Select Page

Enhancing the Customer Experience with Live Chat

Author: Vikas Mukhi | | February 21, 2019

Your customers deserve the very best experience you can provide. One way you can improve that experience is by offering live chat. Did you know that 73 percent of customers think live chat is the most useful way to interact with a business? Or, that 49 percent of companies increased conversions after implementing live chat? Learn how live chat can benefit your business.

What is Live Chat?

Here’s a technical explanation of live chat: software that allows a website’s visitors to participate in an interactive instant message session with a representative from the business. Depending on where the live chat is available, the representative could be a customer support representative, a sales person, or a technician.

From a business perspective, live chat is much more than a simple software program. Live chat is an increasingly important part of maintaining your competitive advantage by providing an outstanding customer experience.

Customer Experience is Key

Think of the last excellent experience you had with a business while making a purchase. Odds are it has something to do with a product that exactly meets your needs. But, it’s just as likely that you’ll think of a time when the representatives of a business went out of their way to make buying from that business easy.

When you think of your customer experience, you’re really thinking about your perception of how the business treats you. Based on that treatment, you create memories and feelings about the business. Those feelings either make you a loyal customer, or motivate you to avoid the business at all costs.

The impact of customer experience can be far reaching. For example,

· 86 percent of customers will pay more for compassionate service

· 73 percent of customers make purchasing decisions based on their past customer experience

· 65 percent of customers are more influenced by their experience with a business than by even the most amazing advertising

Research has shown that improving customer experience can improve customer retention and satisfaction, along with increasing cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. If you can accomplish those three things, you’ll make a positive impact on your bottom line.

How Live Chat Improves a Customer’s Experience

Customers enjoy live chat for a number of reasons, including convenience and personalized service. They’re taking advantage of it in droves. For example, 45 percent of customers used live chat in 2017. When a customer is purchasing online, and isn’t familiar with a product, chatting with a live representative can answer their questions immediately and make them more comfortable making the purchase. It also has an impact on reducing returns. Armed with the right information, customers are less likely to make the wrong purchase, or regret it later.

Other research indicates that:

· 73 percent of customers view live chat as the most satisfying approach for communication

· 44 percent indicate that the ability to chat with a person while making a purchase is high on their list of what makes a good website

· 77 percent look for live chat before even considering making a purchase

Are You Ready to Get Started?

All of the indicators in today’s market point to live chat being an important tool for businesses and their customers. Are you thinking of using live chat? Or, do you have a live chat system that isn’t meeting your expectations? The experts at Datavail can help you implement a system that meets your needs. Call us at 866-239-9699, or send an email for more information.

And, don’t miss the upcoming posts in this series: live chat features that attract customers, and live chat features that increase your strategy’s effectiveness. You’ll learn about the features you need to look for in a live chat system, and the benefits those features provide.

How to Get External Data in to SharePoint

Microsoft has introduced a new feature called Business Data Catalog for enhanced capabilities in SharePoint to help organizations.

Krishna Naik | January 25, 2018

Three Utilities That Transformed the Digital Customer Experience

Find out about why building a digital bridge for utilities customers isn’t optional, and industry customer engagement success stories.

Vikas Mukhi | April 10, 2018

Eight Steps to a Digital Workplace: Part 2

You’ve seen the first four steps… but there are four more steps to go. Stay on track for the digital transformation with these strategies.

Jason Wong | July 31, 2018

Subscribe to Our Blog

Never miss a post! Stay up to date with the latest database, application and analytics tips and news. Delivered in a handy bi-weekly update straight to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Work with Us

Let’s have a conversation about what you need to succeed and how we can help get you there.

CONTACT US

Work for Us

Where do you want to take your career? Explore exciting opportunities to join our team.

EXPLORE JOBS