Live chat is regarded as a secret weapon for many online businesses, largely because numerous sites don’t make use of the service. Many businesses are not fully aware of the potential of live chat, seeing it only as one among many communication tools. There are, though, many different benefits of using a live chat facility on your site. As a tool for both sales and customer services, it can quickly become a valuable part of your toolkit. So what are the main benefits of using live chat in your online business?
Streamline Customer Support
Phone support can be costly and time-consuming, while email support desks don’t typically offer an immediate response. Live chat, though, can simplify the process by conducting quick conversations to get to the root of any problems. Additionally, some live chat services offer automation, so you can answer common questions without a representative needing to be present.
Gain More Sales
You can create a quality sales page and work to increase conversions, but there will still be visitors who have reservations. A live chat feature can be used to overcome these reservations, offering support with any product questions. As you gain significant amounts of data relating to the sales process, it will be possible to improve the sales page to deal with any initial objections.
Prevent Refunds
A certain percentage of buyers will request refunds, but this isn’t always because they are unhappy with their purchase. Some products have a level of complexity attached, requiring guidance to fully get the best from them. You may provide detailed tutorials and guides, but these won’t always be looked at. Live chat, however, can be used to ask customers for their problems, potentially saving a refund with some additional assistance.
Gain New Leads
Live chat can be used to gain leads, allowing you the opportunity to maintain contact. Most visitors to your site won’t make an immediate purchase, but following up via email can help secure sales. You can set up your live chat facility to ask visitors to join your list, offering them a bonus for signing up.
Deal with a Common Question Immediately
In many industries, there will be a common question that many visitors have. Running surveys and asking social media followers will often reveal this question. You can create a blog post or set up an FAQ page, but many visitors won’t see this. Your live chat can deal with this common question, though, as soon as visitors enter your site. The question might be specific to a product or may be a request for a price quote.
Help Team Members Provide a Quality Service
Visitors may use the live chat on more than one occasion. If you have a team that controls the chat tool, the ability to look back over conversations is important. One team member may finish working, but another can immediately pick things up and see the history of the chat. This facility allows for easy cooperation and effective customer support.
Integrate with Other Tools
The best live chat tools offer integration with other products. This integration allows you to expand the options available through the chat facility. You may, for example, be able to integrate with Salesforce if this is your preferred customer relationship management tool. Integrating with an email autoresponder allows for easy lead capture, while analytics tools can help you study useful data.
There are few tools that can deal with customer service and secure sales at the same time. Live chat is one of these tools, with the ability to provide useful support and encourage sales. Depending on the type of product you decide to use, it is also possible to offer video assistance and automate much of the support required. Of course, live chat should be used in conjunction with other strategies, but the benefits of chat tools means they can play a major role in the way you run your website.