I waited for seven days to hear back from a company online.
Then I tweeted to them and still heard nothing.
So, I went to their website and used their live chat function, and they immediately responded and helped me solve my problem. This is what I call a marketing moment when I see and experience something that could benefit other marketers.
Are you using live chat?
Lately, I have seen my impatience grow with companies that I want to communicate with over minor and occasionally significant issues. Live chat on a website creates the opportunity to remove the friction and shift how I feel as a customer. I have used live chat before, but it has become more evident how invaluable this simple technology can be for businesses trying to grow engagement and revenue.
When done right, “hello, how can I help you,” is a powerful marketing message?
Here are ten reasons to consider Live Chat:
1. Higher Sales: I have read a few studies that indicate that companies using chat see a much higher conversation ratio compared to sites without live chat. These studies make sense. Think of your experience in a store with helpful salespeople who walk you over to exactly what you are looking for in the store. Live chat is the digital version of this activity and can result in increased
2. Better Navigation: You may think your navigation is brilliant on your website, but to that new visitor, if they can’t find what they need in a few seconds or clicks, they leave. Live chat can immediately be the greeter at the front door asking, how can I help you?
3. Reading Trends: When suddenly everyone is looking for the red striped shirt and can’t find it, it may be a signal that something is missing from your product offering. Live chat can help you get direct input from actively searching customers.
4. Easy Peasy: Forrester research indicated that 44% of consumers found live chat to be the essential feature of a website because it makes life easier. Isn’t that your goal, to serve and be helpful to your clients?
5. Come Back Soon: In that same study, 63% of consumers will return to a website with live chat – far higher than sites without chat capabilities.
6. Connections Count. The opportunity to collect information from a visitor is powerful. If you come to my site, and I have captured your email, I have the chance to reach out to you to see if you found what you are searching, want to sign up for our monthly newsletter or promotions or are willing to be part of a survey.
7. Satisfied Customers: In another study, eDigital reports that live chat provides the highest customer service ratings over email, phone, social media, apps and other means. At 73% satisfaction, live chat indeed is a simple way to be helpful in a format that customers want to use.
8. Upsell: Live chat agents can act as salespeople in a store or showroom. “Maybe this tie would go nicely with that grey suit?”. The possibility of offering a second product to a customer increases when you can recommend something useful to them. When an average order rises, you win, and the customer benefits by your helpfulness.
9. Competitive Advantage: Still another study from Telus International found that fewer than 10% of all sites are using live chat. Think of the benefit in the B2B world when you can offer service that your competitors don’t?
10. Personal Touch. When you walk into a physical store or a company’s showroom, that personal touch can make all the difference in the world in confidence in trust in a brand. How much is that worth to you?
Like many marketing tactics and technology, the proof is in the execution. As several of my clients experiment with this technology, I’ll share more about what I learn in future posts. I have added a chat function to The Marketing Sage to learn and experiment. Click and say hello when you have a moment. If I don’t answer, I may be with a client.
Have you used Live Chat to build success in your B2B or B2C efforts? Please share them with me in the comments or tweet them out to me at @Moments_Later
You can set up a time to chat using my calendar. The conversation is free and we can explore if working together makes sense. Or email me at jeffslater@themarketingsage.com or call me at 919 720 0995. Try my new CHAT WITH ME feature too.
Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash
