Why live chat is important for marketing in 2020

Direct digital communication is now more important than ever. With everyone working and socialising from home, businesses have been left asking themselves how they can still connect with clients in a meaningful way.

Live chat has been helping companies communicate in real-time for a while now. So what exactly is live chat? Here's a quick overview. Visitors can click a live chat button displayed on your website to send a message, which your employees can respond to instantly. No need for visitors to install any apps or follow your brand's social accounts - all they need is a web browser.

It offers numerous benefits over traditional methods such as email, phone or face-to-face support. So we thought we'd revisit the main advantages of using live chat on your site and why it's so important in 2020.

Company benefits 

1. Lower your costs

Many companies still use traditional methods such as phone calls and emails to communicate with their customers about customer service needs, but it can be very costly when it comes to your expenses.

Live chat customer service is 17-30% cheaper than a phone call

Forrester research

Naturally, your employees can only manage one phone call at a time, but using live chat they can assist several visitors simultaneously. They also don't need a dedicated phone line, desk space or other office amenities, as live chat apps can be managed via mobile making it perfect for the remote working life. 

2. Understand your customers

What better way to understand the pain points of your audience than a catalogue of information about them? Chat histories from your live chat means you can search, sort and analyse all the customer information you need to solve their problem.

Comparatively, with the traditional phone call support, individual employees speak to leads resulting in information being lost or misinterpreted. 

Using live chat can create a centralised collection of customer service communications. This array of visitor metrics can help you implement better strategies and improve your offering.

With this insight, you can easily focus on the problems, needs and ambitions of your target market, resolving issues before they appear and refining the perfect product or service.

3. Increase sales

It's a fact - live chat is effective in generating leads and making sales. By providing web visitors with instant access to your company, your team have more opportunities to convert actively engaged leads into paying customers.

Live chat can increase conversions by 20% in B2B

The American Marketing Association

Your employees can tackle barriers to conversion, highlight your strengths as compared to market competitors, and support the journey to a sale, all in real-time. 

Customer benefits

1. Better support

Customers feel more confident in companies which provide support in a simple, quick and convenient manner. Live chat apps are an excellent way of doing that. 

While your website helps to expand your reach, many visitors still need a human touch before they convert. Using a live chat app can provide a personal approach to business wherever your customer is based, bypassing issues such as making long journeys to your office or paying expensive international dialling rates.

90% of customers say the "Live Chat" button gives them confidence that they can get help if they need it

Oracle

Customers want to feel valued, and live chat apps provide acknowledgement, support and swift resolutions to their problems. When your visitors can easily contact you, they will be more confident in your company as a valuable source of knowledge and support.

2. Faster response time

Live chat provides your website visitors with instant access to salespeople and support staff. They can raise questions or concerns as soon as they arise, allowing for speedy resolutions.

Traditional FAQs and help sections can provide a catalogue of support for customers, but live chat places emphasis on individuals making the effort to find the solution to their problem.

Live chat apps allow employees to provide suitable links via the chat window, meeting the individual's needs in a personalised manner and with minimal effort.

3. Convenience for the customer

Technology makes things more and more convenient, and live chat is no different. Live chat makes it easy for leads to connect with you, often leading to conversion and long term loyalty.

Live chat is the preferred method of communication for online shoppers when compared to other communication methods

Comm100

Live chat offers consumers a perfect blend of instant communication and minimal commitment. They can be used while someone is working or shopping, at home or out and about.

Our benefits

We've implemented live chat apps for a number of our clients, and we don't just talk the talk - we walk the walk. Visit our site to try out our very own live chat and chat to us today with any questions you might have.