We think of the internet as helping us connect, however geographically remote we are. Online business means expanding your marketing reach exponentially, if you get it right. However, when it comes down to converting your target audience into customers, there can be barriers to completing a sale.
Businesses know that looking after their customers is crucial to their growth and success, but serving customers’ needs sufficiently when they are online can prove challenging.
Russell Mills, of Chat Heroes, explains how live chat can bridge the gap between the digital and the personal and boost sales conversions in the process.
The Disconnected Prospect
“When people buy products or services they often have questions that they want the answers to before making their purchase. Online, they can feel disconnected from getting this kind of personal attention.
“On the one hand, online business can offer people instant access to products on services, but on the other, they lack the personalisation that face-to-face interaction provides.
“You might be setting out to fulfil someone’s needs online with what you provide, but if they have certain pain points that you can’t immediately address, then these are needs that are unfulfilled.”
Avoid the Abandoned Shopping Cart
“Forrester Research reveals that 44% of online customers say having their questions answered by a live person while mid-purchase is one of the most important features a website can have.
“Many ecommerce sites run the risk of the abandoned shopping cart, where the potential customer bails out part-way through the online ordering process. If the customer has any queries or even doubts, it’s vital to address them as quickly and directly as possible.”
Customer Convenience is Crucial
“Think about the call centre. It makes people wait in a queue and they frequently must commit their time to just the waiting aspect, before they even manage to talk to somebody.
“Live chat, on the other hand, offers instant access, often with much less waiting time, and it gives the user leeway to multi-task while they’re waiting.
“An ATG Consumer Global Trend survey has found that 90% of customers think live chat is helpful.”
Cost Effective Customer Communication
“Using live chat software can cut down on phone costs and make better use of employee resources. It lowers average costs of interaction while increasing efficiency. A live chat operative can handle several calls simultaneously without losing that crucial focus on the individual customer.
“Outsourcing live chat maximises this cost effectiveness by taking the burden of running it away from the business concerned, while still providing all the personalised benefits the service has to offer.”
Analytics and Staying Ahead
“You can have live chat fully integrated with your website, enabling you to gather feedback to further improve your services.
“Use these analytics to stay ahead of the competition. Discover your customers’ pain points through social media research then use live chat to address them. This gives you the ability to become expertly customer-focussed, to anticipate issues and concerns and instantly answer them.
“Think of live chat as the bridge between the digital and personal realm, providing a means to connect with your online sales prospects, convince them of your value, and convert them into customers.”