Live chat is one of the most popular ways for customers to get in touch with business. It’s quick, efficient and means that businesses can be available 24/7 to answer their customer queries.
In fact, the importance of live chat to the customer experience is growing each year, with many consumers now saying it’s their number one preference when it comes to contacting the brands and businesses who they buy from.
However, it’s important that your business has a clear understanding of how live chat should be used, and how to ensure that you aren’t trying to be too clever with how you use it – and instead are focusing on what it’s all about – giving your customers the very best experience.
We look at how to keep live chat relevant, and some of the common mistakes we have seen businesses make.
Live chat should not take away from the customer journey
It’s a well-known fact that “pop ups” on websites are not liked by many users. So, it’s important that the way in which your live chat appears, and works is designed to help customers with exactly what they want. Whether that’s to make an enquiry, find out more about a product or service, or simply to ask for help with finding something on your website.
For every user who wants to use chat, there will be many more who don’t, so make sure that your chat box is easy to close and does not impede how a website visitor can navigate through your site.
Conversely, make sure that your live chat is easily found by those who want it. Don’t just hide a chat button away on your contact us page, or specifically just on a sales page.
It’s not just a sales channel
Your live chat should be somewhere that users can ask their questions without the “fear” of a hard sell. Remember, all chats that take place can lead to a new sale, a recommendation or a great review, so think customer experience before “sales pitch”.
Additionally, for businesses with a high level of aftersales service, using live chat can be the perfect way in which to manage your customer service enquiries. It’s more affordable than a call centre, and it’s the channel of choice for many consumers.
Make sure you’re available
There is nothing worse that offering live chat, only for no one to respond to a chat request. Ideally, if you choose to offer live chat on your website, it should, at a minimum be available during your core office hours. However, in a world where people want immediate answers, 24/7 live chat is the best possible option.
While you may not be able to manage this internally, here at Yomdel we provide solutions that give you access to a team who can respond to your chat queries at all times, allowing you to be a 24hr business, without the staff costs.
If you haven't yet looked into a 24/7 managed live chat service, or you'd just like to know more about the options available to you, don’t hesitate to get in touch, we would be happy to chat.
