Before, customers said that they are reluctant in relying their concerns or describing their shopping preferences through chat and they are more comfortable speaking through phone with customer service representatives. However, that has changed through the years. Online chat has now evolved into a special way to recreate the personal connections online that come so easily when customers shop in store.
There was an unprecedented increase on chat usage rose in the past months, possibly because of the transition in operations by businesses from in-store to online. Certain brands also reported a rise on conversations happening through messaging apps between them and their shoppers.
This shows that the use of live chat has gone beyond dealing with irate customers complaining about irregularities with their transactions. Rather, live chat is now a way to support customers through all stages of the buying cycle including before and during purchase.
Getting Better Customer Engagement
Making customers experience a positive and fruitful conversation with someone from your company will help build a stronger connection between you and them. This engagement caused by their feeling of connection to your business will add up to their love for your products, your branding, or the mission and values of the company. Allowing shoppers to chat with you or your staff can make the entire conversation feel closer to what they used to enjoy in-store.
Live chat also offers businesses the opportunity to take part of the shopper’s decision-making while they are considering a purchase. That means they are capable of giving a push by giving clarifications about anything that can make a customer hesitant on checking out.
Gain Customers’ Trust
Research shows that brands that respond to a customer’s chat within five minutes are more likely to get a sale. This is because customers are likely to trust brands that are easy to reach. Since you are easy to contact should anything go wrong, shoppers will feel more comfortable transacting with you.
No size ambiguity means more Sales
For online retailers, answering a consumer’s questions directly can be equivalent to sales. This applies commonly when the question is related to sizes. Since there’s no fitting room, customers have no chance to try the clothes they want to buy. However, this will not be a problem if we will be able to advise based on the sizes of the clothes that they already have or send links to our social media accounts.
Without the ambiguity on your product sizes, uncertainty will also have no place in your customers mind. By being capable of answering all these questions immediately through live chat, you remove their doubts due to fear of inexactness.
The distance between you and the customer is not a challenge that is impossible to overcome. What you only need aside from excellent service and quality products is to give them assurance that your goods will meet their expectations and will not give any surprise disappointments.