If you are an avid online shopper you may have seen the pop up box appearing after being on a website for a few moments offering you the opportunity to chat online to a sales assistant. It’s still a relatively new tool for most companies, but it should definitely be a consideration if you offer a service where it could leave the potential customer requiring more knowledge or a product portfolio that may generate an array of questions.
Having a virtual sales assistance provides a plethora of advantages and it also comes with the added flexibility that you can switch it on and off to suit your working day. Alternatively many of the online chat systems can be managed by an external company enabling your business to be responsive 24/7- great for that worldwide service coverage!
Yes that’s right, by having an online chat function your sales will see an increase. By interacting at the right moment can mean the difference between a customer abandoning their shopping journey and getting the help they need to make that all-important purchase. Treat your online shop like you would a real physical one. If you saw a customer instore looking confused or about to walk out the door you would no doubt approach them to offer your help. Should an online store be any different?
By engaging with your website visitors, it will ultimately make them feel important and will ensure that trust being built. Receiving instant useful information that is not intrusive will provide the reassurance that they are making the right purchase decision and that someone is on hand to point them in the right direction.
By being able to get an answer almost immediately to a query without having to go offline means that the customers’ experience is not disrupted by having to make a phone call or send an email. It is like having a personal shopper at the touch of your fingertips and as soon as you have the answer you need you just simply close the chat.
It also provides the added advantage that if a customer is unhappy, a company can deal with the issue immediately without it spiralling into a full blown complaint. The customer goes away happy with the fact they have been heard and that the issue has been resolved.
It’s far too easy these days for customers to bounce off your website onto a competitors if they can’t find what they are looking for. Don’t give them a reason to look elsewhere, after all the hard part was getting them to your website in the first place now you just need to keep them engaged.
Remember your competitors are literally only a click away, whilst at the browsing stage keep customers on your site and keep them happy.
If you need advice on how to integrate online chat onto your simply give us a call on 0121 728 8168 or email hello@darrenlangley.com to chat about how we can help.