Three Reasons Your Business’ WordPress Site Needs Live Chat
Not so long ago, if we wanted to talk to a company, we’d pick up the phone. Today, many companies have retreated behind their websites. From the company’s perspective, this is a money-saving measure: phone support and sales are expensive. But it’s not just companies that have changed; millennials aren’t too fond of calling either, preferring to email, text, or Tweet to companies.
But there are definite benefits to the immediacy of a phone conversations, even if customers would rather not talk. Live chat is an excellent solution to the problem of immediate interaction. Customers and leads visiting your website can get in touch on-the-spot without having to call.
Act Immediately On Customer Intent
When a lead visits your website, they’re ripe for conversion. They’ve expressed a clear intent, but that intent can easily change to doubt if they can’t find the information they need.
Thoughtful information architecture and copywriting can make a huge difference here, but it’s impractical to foresee and respond to every possible stumbling block in advance.
Live chat lets leads satisfy their need for information, and lets companies present precisely tailored information immediately. The result: increased conversions and happier customers.
The same questions could be answered in an email conversation, but email doesn’t have the same feeling of responsiveness and immediacy. By the time your support or sales team has responded to an email, the lead may well have moved on.
Increased Customer Loyalty
Nothing begets a customer’s loyalty like the feeling a company is prepared to respond personally to their needs.
Live chat creates the impression of immediate personal communication: your company is there for them, and cares enough to take the time to talk them through their journey to making a purchase.
Reduced Costs
As I mentioned earlier, front-line phone sales and support are expensive. Live chat is more economical while producing much the same result.
I don’t suggest you abandon phone support altogether: many people still prefer to talk on the phone. But offering a live chat service allows an agent to service several leads simultaneously; something that’s obviously not possible over the phone.
Live chat also lends itself to automation, a factor that will be of increasing importance as conversational interfaces and AI become a prominent part of how we communicate with leads.
Implementing Live Chat On Your WordPress Site
WP Live Chat Support is a free live chat plugin (although it offers a premium version for extended functionality). WP Live Chat is easy to integrate with most WordPress sites, and offers niceties like desktop notifications, unlimited simultaneous live chats, and a responsive chat interface.
ZenDesk Live Chat is a premium plugin that offers a huge range of features. One of the most useful is custom triggers: users can configure when they want the chat box to appear to visitors, which helps ensure that agents engage in high-value conversations.
Additionally, the service behind this plugin offers both iPhone and Android apps, which means you don’t have to be sitting at your desk with your WordPress site open when you respond to customers.
Live chat is a powerful tool for connecting with leads on your website. Giving leads the ability to talk directly to a member of your team can increase conversion rates and customer satisfaction.
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