15 Reasons Why You Should Add Live Chat on Your Website

Live chat is arguably one of the most essential features to implement on behalf of your brand — especially when working on your conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategies. If you leverage live chat to improve your marketing game, it can directly impact your revenue, ROI, and long-term performance.

In an increasingly digitalized world, where instant gratification is key, adding live chat boosts engagement and conversion rates. Considering that up to 90% of first-time website visitors don’t convert, you should use every advantage to get customers to take that last step.

Before we delve into the more extensive reasons your website needs live chat support, let’s understand what it is and how it differs from using chatbots.

What is Live Chat?

Live chat is a software application designed for websites that allows you to chat with your visitors/customers in real-time. It offers an instant, authentic connection with your customers who have questions, comments, or concerns.

With live chat, you also don’t have to worry about dealing with different time zones. You let your potential customers decide when and how long they want to chat.

That’s why most customers prefer a live chat on a site. Data shows that 75% of customers prefer it over any other channel.

Live Chat Stats and Benefits

Having a live chat feature is one of the best moves you will make as a brand. It’s no surprise that almost every website comes with live chat support.

Here are a few statistics that reveal why live chat is so critical.

1. Live Chat Is Popular

• According to a recent article, 44% of online consumers believe that live chat is an important website feature.
• As per Invesp Infographic, 63% are more likely to return to a website that offers live chat.
• Live chat has the highest satisfaction rate (73%) out of any form of customer communication. Email communication has a 61% satisfaction rating, while phone support has 44%.

2. Live Chat Is Considerably Cost-Effective

• Live chat is usually cheaper than phone support. It will cost you around 17 to 30% less than a phone call.
• Organizations that used chatbots in 2019 saved an average of $300,000.

3. Live Chat Increases Conversions

According to Kayako’s survey:

• 79% of businesses believe offering live chat improved their sales, revenue, and customer loyalty.
• 63% of people who spend between $250 to $500 a month online are the most likely to buy from and be loyal to companies offering live chat.
• 51% buy again from a company if they offer live chat support.

Live Chat Vs. Bots

As you can see, adding live chat on a site is a necessity — but we’re not talking about chatbots. Live chat (with real agents) offers a much more humanized approach and facilitates a true connection with customers.

Other distinguishing factors include:

Live ChatChatbotsInteract with your customers in real time.Only mimics human interactions with your customers.Handled by human agents who understand customer emotions better.Handled by machines, which may not understand human emotions to the same extent as a live agent.Can solve complex issues relatively quickly.Geared towards resolving routine or repetitive queries.Can handle a maximum of 3 to 4 chats simultaneously.Can handle any number of chats at the same time.

Can Live Chat Work for Marketing?

Marketing is all about context and intent. When someone starts chatting with an agent, they are actively shopping (with a clear intent). Live chat allows you to drop in at exactly the right point in their buying journey.

With a live chat on a site, you can:

• Improve customer support which helps build brand loyalty.
• Increase customer engagement.
• Provide instant response, which drives more sales.
• Build rapport with customers.
• Reduce repetition for your customers.
• Stay connected 24/7.
• Collect real-time consumer behavior data.

All of these capabilities translate into a stellar marketing approach that will help you generate more leads, sales, and conversions.

15 Reasons to Add Live Chat to Your Marketing Playbook

Live chat has become increasingly relevant, especially as the pandemic put digitalization on a fast track. According to a recent survey, 70% of CEOs and business leaders believe that the pandemic accelerated digitalization by months or even years.

This makes it necessary for your brand to create a lasting first impression on your online shoppers and visitors. That’s where live chat can help, and here are 15 reasons why.

1. Improve Your Sales Funnel

In a traditional sales funnel, customers are on their own once they land on your website or landing page — and that’s risky. Even the smallest distraction or hurdle can cause them to leave. You want to guide them to a successful sale.

With a live chat feature on your website, you can keep them glued to the screen and provide immediate answers to pressing questions. This will help you close the sale quickly and efficiently.

2. Turn Interactions into Leads

You can use live chat to generate leads. A chat agent can easily collect contact information from your potential users. You can then use this data to get in touch and close the sale later.

More importantly, you will have the entire chat history on record. This will help you understand what customers want and how you should approach them. That, in turn, increases your likelihood of closing a sale.

3. Be Available 24/7

Digitalization has changed customer behavior and expectations significantly. For example, 90% of consumers rate an immediate response as “important or very important” when they have a support question. Because Foxxr-managed live chat service makes you available 24/7, you can swiftly respond to any queries, regardless of the time zone.

4. Rank Higher in Search Rankings

As mentioned in the first point, with a live chat on a site, you can make visitors stay a little longer. This increases the dwell time and reduces the bounce rate. Your visitors will spend more time on the site as live chat agents interact with them. As we all know, a higher dwell time and lower bounce rate can lead to a better ranking in Google search results.

5. Better Customer Service

The faster and more responsive the customer service, the better. With live chat support, you can provide your customers with the opportunity to reach you exactly when they need it.

6. Reduce Operating and Marketing Costs

Operating and marketing costs are significant expenses for most companies. Live chat increases conversions, engagement, and lead generation while keeping customer support costs down. It also generates unique upsell opportunities throughout the sales funnel. This helps reduce the overall operating and marketing costs.

To read the full article, check out the original post published on Foxxr Digital Marketing.