Time is valuable to consumers. In an age where purchases can be made in just a couple of clicks, patience is a virtue that many of us now lack.
We want answers. And we want them immediately.
This is why having a Live Chat feature on your website can boost your business enormously.
Here, we take a look at why that is and what benefits adding Live Chat can bring.
1. Get sales over the line
The most obvious way that having a Live Chat can benefit your business is through increasing sales.
According to a report produced by Forrester, 50% of consumers say that having a real person on hand as they make a purchasing decision is one of the most important features a brand can offer. A virtual sales assistant, if you like, on hand whenever they need it.
Being able to talk directly to potential customers once they’re already on your website can be enormously beneficial. Not only can you immediately answer any questions they have, you can also make any of their concerns or doubts disappear in an instant.
Having such a feature could prove to be exactly what was needed to get a sale over the line.
2. Increase customer satisfaction
A good customer service experience is a key part of the purchasing process. Satisfied consumers purchase more – and they return.
When it comes to seeking customer support, nowadays we are increasingly turning our backs on email and phone for one simple reason - they take too long.
According to a 2021 study, the average response time to handle a customer service request was 12 hours and 10 minutes.
That is much too long. We demand quick customer service, in real time.
As a result, Live Chat is now the most preferred customer communication channel. According to an eDigital research paper, Live Chat has the highest satisfaction levels for any customer service channel (73%), compared to email (61%) and phone (44%).
We no longer accept having to wait on hold or repeatedly check our emails. In fact, research has found that 60% of customers are actually willing to pay more for a similar product if it means they get a better overall customer experience.
3. Make sure that customers keep coming back
Live Chat is a great opportunity to improve customer support and provide a memorable customer experience on your website.
Even if the sale isn’t completed that day, the potential for more leads has already been created. Strikingly, some 63% of customers are more likely to return to a website if they previously engaged with a Live Chat function there.
Having a Live Chat feature on your website helps build trust with your customer by helping your company to appear more available, responsive and interested in their needs. Therefore it’s unsurprising that 52% of consumers say they view companies more favourably when customer service is more personalised.
Consequently, according to data from a Harvard Business School Report, having a Live Chat function can increase customer retention rates by 5% and profits by between 25% and 95%.
4. Gain an edge over your competitors
When making a purchasing decision, having to wait several hours (or even days) for a response can be decisive. If potential customers know they’re in for a long wait, as many as 57% will abandon their purchases, return to their Google search and scroll down to the next choice.
Providing the information they require quickly via Live Chat can help settle any doubts; it improves bounce rate and ultimately means that they won’t be going to your competitors.
What’s more, according to National Retail Federation statistics, only 54% of retailers offer Live Chat features on their website. Having Live Chat, therefore, is an easy way to gain a competitive advantage.
5. Save time and money on customer service
Having Live Chat on your website can bring great savings with regard to providing customer service support.
Offering real-time customer service and the chance to address multiple queries at once saves time, labour and, ultimately, money for your company.
Live Chat features, especially those which bring together multiple channels, can help to slimline your team by enormously improving the productivity of your customer service agents.
Instead of only attending one call or email at a time, with Live Chat agents can handle up to six at any one moment, thanks especially to features such as pre-written conversation blocks.
What’s more, Live Chat tools are cheap to implement, with an average saving of more than 50% compared to handling phone calls.
Add Live Chat to your website with Superagent
As you have read, if Live Chat isn’t part of your customer service strategy, you’re missing out.
Increase revenues, improve customer satisfaction and save money by choosing a customer service software that can handle your chats, emails and other support channels all in one place.
Download Superagent and slimline your customer service processes for increased efficiency and a better all-round experience.