A chatbox, or site chat, is a huge opportunity for visitors to interact with sales and service staff directly through the website instead of having to call or email. Chatbots can be triggered by rules and sometimes artificial intelligence in which the system can generate a response to many basic questions. Chatboxes can also be used to gather customer feedback, complete purchases, and build customer profiles. Here are four reasons why eCommerce websites are starting to rely more on chatboxes, and some ways not to use them:
#1 – They Can Improve Customer Experience
Merchants want site visitors to have a positive experience. Happy customers are more likely to complete a purchase, become a repeat customer, and recommend the site to others. Allowing visitors to receive instant feedback or interact with a merchant directly on the site, or via social media through FB Messenger, generates a more positive shopping experience that is not only easier but less intrusive and time-consuming than waiting on the phone or for an email reply.
That being said, don’t add instant pop-ups on the initial page load or place chat boxes on pages with strong calls to action to potentially confuse customers. The purpose is to facilitate the buying experience. Chatboxes can be overbearing- for example, on mobile devices, we have found increases in conversion rate by removing chatboxes in the checkout process as opposed to having it appear on every page on every device. Improving an eCommerce website is all about creating meaningful customer experiences, and a chatbox is just one way to do this.
#2 – They Help Give Instant Feedback
When someone is frustrated with a site or their question is left unanswered, they are more likely to resort to something that responds instantly rather than waiting on the phone. Site surveys and chat boxes triggered to display after some stagnant time on a page or repeated visits to the same page can allow customers to share their experience, either positive or negative, and ask questions. This gives your team valuable information instantly. Many site improvements, A/B testing concepts, content ideas and even different product offerings come from feedback collected directly from customers.
#3 – Chatboxes Can Cut Costs
Rather than having a dedicated team of customer support on hand at all times, a merchant can save some money by going with a chatbot. Chatbots are able to answer the most common questions that customers are likely to have and do so at any time of day. When a customer has a very specific or uncommon question that can’t be answered by a Chatbot system, they can be directed to the customer service team for further help. This reduces the team’s workload, meaning they can get back to customers quicker, and won’t require as large a staff as would be needed without the Chatbot system. Not to mention that customer service reps are able to multi-task on chat more than over the phone, which can help increase productivity.
#4 – They Can Help Build Your Brand
Superior customer service and improved interaction with customers are two things every merchant strives for as a competitive advantage. Chatboxes make that goal more achievable in a few ways:
- Site chats are commonly used these days, but there are creative ways to utilize automated triggers or chatbots to differentiate yourself from the competition. Insert some humor or communicate your core values in the chat pop-up to help build a connection to site visitors.
- They create an opportunity to educate visitors. Customers will remember a brand where they learned more about products while researching before making a purchase.
- Use different chat invitations on product pages or different devices to cater to the types of questions or experience the visitor has at that specific time. A more personalized experience will cause visitors to remember your brand over a generic or unsubstantial interaction.
Don’t be just another run of the mill site chat implementor – there are too many tools and features available today to just use default settings. By gathering more information merchants can better decide if this piece of technology is right for their eCommerce website, and if so, how to get started with it.
Hopefully this quick guide was able to shed some light on the advantages of using a chatbox on an eCommerce website. Please feel free to contact us at any time to learn more.