Discovering how to efficiently locate, convert, up-sell and retain top customers are critical success metrics for any growing company. The best customers make four times as many purchases (Source). The top 1 percent of clients spend five times more per order than the bottom 90 percent. Most leaders of online retailers know this, but rapidly changing consumer behavior and technological innovation make perfect execution difficult. The challenge before them is finding, converting and retaining these top customers in this new environment.
The answer is in making the experience for the customer pain free while, at the same time, providing individualized attention. This can be accomplished and, more importantly, scalable through live chat sales and customer care. The adoption rate of such technology, though, is still not ubiquitous. A recent Oracle survey noted that only 40 percent of participants currently employ a live chat platform (Source).
If you need additional reasons to deploy such a solution, here are five:
Convenience
Consumers are shifting their time and attention away from social media and towards messaging apps. eMarketer predicts that in just two years, 65 percent of the global population will use messaging apps. Today’s online shopper wants a fast response time to their customer service query, and a frictionless way to initiate support. Forrester reports that 55 percent of adults will abandon online purchases if they can’t find a quick answer to a question, with 77 percent stating that good online customer service is the most important thing a company can do for them. Connecting with website visitors through live chat also takes less time and human resources than phone support.
Moreover, a Zendesk Benchmark report indicates that 92 percent of chat conversations receive a positive satisfaction rating (Source). Online retailers that listen to their customers’ requests for the convenience of purchasing with human assisted online chat will undoubtedly benefit.
Reduced Cost of Customer Care
Not only are customers provided more convenience with a live chat platform, but company savings are significant. According to Business Insider, Insurance Sales could save 60 percent, Financial Services could cut costs by 46 percent, and Sales and Customer Service could save 36 percent and 29 percent, respectively (Source).
What’s more, these figures do not factor in the use of artificial intelligence platforms that supply chat agents with crucial information during customer engagements to enhance this experience even further. Companies may very well witness even greater results in the process.
Attracting a Younger Demographic
It’s not surprising that the first generation to grow up using instant messaging apps prefers to shop and receive sales support online. Despite having less overall purchasing power than older adults, millennials spend the most money online, averaging $2,000 in individual spending annually (Source). According to J.D. Power and Associates Social Media Benchmark Study, millennials are more likely to use online media for interactions than the telephone. Given the market share millennials represent for online retail, developing a modern online engagement strategy will allow your company to access and nurture the largest proportion of the online sales market.
Increased Conversion Rates
When used correctly, live chat can increase sales by driving conversion rates. A Business Insider Intelligence survey shows that 60 percent of consumers have decided not to make a purchase due to a weak front line customer service (Source). The key to growing your company’s sales through live chat is to align your use of technology with your business goals and use it to support your live chat sales efforts; not replace them with sales chatbots. The best results come from scenarios where a combination of a live chat sales agent is used in conjunction with artificial intelligence, and the communication uses friendly and positive emotional communication styles and caters to the individual consumer by reviewing their habits and purchase history.
Increased Engagement
Offering live chat can increase website conversion by increasing visitor engagement with the brand, its off, rings and your customer facing teams. In a brick and mortar store, customers who are greeted spend more than those who aren’t. In the virtual world of e-commerce, live chat sales agents can assume this role by being efficient and friendly brand ambassadors politely greeting new visitors or offering help if a guest leaves their shopping cart idle for too long (Source).
Going a step further, utilizing both live chat sales agents and artificial intelligence will provide the best live chat experience for your customer. The results will be an exponential reduction in costs and boost customer satisfaction, sales and conversion rates.
Tony Medrano is CEO and CoFounder of RapportBoost, provider of a suite of live chat agent training solutions that use advanced machine learning and deep conversational analysis to organizations guide their human customer success AND chat sales teams to build stronger connections with customers. He can be reached at tony@rapportboost.ai.
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