In the search for strategies that drive online sales, many businesses turn to popular options such as paid marketing, events, webinars, referrals and word-of-mouth marketing. Live chat shouldn’t be overlooked as a strategy because its impact is far-reaching.
Live chat is so resourceful as a strategy for sales that 85% of B2B companies are using it mainly for sales and 66% are using it mainly for support.
In this article, we’ll look at five tried strategies to increase your online sales using live chat. These tactics are ready to be used in your company to have a big influence on your bottom line.
Let’s get started and see how live chat can help your e-commerce business succeed.
Get Proactive on Live Chat
When looking to increase online sales for your business with live chat, you should implement proactive chat practices that meet your customers at one of the most important stages of their buyer journey.
A report by Forrester says that 44% of online consumers say that having questions answered by a live chat agent while in the middle of an online purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer.
Proactive chat is not just a tool, it’s a strategy that can transform the way you interact with your online customers. It allows you to reach out to visitors before they even realize they need assistance. This approach presents an incredible opportunity to guide customers, address their concerns, and boost sales.
Let’s say for instance that a customer has included multiple items in their online shopping cart. Those items have been there for more than a week. Using a proactive hat tactic, your chat agents can reach out to them, offering assistance, more information or even discounts that can move the customer towards a sale. This single move can prevent cart abandonment and save sales that may otherwise have been lost.
Asides from solving cart abandonment issues, your agent can also suggest complementary products or upgrades to your customers, or simply ask if they’re having any trouble. This genuine care about the needs of your customers is usually rewarded with repeat business and brand loyalty.
To harness the full potential of proactive chat, you need to craft messages that are contextually relevant. Understand where the customer is in their journey, and tailor your messages accordingly.
Timing is everything. Don’t rush in too soon or too late, strike a balance. Additionally, avoid bombarding visitors with messages. Keep it respectful. The more personalized the approach, the more likely it is to resonate with them and increase your sales over live chat.
Provide Real-time Customer Support
It goes without saying that the different types of online customers will always value assistance or support when it’s needed.
In a customer lifecycle survey, the data showed that 73% of customers agreed that companies who valued their time, fulfilled one of the most important aspects of customer service.
Happy, satisfied customers are more likely to make purchases and become loyal patrons of your brand. And what better way to build customer loyalty than by utilizing live chat to enhance your customer support and, in turn, boost your sales.
Live chat isn’t just about having a conversation over a live chat widget that sits over your website. It’s about creating a seamless and supportive experience for your customers.
The promptness of response can be the difference between a visitor exiting your site and a visitor converting into a customer. Live chat allows you to provide immediate assistance, resolving issues, and answering queries in real-time.
Your customers are diverse, and so are their preferred communication channels. Live chat can be seamlessly integrated into your website, mobile app, and even social media platforms, ensuring that your customers can reach out to you from their preferred platform. This level of flexibility ensures you’re there for your customers, no matter where they are.
Guiding Visitors Through the Sales Funnel
Think of the sales funnel as a journey your potential customers embark upon, from the moment they first encounter your brand to the moment they make a purchase. It’s a process that demands careful navigation, and live chat can be your compass that helps guide them successfully through a sale.
What does that look like through the different stages using live chat?
Awareness Stage:
At the very top of the funnel, you have potential customers who’ve just become aware of your brand or product. They might have found you through a Google search, social media, or an ad. The goal here is to capture their attention and pique their interest.
Using chatbots or automated chat messages, you can offer assistance, directions to your knowledge base, or useful articles that other new website visitors found helpful.
You can initiate a chat with a friendly greeting, ask if they need help finding anything, and offer to explain your products or services briefly.
Interest Stage:
As visitors move down the funnel, they start showing more than a passing curiosity. They may be researching your products, comparing options, and looking for more information. Now, you need to nurture their interest and guide them towards a decision.
For those lingering on product pages, a well-timed chat could involve offering more detailed information, addressing specific product questions, or suggesting related items. Consider chat scripts like, “I see you’re interested in [Product Name]. Is there anything specific you’d like to know?”
Decision Stage:
This is where the rubber meets the road. Visitors in the decision stage are on the verge of making a purchase but may have some lingering doubts. They’re looking for that final piece of information or assurance to tip the scales in your favor.
Visitors who’ve explored your offerings and seem ready to commit might appreciate a nudge. A chat script in this stage could be, “It looks like you’re close to making a decision. Is there anything else you’d like to know or any concerns I can help address?”
Action Stage:
Finally, the moment of truth. Visitors in the action stage are ready to convert – to make a purchase, sign up, or whatever the desired action is. Your aim here is to facilitate their path to conversion.
At this stage, you want to eliminate any last-minute hesitations. A chat script like, “Congratulations on your decision! How can I assist you in completing your purchase today?” can be a game-changer.
Leveraging Chatbots and AI
Complementing your live chat widget with the power of AI and chatbots is a great way to enhance your customer’s experience.
Here are some ways that you can leverage chatbots in order to boost your sales over live chat.
Availability: Chatbots can be available to customers 24/7, while live chat agents are typically only available during business hours. This is especially beneficial for global businesses with customers in different time zones.
Scalability: Without the need to recruit more live chat agents, chatbots may be readily scaled to accommodate high amounts of client enquiries. This is particularly crucial for companies whose client traffic varies seasonally.
Cost-effectiveness: Because chatbots require less initial investment and continuous upkeep than live chat workers, they are usually more affordable than the latter.
Response time: Because chatbots can manage several conversations at once, they can usually reply to consumer enquiries far more quickly than live chat representatives.
Routine task automation: Chatbots can be used to automate repetitive customer service duties, like responding to often asked queries and offering product details. This allows live chat agents to concentrate on more complicated problems.
Proactive customer service: Even if a consumer hasn’t been in touch with the company beforehand, chatbots can be utilized to reach out to them and offer assistance. This can decrease the number of support tickets that live chat workers must manage and increase customer satisfaction.
Gathering and Analyzing Customer Data
Your business’s ability to adapt, thrive, and ultimately increase its bottom line hinges on its capacity to harness and apply data-driven insights from your live chat transcripts. Collecting data through live chat is like having a direct line to your customers, where they willingly share their thoughts and desires with you.
With a simple examination of chat transcripts, you can uncover patterns in customer behaviour. Are there recurring questions or objections? What pages do customers frequently inquire about? This analysis helps you tailor your website, content, and offers to align with your customers’ needs and preferences.
Also, consider experimentation as the cornerstone of progress. With your live chat data in hand, you can implement A/B testing strategies within your live chat interactions.
Test different greetings, responses, or approaches to understand which ones resonate best with your audience. Over time, you’ll refine your approach and build a chat strategy that maximizes conversions.
With this, you can make informed, data-driven decisions that will lead to increased sales and a more satisfying customer experience.
Conclusion
In summary, incorporating live chat into your e-commerce strategy is a tried-and-true way to increase online sales, not just a fad. Using these tactics and improving your live chat strategy over time will surely help your online business succeed and expand. Embrace the realm of live chat now, and you’ll see a dramatic increase in your online sales.
