What About Putting Live Chat On Your Website?

Do you feel like customers are abandoning your website in droves? Perhaps they need someone to talk to and answer questions? Live chat is the solution you are looking for. Like most business owners, you may think that live chat is only for big companies with tremendous customer service departments. You couldn’t be more wrong! Offering live chat sales/support is one of the best and easiest things you could do for your business.

Let’s discuss why it is useful to have live chat on your website, types of live chat apps, and live chat best practices.

What is live chat and what are its benefits?

Live chat is a communication tool that allows customers to ask questions or raise concerns with your business in real-time. This can be conducted via an instant message service, typically through a chat window on your website.

With this system in place, you’re able to offer customer service around the clock. Instead of waiting for someone to send an email, your customers can get instant answers.

How do I set up live chat on my website?

Live chat is an important feature to add to your website. In setting it up, you might need some help from a web developer or an agency, depending on the app you decide to install.

You can also install chat apps onto your website which doesn’t require any coding. These can be WordPress plugins or simply directed the person to your messengers via Facebook page.

Live Chat Apps

Two common ways of having Live Chat are:

Live Chat Widget

Typically this is a snippet of code which is added to your website. Think of it like installing a new program on your computer. Once installed on your website, visitors can chat with you directly while still on your website. To set this up, you may need help from a developer or agency, as well as a subscription with the chat provider. But once set up, it’s very easy to use.

Chat providers are companies that run the chat program. Typically, they don’t sell a copy of their program, you need to pay a monthly subscription in order to use their program. But don’t worry, it’s not much and it’s worth it.

Off-site Live Chat

An example is Facebook Messenger, which doesn’t need custom code or integration. Instead, on your website, you direct visitors to your Facebook page. It’s an excellent choice for businesses with an established following on Facebook.

Which one should I use?

Depending on your needs, going through and getting a live chat system designed by a web developer can allow more customization. Some Live Chat programs allow you to automate messaging, so you can automatically greet customers or even automatically answer basic queries! 

Most live chat programs also have other features like tracking visitors, their visit history, their location and what pages of your website they’ve browsed. This is useful for increasing your conversion rates. Now that’s a smart website!

5 Reasons to Add Live Chat to your Website

Live chat on your website is an effective business tool that increases sales and brings in more revenue. If you’re not offering this service, you’re losing out on potential customers.

Here are the reasons why you need to install live chat support on your website:

1. Boost Your Sales

Live chat on your website is an effective way to boost sales and increase revenue. Providing instant customer care will make it easier for customers and prospects to get the information they need and take action.

This means more questions, more quotes and higher conversion rates for you!

2. Brighten Your Customer’s Day

In providing a service on your website, you will no doubt brighten your customer’s day. They can get answers to concerns quickly through online chat and connect with real people. This is far better than waiting for someone to answer an email or fill out a contact form that may take days for a response.   

3. High Customer Satisfaction

With live chat, you have the opportunity to ask the right questions and ensure customers are happy and satisfied with the products and services you offer. This will bring them back to your site and increase their confidence in your brand.

4. Higher Conversion Rates

Conversion rates refer to the number of visitors that take action when visiting your website. If a visitor doesn’t convert, chances are they’ll head to your competitor’s site.

Live chat on your website is an effective strategy to boost sales. Provide fast online customer service, which could give you an upper hand over the competition and increase conversions for you.

5. Turn Negative Commenters into Positive Customers

Having a live chat system will help turn negative commenters into positive customers. Having this strategy in place enables customers to quickly connect with a real person and have their issues addressed.

You might be able to turn customers who are not happy into satisfied ones by offering them discounts or other acts of generosity. This is always a good chance to go above and beyond and show the customer the level of your service.

Live Chat Best Practices

Here are the best practices you need to follow when using live chat:

Use a Unique Live Chat Software or Application

When using live chat on your website, it’s crucial that you only use the software or application that works best for you and your business. This ensures customer service is of top-notch quality and no one has any issues.

Use a Live Chat Pop-up on Your Homepage

A pop-up can catch your customer’s attention and make it easy for them to reach out to you without going through the hassle of looking for support or customer service.

Offer Different Channels

Customers usually want to contact support in their own preference of communication channels. Therefore, it’s best to have options for the channels you offer, so customers are able or willing to communicate with you.

For instance, if customers still prefer phone support, make sure to clearly list your phone number on your website so they can call you. Live chat shouldn’t be the only option you provide customers.

Provide Urgent Response

When customers require urgent support, they look for live chat at their convenience. If your website is not offering this option, it could result in lost opportunities and unsatisfied customers.

Make sure to answer live chat requests quickly. Most live chat programs allow you to have multiple operators watching the chat so no queries are missed. 

You can even automate your live chat to notify different people if no one has responded to the customer within a certain period, so someone else can take over the chat before the customer leaves your website.

Don’t Forget the Greetings

Before starting a live chat, the first thing you should do is greet your customers and let them know who you are so they know they are in the right place. While this is not mandatory, it’s a great way to start the conversation with a positive tone.

Give Your Customers Options

At the beginning of your chat, make sure to prompt some options so that your customers know what to expect and initiate conversations about their query. This will ensure that they don’t have to wait around and will guide them to the right solution by understanding how you can help.

Turn Chat into Opportunities

There are times when the live chat session ends, but the customer still has more questions. This can result in missed opportunities or sales.

You can setup an automatic copy of the conversation to be emailed to them (if you gathered their email address) and let customers know if they have further questions, they can reply to your email.

At the end of a chat, you can even share your social media profiles so they further become aware of your brand and discover social and behind the scenes to your company that they might not otherwise discover on your corporate website.

Conclusion

Having a live chat on your website is a great way to improve the customer service you offer. It’s an efficient way of connecting with customers and offering them solutions in real-time without having to wait around for emails or phone calls.

This is what it takes to deliver top-notch service at all times. If you are having a hard time installing live chat support on your website, you can hire a professional team (like us) to do it for you.