How to Increase Leads and Close Sales with Live Chat on your Website
There is no denying that we live in an on-demand culture.
We don’t hail a cab or wait in line at the airport, we tell Uber or Lyft where to pick us up. Wait in line at Starbucks? No thanks, I’ll order from the app and grab it when I arrive. (Let’s be honest, we’ve all ordered from our phones while waiting in that long line.) Need to pickup dinner or groceries? No problem, just have it delivered.
I hate calling companies and waiting on hold. I jump to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to try and get an answer before picking up the phone. If I am shopping online, I want an answer right away so I can decide to buy or not.
The on-demand culture is all about decreasing friction and increasing accessibility.
It’s something that building material manufacturers and dealers need to get better at. Your customers want to get answers now, and they don’t always want to call (or send a fax).
One of the best ways to decrease friction and increase accessibility is to add live chat or a chatbot to your website.
Let’s take a look at Live Chat statistics for 2020.
79% of consumers prefer live chats because they offer instant responses.
Live chat has the highest consumer satisfaction rate at 92%.
For 41% of consumers, live chat is a preferred channel for contacting support teams.
63% of consumers who used live chat on a website are likely to return to that site.
70% of consumers prefer human agents to AI technologies.
The last data point is important as there is a different between chatbots and live chat. I’ve had horrible and great experiences with both.
Chatbots are AI-driven programs that are designed to simulate human conversation. They use key words in your messages to direct you down a path to get an answer. That answer could be something like a product page, an install guide, a video or FAQ page.
Live chat is a program that allows you to chat directly with a human. It’s similar to texting, but directly on their website.
When to use Chatbots.
Chatbots are useful if you have a good idea of what people are looking for on your website, and you can help get it them quickly. For example, how much does this cost? Do you offer a free trial? How do I contact a local sales rep?
Chatbots are a great tool to drive users into live chat. It can help clarify exactly what they need, so you can pass them along to the correct human to answer their question. My worst experiences with chatbots is when I can’t get the answer, and they have no way to connect me to a human. I’ve just wasted 5-10 minutes and leave frustrated. The goal should be to get them to a human! Decrease friction and increase accessibility
Chatbots can help weed out users who aren’t truly interested in your product. If they don’t want to answer a few questions, then live chatting or talking on the phone will be a waste of time. Keep your chatbot short and simple. Then give the user a next step, so they can continue their journey.
Your customer service team is the first line of your inside sales team. Every interaction a customer has with an employee is an interaction with a sales rep. 80% of buyers research products online before purchasing, and many of those users will submit questions to “contact us” or if they can’t find the answer, simply leave. Giving your customer service team the tools to help customers earlier in the buying process will result in more leads and more closed sales.
When to use Live Chat.
Here are just a few reasons why every manufacturer and dealer should have live chat on their website.
We are in an on-demand culture. Consumers don’t want to search for answers. They want them delivered quickly and efficiently. Offering live chat on your website helps them find their answer without picking up a phone.
Drive more leads to your sales reps. What better way them to start a conversation, find out the city/state of where they live and offer to have a sales rep contact them immediately. Decrease friction and increase accessibility. That is a “wow” customer experience.
Did you know that 82% of consumers consult their phones in-store before making a purchase? That means they are searching the web for your product! Imagine being able to chat with someone standing in the store, provide them with the answers they need and close the sale.
For dealers, how often does a contractor or builder have a “quick question?” Allowing them to jump on live chat will give them the answer immediately without the need to pick up the phone.
When it comes to live chat, there are many options. They are incredibly simple to setup. I added Tidio live chat to my website in less than 5 minutes. Click the icon in the bottom corner and let’s chat!
Of course, the underlying factor in all this is proper training for your team. They must have the ability to answer questions or get answers quickly. A bad live chat experience can ruin the relationship and that customer is on the next train to your competitors website. Train your staff to be knowledgeable in the products and services, and setup a process that allows for quick communication with the right people.
I guarantee you’ll increase qualified leads and close more sales.