This post is covering the most important live chat facts that will skyrocket business growth in the years to come.
Live chat is gaining popularity and is growing at a tremendous rate because of its various benefits. Implementing live chat software not only boosts conversions and sales but also streamlines the customer support process and reduces operational costs.
Here are 10 business focused live chat facts for 2022:
- Creates a great first impression for your business
- Better at managing customer support tasks
- Provides real-time communication
- Cost effective solution
- Gives your company a competitive edge
- Builds deeper customer relationships
- Allows for better employee training
- Risk-free communication for customers
- Pitch your product or service
- Proven to increase sales
Let's dive in.
1. Creates a great first impression for your business
The first point of contact with any client is very vital for any business. The first initial exchange of words can be very impactful for the customer. Sadly, you only have one single shot at it.
Customers, too, want to assess you in the first look. They want to check out your business and service providing acumen right after they talk to you for the first time. It allows you to interact with your customer, when they need and requires your assistance. The technology helps you to nail that first impression and gives your customers the chance to assess you.
Live chat helps first impressions the following ways:
- Welcoming the customer with a warm greeting
- Being positive and very accommodating
- Not ignoring the customer
One of the best things about this live chat fact is that you are not pestering your customers to talk to you, instead they are coming to you with a simple ‘accept button’. This makes live chat even more impressive.
2. Better at managing customer support tasks
73% users are happy with the live chat process and are satisfied than any other communication channels like email or phone. Source – eDigital Customer Service Benchmark survey.
Some of the live chat apps provide multiple chatting boxes for your executives so that they can tackle the issues and the questions of multiple customers.
It also allows seamless call transfers, call merging, file transfer and executive-to-executive calling. All of it makes quite viable and very important for your company’s customer support experience.
In addition, if you look at it from the customer’s point of view, live chat also allows them multi-task. Hence, they do not have to be engaged and spend time specifically on customer support only.
3. Provides real-time communication
You can send an e-mail to your customers and they can one back if they have any questions this becomes a lengthy process. However, when a customer decides to visit your website, it means they are interested in your product. Thus, a quick response is vital to boost conversions.
This is very true…
If this were a brick and mortar shop, they would have asked the questions to you directly. Nevertheless, customers can now seek instantaneous clarifications and real-time answers with live chat.
This means customers do not have to wait for anything when they online shop with you the next time.
This would certainly:
- Save time for the customers.
- Give them real time answers to complex solutions.
- Give customers an opportunity to shoot follow-up questions on your answers.
- This will help the customers to have more confidence in your product.
- In addition, advice seeking for them would be easier.
According to this live chat statistic: 79% of customers liked live chat because their queries got immediate answers with it.
Real-time chat allows a customer support agent to present their case about the product or service in a much better way. The agent can easily judge the ‘situation’ and make changes to his or her presentation likewise.
It is a win-win for all!
4. Cost effective solution
In the long run, live chat is beneficial to your business as it can help your customer during their purchase decision stage. Your customers will only buy your product when they are satisfied with the questions they have, the product itself, other queries.
Did you know: Nearly One-Third of all online transactions and sales are sent back for returns: Source
This would mean less product returns and will indirectly save your online website the bills. Live chat will make sure that your customers have the right product in their hands, the one that they need.
In addition, customer support through live chat software can also save your telephone bills.
Companies can save up 50% of their phone spending with live chat vs traditional telephone support. - Aberdeen Group
5. Gives your company a competitive edge
It is not only helpful for serving your existing customers, but it can also help you to procure new ones from the clutches of your rivals.
Many companies still do not use live chat on their websites, this is where you can take the initiative, and be the first off the blocks.
Installing live chat would certainly make you wanted and the customers would feel much more inclined because you will have something extra to present.
Call it the X-Factor!
6. Builds deeper customer relationships
Let's face it; customers are the reason why we all work hard. We want them to have the best experience when they shop with us. We always try to interact deeply with all of our customers so that we create a bond and become repeat buyers.
Live chat allows us to have that deeper impact with customers. Customers can say their bit and the company has to respond to that quickly. This makes the customer a vital part of the whole transaction and this makes them feel good.
Chatting online with customers creates a loyal and a long-term relationship with the customer, as they acknowledge that someone is available instantly.
7. Allows for better employee training
With emails, it is always difficult to derive definitive data when it comes to customer support. With telephone, the matter is even more complex and vague.
However, with live chats, you can easily review and check metrics to incorporate the knowledge from them later on. You can always see chat histories and sort out the custom site reports.
This allows you to pinpoint the mistakes and gives you the data about how many chats were accepted and how many rejected for making better marketing ploys next time around.
8. Risk-free communication for customers
Customers do not have to install any third party software or plugin if they want to use your website’s live chat option. This lies solely on the company's website and makes the customer experience much easier that they don't have to do any additional work getting in touch with you.
Live chat's safety features:
- Customer's don't need to download anything
- Speaking directly to a customer support agent
- Handled through a trusted software
- Easy chat routing to live agents
- Mask sensitive data
By ensuring the chat is safe and secure, customer's feel no hesitation using live chat.
9. Pitch your product or service
When a customer is interested in your product, he or she will want to chat with your sales department to answer questions before their purchase.
This is where your people have to present their case in the best possible way so that they can live up to the expectations of the customers.
Live chat allows your agents to "pitch" your product or service in a professional, branded, and informative manner. Even your team get the opportunity to highlight the best things about the product without being too aggressive.
58% of customers in the United States check a product online before thinking about buying it: Source
10. Proven to increase sales
Live chat is there to provide exceptional customer support and keep customers happy. In turn, happy customers buy more, so you can say that live chat increases sales.
For example, you sell winter coats on "wintercoats.com".
Without a live chat option:
- Visitor lands on your website
- Searches for a winter coat
- Unsure of sizing, features, options, etc...
- There's nobody to ask, so they read content online
- Not 100% of your product
- Frustrated about the lack of help
- Exits your website without purchasing anything
- Leaves a negative review
- Possibly visits a competitor website and purchases a coat there
Without live chat = lost sale.
Now, this could all be avoided with live chat, here's how:
- Visitor lands on your website
- Searches for a winter coat
- Has questions about size, features, options, etc...
- Clicks on "chat now" button
- Customer service rep answers their questions
- Visitor is happy and sure of the purchase
- Purchases the product
- Visitor is now a customer
- Leaves a great review to convince others to purchase your product(s)
As you can see, live chat helps increase sales that otherwise could have been missed opportunities.
This study from the American Marketing Association depicts that live chat has provided 20% more conversion and ROI on the tool have been 300% or more.
The numbers do not lie, and customers who use live chat are more likely to return and use your website again.
LIVE CHAT SOFTWARE
A conversational way to engage customers
These live chat facts don't lie
It is quite clear from the above live chat facts that its the most convenient tool to offer real-time services to customers. Live chat reduces customer churn rate, increases conversions, and sales.
You can use live chat proactively for sales and customer service, or once a customer initiates a chat for support purposes.
Now, we want to hear from you.
Does your business actively use live chat software? If so, how's it been working?
Let us know in the comments below.