Very often people consider live chat as just another customer service tool. If we look closely, however, we can’t help but notice it’s much more than that. Not only is it the solution for the traditional channels’ hurdles, but a whole new way to connect with your customers. The benefits of live chat are many and it doesn’t take a lot to see them. Let me name just a few.
Help Your Customers “at the Speed of Light”
The first place of the live chat benefits is assigned to speed. In this fast-paced world, where we all want everything to happen immediately, speed is increasingly demanded. This is especially true when it comes to customer service. Being able to provide fast and qualitative customer service is of great importance nowadays. If your customers have a question, you need to make sure they get the answer as fast as possible.
This is where live chat steps in. Your customers won’t need to spend 15 minutes waiting in line for an operator to get to their call. Nor do they need to wait 48 hours to receive a reply via email. All they need to do is click on the chat button and ask away. The first reply takes about 30 seconds. How can you even compare this to the other channels’ response times?
Boost Your Average Purchase Amount
Research by BoldChat has found that the average purchase amount increased by 60 percent with the use of live chat. Here are the reasons why live chat can boost your average purchase amount, without acquiring new customers:
- Upselling – the chat operator has the opportunity to consult the customer, to recommend better, more expensive products
- Cross-selling – they also have the chance to suggest additional products, that go with the ones the customers have already chosen
- Offers – it is much easier for customers to make a purchase if they can buy a product on sale
- Down selling – even though this cannot raise the average purchase amount, it can definitely turn a no-purchase into a purchase, which is a good thing on its own
Less and Less Forsaken Carts
The main reason for the cart abandonment is when there’s nobody to reply to the simplest question the customer might have. This often happens when they are in doubt about making the right choice and there’s no one to confirm. So when there’s no one to encourage them and remove any doubts, they are most likely to leave.
But what if someone appears at the exact moment the customer is wondering? A wonderful way to prevent cart abandonment is by adding a chat button on the checkout page. You will be there right when the customers need you the most. Having the possibility to take away all of their doubts exactly when they might appear, will guarantee a huge drop in cart abandonment rate.
Conversion Rate to the Sky
The great news is that the drop in the cart abandonment rate automatically increases the conversion rate. The fewer abandoned carts – the more the sales. Being there for your customer in a convenient way for them builds their trust in your company and they are more likely to end up purchasing your product or service.
When they receive a fast response to all the questions they may be having, in a friendly and personalized way, they will not only come back but will tell others about you as well. Providing an amazing customer service experience is always highly appreciated by the customers and well-remembered. Simple as that!
Fewer Agents – More Work Done
A call operator can handle one call at a time, and that call can sometimes take a pretty long time. The same is with emails – you can reply to one email at a time, right? When it comes to live chat, however, an experienced operator can handle up to 6 chats, without breaking a sweat. This means they can help 6 times more customers for the same amount of time.
This immediately leads to a decrease in costs as you will need only one agent for every 6 customers. Not only this, but another benefit of having a chat is the decrease in calls and emails your agents receive. In that case, you will need fewer agents in general, as handling the inflow has never been easier.
The Path to More Satisfied Customers
Another one of the live chat benefits is the high rate of customer satisfaction. Researches have shown that the customer satisfaction level scores higher with live chat than with any other customer contact tool. This has a lot to do with the speed of the service, availability, and convenience.
Many people contact customer service via chat while working because of its convenience. They don’t need to speak or reply immediately. Another big advantage of it is that the chat is anonymous and this also affects the customer satisfaction rate.
Learn More About Your Company
Last, but not least is the feedback. Gathering feedback for your company is crucial if you want it to get better and to grow. The best feedback you can receive is from your customers. The easiest way – by having a live chat channel. This way customers can contact you at any step of their journey. And they might have something to say on each of the steps.
Whether good or bad, you can always extract the benefit of it and provide better services in the future. After all, you do what you do for your customers, so why not listen to them, if you want to succeed?
The More You Use It, The More You’ll See
These are just some of the benefits of live chat – we are only scratching the surface here. In the process of using live chat, you will be able to discover more and more about its convenience, and advantages. The more you use it, the more of its benefits you will be able to see and enjoy. There are no two opinions – it is a great tool to help your customers, hence your business. And what is even better is that it is improving more and more every day!
You can find out more about what live chat is! Or simply experience it first hand now!
Sources: BoldChat Research
