The e-commerce industry continues to gain traction, as more consumers prefer making their purchases online instead of visiting brick-and-mortar stores. In fact, a 2016 survey conducted by PwC, which featured 23,000 participants across 25 countries showed that 54% of consumers buy products online at least once every week or month. Enter live chat!
The challenge that customers usually face when shopping online is the lack of a sales representative or support team that can answer their queries quickly and accurately. That’s why you need to invest in an effective e-commerce support strategy to keep your online customers satisfied.
A great way to do that is by having a live chat support feature that enables you to respond to customer inquiries in real-time. Top e-commerce sites such as Zappos and Rackspace are now reaping the benefits of having an excellent live chat support their customers can count on.
Don’t get left behind. Here’s how chat widget support can help boost your business and keep customers happy.
Live chat improves customer experience
Like in any business transaction, customers are always keen to know more about the details of a product or service first before making a purchase.
When they’re shopping online, customers find live chat to be the easiest and most effective way to have their questions answered by a sales representative because this requires the least amount of effort. They wouldn’t have to open a new tab to write an e-mail for their inquiry or pick up the phone to dial your customer service hotline. It improves the customer’s overall experience with your business.
Live chat yielded the highest satisfaction level among other customer service medium according to eDigital’s Customer Service Benchmark study.
Having no hold times, as well as the convenience of the process were also cited as the key factors why customers prefer chat compared to other platforms.
Live chat helps cut down expenses
Outsourcing live chat support is more cost-efficient than outsourcing to a call center for customer service.
As mentioned before, customers dislike having to wait for too long to get their inquiries answered. One agent can only take one call at a time, but switching to chat support enables him to attend to multiple customers at once.
This way, you’re able to reduce manpower costs without compromising the quality of your customer service.
For maximum customer satisfaction, you can opt to outsource both live chat and call center services.
Live chat increases conversion and sales
If a customer is still on the fence about purchasing your product, chatting with a sales representative may just help him make up his mind.
Chat support increases the likelihood of making a sale because customers are getting immediate answers to any question they may have.
Research showed that 31% of online shoppers are more willing to make a purchase after a live chat. The faster they get the information they need, the sooner they’ll make the transaction.
Live chat allows you to improve your product, service, and your website
Live chat provides brands with a unique opportunity to talk to customers and hear out what they have to say.
Apart from asking information, customers also use live chat support to voice out their complaints and to provide feedback.
Knowing the pain points of your customers allows you to improve your products and services, or adjust your marketing and sales strategy. By resolving issues that your customers have, you’re more likely to keep them satisfied and increase your sales in the long run.
Live chat offers an added advantage over your competitors
When it comes to edging out competitors, live chat support can be one of your business’ best assets. In a customer service study conducted by Software Advice, pricing and process are among the most common topics that customers ask about.
Through live chat support, sales representatives can work on closing the deal by clearing up pricing details, explaining the advantages of purchasing the product, and even providing offers and discounts.
Convince the customer before they even start thinking about the competitor!
Fast, Efficient, Reliable
Deploying live chat for your online store is one of the best moves you can do for your business. It improves customer relationships, keeps them informed, and allows you to reach out to them in real-time.
However, before your chat feature goes live, train your team first on how to deliver quality support consistently through live chat. Work on scripts but allow your team to customize them according to certain demographics or situations.
Also, consider putting individuals with sales background on the chat team. They should have the knowledge and experience in dealing with different types of customers or in selling similar products.
Opt for a fast, efficient, and reliable e-commerce support medium. Through live chats, you’ll never have to worry about missing a customer query again.
About the author:
Frederic Joye is a technology entrepreneur and startup investor, with an extensive background in helping businesses grow and succeed on the web. Frederic is Co-Founder at Arcanys, an accelerator specialized in developing high quality software with a strong focus on innovation for startups primarily from the US, Europe and Australia.
