. This will allow you to see in writing what exactly is happening in real-time, and then save them for later review.
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Minimize the bounce rate of your website visitors.
One of the biggest challenges any website owner will face is dropping bounce rates. Lowering your bounce rate has been proven to increase your conversions simply by having a website visitor on the page in front of your products or services.
Live chat software does just that. Potential or regular customers won’t leave your site if they use your chat and show curiosity.
