Is live chat worth it? 5 reasons why you need it
Online customer service is evolving and adjusting to the demands of consumers year after year. As a result, more e-commerce companies are seeking to update their services in order to keep up with key market trends and get ahead of their competition.
Where once a multi-channel email and telephone service strategy was enough, today we identify a completely different scenario where multiple communication points are integrated into most robust businesses. Well-established technologies attract, retain and convert customers, as is the case with live chat solutions.
If you don’t yet offer a live chat service to provide support from within your e-commerce page, the truth is that you’re missing out on opportunities to connect with your customers and propel your sales forward.
But is live chat worth it? Here are 5 reasons why your business needs live chat and why you should choose JivoChat.
1. Live chat boosts customer satisfaction
According to research by Invesp, a live chat resource which gathers critical data regarding customer opinions, 73% of customers are satisfied with their use and outcomes of live chat services. Meanwhile, for email and phone, the customer satisfaction rate is 51% and 44%, respectively.
Consumers claim that the ability to receive instant replies from the website they are interacting with is the main benefit of using live chat vs. other channels. After all, live chat offers the shortest response time and allows visitors to continue browsing their current page or perform other activities while simultaneously getting help from a live chat operator.
2. Live chat increases conversion rates and helps drive sales
Before we start talking about anything else, consider these live chat statistics presented by 99firms:
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63% of customers are more likely to return to websites that offer live chat;
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48% of customers favor companies that offer proactive customer service;
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Companies with live chat widgets are 85% more likely to convert into customers than websites without them;
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22% of companies that offer live chat recorded a 5-10% increase in revenue;
This leads me to another related concept: don’t make it difficult for your customers to reach you. If your team is just using email, phone, or social media, it’s nearly impossible to track and communicate with each visitor that comes onto your e-commerce website. Therefore, just as it goes with traditional brick-and-mortar stores, you need to break down these communication barriers and approach your customers the moment they appear on your website.
Leverage personalized proactive invitations to make yourself available to any website visitors that are interested in asking questions and having a conversation. This is your ticket to conversions.
3. Live chat is ideal for mobile devices
Live chat is considered the best customer service channel for mobile shoppers because it’s fast, lightweight, and convenient. Visitors browsing your offers via smartphones and tablets don't want to have to switch between tabs or apps to get help. Thus, being able to provide support from within your page is a big plus.
According to OuterBox, 79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile device within the last 6 months. Further, almost 40% of all ecommerce purchases during the 2018 holiday season were made on smartphones.
In fact, mobile shopping is one of the most prominent trends in the digital market today. Taking into consideration the evolution of mobile technologies and how many companies are investing in being mobile-ready, we can’t deny that chatting with chat widgets is convenient for online shoppers.
Check out how JivoChat’s solution is mobile-ready.
4. Live chat has an extremely positive ROI
It’s important to keep in mind that live chat doesn’t need to be used exclusively as a customer service support tool. Instead, it makes sense to think on ROI (Return On Investment) terms. According to Startus Magazine, live chat has a return of about 300% on investment, which makes it one of the best values for a customer service channel.
To integrate live chat into your sales processes and use it to guide customers through your sales funnel, consider each customer’s needs and pains in order to offer the very best solution. Also, make use of upselling and cross-selling strategies to boost your average ticket size and sell more.
But beware: don’t just try to sell. Customers are quick to pick up on customer service representatives pushing on them to buy costly products that exceed their needs and demands. This kind of attitude leads to frustrated and flaky customers which undermines all your efforts.
Don’t forget:
The best live chat solutions offer features designed to provide the biggest ROI:
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Integration with CRM systems, email marketing, and other platforms;
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Multilingual service without the need to hire multilingual agents;
5. Live chat helps you understand your customers
Last but not least, live chat helps you gather customer data and get a better understanding of your target audience.
Lead generation:
As presented by Invesp's research, 42% of customers selected live chat as their preferred method of providing their contact information - higher than any other lead generation method.
Feedback: learn about your customers
Live chat allows your company to get instant feedback on your services and offers, which helps you quickly find out what works and what doesn’t before it can negatively impact other customers’ shopping experiences.
Today, 45% of companies that offer live chat don’t ask for feedback. Use this opportunity to let them review your work so that you can LEARN about their needs and improve your offerings .After all, what is the best way to validate your efforts other than directly asking your own customers?
Yes, live chat is definitely worth it!
Given the main benefits of this customer service channel, you really can't ignore its potential to make your customers happy, get to know their behavior better, mobile benefits, and help you turn website visitors into paying customers.
If your concern is value for money, we present you a great opportunity: install JivoChat for free on your e-commerce website and track service reports and customer satisfaction rates to find out whether live chat is worth it for your team.
Until next time,
The JivoChat Team
#JivoTools
Sign up and try JivoChat for yourself!