We know, it sounds a little clickbait-ish… but for once, the fantastic headline is not only true – it might actually be modest! There is actually a single website addition that can raise your revenue by an average of 40 percent or more.
So. What is this super-secret bombshell the world has been hiding from you? Live Chat.
That’s right. According to a series of research studies, this single addition to customer support, displayed prominently on your website, can increase your company’s revenue stream by nearly half – 48% per chat hour to be exact. If that isn’t enough of a reason to demand live chat on your website immediately, that’s ok, because there’s more! See if these stats make your heart soar:
- 40% increase in conversion rate.
- 38% of customers are more likely to buy from a company that offers live chat.
- 10% increases in the average order that included a live chat conversation.
- 29% improved marketing awareness.
- 32% early-stage sales development improvement.
- 39% improvement on post-sales customer support.
As with all great things, there is a downside. According to those same studies, 40 to 50 percent of customers expect a live chat option on every website they visit, which means you are all but ignoring up to half of your customer base if you do not have live chat on your site. This becomes extremely important when 1 out of every 5 customers admits to being willing to stop using a company entirely if they do not have live chat accessible from their website.
Also, your live chat must be able to respond to customers in less than one minute – the faster, the better – every time, or you will lose just as many customers as you would have, not including the service in the first place. Not just any live chat will do, you need a great system with a knowledgeable and efficient team behind it. If you can manage that, live chat is a must-have for any business with a website.
So, what does it take to add this magical money-making and preserving option to your website? That can be a little tricky. First and foremost, your new live chat option cannot be hard to find or hidden away on a contact page. You will need your web designer to make some adjustments so that the button that opens the live chat can be seen on every page.
Once you have warned the design team of the coming change, you have some decisions to make:
- Which software will you use? Gorgias, Gladly, and Intercom provide great live chat features for ecommerce companies.
- Which days of the week will your live chat be running? Holidays?
- How many hours of each of those days will the live chat be available?
- How many staff members will you need to ensure that your customer service chats get answered in less than a minute during the hours of operation?
- Will you email a copy of the transcript to the customer? How?
- Are you allowing your customers to immediately leave a rating about the live chat interaction? Which software?
About Horatio:
Horatio is a premier provider of the kind of white-glove support services your customers expect and deserve. We will work with you to design a support framework specifically for your brand and staff that framework with a handpicked team dedicated to your company’s success. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology and up-to-the-minute expertise, your team of customer service experts will provide excellence in service to your customers while ensuring you have the customer knowledge you need to keep your business running like a dream.
