The rise of E-Commerce helped companies of all sizes to reach new markets, along with all types of customers. Step by step, online merchants are offering new features in order to make the purchase process easier, thus, selling more. However, brick-and-mortar stores remain a go-to option for many consumers.
The reason is simple: people like the personal touch that physical stores have to offer. Customers can get help as soon as they have a doubt about the product they are looking for, for example. Along with it, store employees can make suggestions, and help turning visitors into customers, or encourage cross-selling. This helps stores rising their conversion rates.
But, E-Commerce has its own weapons not to fall behind in this aspect of the relationship between the seller and the customer: live chat.
HOW DOES A LIVE CHAT WORK?
We have already talked about this type of tool in previous articles. In the case of a traditional live chat, the procedure is simple.
When a user enters your website, a chat window is displayed in which the user is asked if they can be helped in any way. From there, a conversation can begin in which the sales agent resolves the customer’s doubts.
However, let’s go a little further and see the case of Oct8ne.
Oct8ne is an innovative live chat which integrates the eCommerce catalog and allows agents to show images and videos of products through the chat window using visual support, called co-viewer. Through the co-viewer you can also interact with images, mark a detail or zoom, actively suggesting product of interest to the customer like a personal shopper.
As you can see, live chat allows you to guide the customer throughout the entire purchase process, optimize the customer journey and, consequently, enhance the conversion. Some offer simple options, and others go much further and can almost emulate the shopping experience in a physical store.
These are some of the advantages of installing a live chat like Oct8ne in your E-Commerce. But let’s look at them much more in depth below:
FACILITATES LEAD GENERATION
Not all E-Commerce stores want to sell from the first moment. There are online stores that promote a much more impulsive purchase, and others in which customers need more time to decide before purchasing. There are many factors to be taken in considerations here: whether you are a B2B E-Commerce (which tends to lead to slower purchases and greater reflection), that your items involve a significant expense or simply that the consumer has not yet decided to buy.
In all these cases, collecting leads is very useful in order to enhance the lead nurturing and, finally, get the customer to purchase.
In this aspect, a live chat helps you start a conversation when the visitor is not able to find what he is looking for and needs help.
If an employee is able to understand the needs of the visitors, the possibility that they will become customers is much greater.
WHAT IF MY CHAT IS OFFLINE?
It’s okay.With live chat tools like Oct8ne you can set up a form, so when your agents are not available you can still get customers contacts and answer their doubts. If you prefer, you can also use the chatbot option. In this article they talk about how to respond to your customers when you are not available.
IMPROVES CONVERSION TO PURCHASE
Only a small percentage of visitors buy on their first visit on an online store. Once you have attracted a potential customer, you will find it easier to track when the same user returns to your site.
A live chat helps you establish a link with the user using the information from their last interaction to personalize subsequent conversations. You can make suggestions for real-time products that suit their needs and save them the hassle of navigating on their own.
By acting at the right time to help the visitor on their shopping trip, you can dramatically increase their conversion rate to purchase.
One suggestion: A proactive approach is excellent, but should not be intrusive. This means that if a visitor is doing well on their own, don’t interrupt their trip, as they could be distracted. Using triggers, you can offer help to the customer only when they need it (for example, when they are buying products, when an error is detected on the page or when the user has been more than X time on the same landing page). It is important never to interrupt the purchase process.
BOOSTS CROSS-SELLING AND UP-SELLING
If a user is asking you for a recommendation via live chat, we can deduce that you have earned their trust. At this point, you will be in a position to suggest a product of higher value to the one they are looking for (up-selling). You can also recommend some accessories or related products to suit your needs (cross-selling). For example, a visitor who buys a laptop could also buy a carrying case.
One suggestion: Make sure you have earned the visitor’s trust before attempting cross-selling or up-selling. If not, the buyer may feel pressured to abandon the purchase.
IMPROVE YOUR REPUTATION
In addition to support during the purchase process, live chat is also useful for resolving after-sales support issues and complaints.
Good customer service is an important differentiating factor, which helps creating a gap between you and the competition. If a customer is satisfied with your service, they will say so.
A better perception of the brand and good reviews will help you get more sales and more customers. The integration of live chat helps you get in touch with your customers to give them a better service.
IMPROVE YOUR PRODUCTS/SERVICES AND YOUR WEBSITE
Live chat makes it easier to communicate with your customers, which will give you a lot of insight into their behaviour.
At a minimum, you’ll be able to easily identify the most frequently asked questions. Analyze their causes and include them in a FAQ section to reduce the burden on the employees behind the chat and improve the user experience. Better yet, make changes to your web browsing or even your product or service to eliminate any problems you may have encountered.
Let’s look at an example: if users need help adding a discount coupon or have difficulty selecting their preferred payment method, you should consider improving this process.
One suggestion: We recommend that you take a very data-driven approach. Don’t rely on « intuition ». Conduct customer surveys at the end of each conversation to measure the effectiveness of your live chat. Analyze quantitative data, such as chat response time, for example.
Image credit : Ayushi Aswal
The post 5 advantages of using a live chat in your E-Commerce appeared first on ECN | E-Commerce Nation.
June 11, 2020 at 03:04AM
via https//www.brucedayne.com/
E-commerce Nation, Khareem Sudlow
