Is a Customer Service Chat Option Right for Me?

I was recently asked for my thoughts on including a customer service chat box on a website.  While it may not be right for some businesses, there are some compelling reasons to include them on others.

First, and probably most important, is that when a potential customer/client is on your website and they choose to use a chat feature, they are likely in the first steps of pre-qualification.  They are expressing an interest in what you are selling and are now seeking more detail.  And to take it a step further, a whopping 63% of individuals who chat on a website say they’ll visit the site again in the future.

Here are a just few more perks for both you and your potential customers when it comes to offering a chat communication channel:

Sheer convenience.  Being able to chat from your site doesn’t disrupt the browsing experience. The user would be making inquiries while remaining on your site.  Closing the webpage, perhaps, and calling on the phone – maybe going through voicemail prompts – can be a headache.

The opportunity to upsell.  During an actual interaction with a customer, you stand a better chance of incorporating upsell tactics, increasing your customer’s spend.  (An upsell is to get the customer to spend more money – buy a more expensive model of the same type of product or service – or add features / warranties  / etc. that relate to the product or service in question.)  Likewise, you can be generous with offers and incentives that you don’t offer elsewhere.

Cost savings.  A chat feature can actually save you money by reducing your interaction costs.  An online chat is generally shorter in nature than a phone call, which also means you can handle more customer interactions.  Some might argue that it even allows for a few short bursts of multitasking during those times the prospective buyer is typing.

There is no need to assume that adding a chat to your customer service budget will break the bank, either.  Chat is now offered by most outsourced customer service providers at affordable prices.  In fact, if you happen to already be working with such a provider, you might have the ability to bundle services and expand your communication channels.

If you don’t already work with such a service, you can find many that cater to even the smallest businesses.  One such service is “mylivechat”, which, at the time of this writing, offers some services ranging from free(!) to $99/month.  Another one is “LiveChat”, with plans starting at $16 month.  The more expensive ones, of course, offer more sophisticated services.  (This article is not necessarily an endorsement of those vendors, or their suitability to your specific circumstances, rather it is for informational purposes only)

Investigate this tool a little further and explore how it might fit in your marketing tool belt.  There are certainly opportunities to be had while making your prospective buyers feel they have received some special attention.

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