Live Support: A Simple Way to Increase Website Conversions

These days customers want it all, and they want it quickly, especially when they’re shopping online. With so many options, a customer can be gone with a click of the mouse. That’s why it’s important to stay competitive by meeting the needs of customers quickly. One way to do that is by offering live support or live chat. With live chat, you can actively engage customers and address their questions and concerns while they’re sitting at their computer. No phone required. Online businesses that use live support gain an edge in the marketplace. Here’s why.

What is Live Support?

To use live support, you place a support button in a prominent place on your website. When visitors click on the button, they can chat directly with a customer service rep online in real time. With live chat, customers get the answers they want without having to pick up the phone. You can customize the look of the support button to make it consistent with the theme of your website.

What Are the Advantages of Using Live Chat?

The most important reason to use live chat is that it increases website conversion rates. According to an article published in Internet Retailer magazine, online businesses that use live chat have a conversion rate that’s three times higher than email. That should be music to the ears of any retailer who wants to sell more products. Among the top 100 internet retailers, almost a third are using live chat, more than were using it last year.

Using live support builds customer trust, which also improves conversions. Visitors feel more secure buying from retailers that focus on customer support. Many are lost when they first visit a site and feel more secure knowing immediate help is available. Offering live support reinforces in the mind of visitors that you’re a legitimate business they can feel comfortable buying from. Live chat also helps build a stronger relationship with visitors and potential customers. It “humanizes” your site and shows your commitment to customer service.

Live chat can save your company money. With telephone support, a customer service rep can only talk to one customer at a time, but reps using live support can handle more than one support request simultaneously. You’ll also have a transcript of customer conversations when you use live chat. This means you can review transcripts to make sure your reps are responding to customers appropriately and giving them the information they need.

Live support and chat also allows you to track the demographics of customers who contact you for support. You can see the web pages they visited and the search terms they used. This helps you fine tune your website and address issues that may be confusing to customers.

Choose a Reliable Live Support Provider

When choosing a live chat provider, do your homework. Some of the leaders in the industry with a proven track record are companies like boldchat.com, liveperson.com and providesupport.com.