Why Should a Website Have Live Help?
Putting Live Help to Work for Better Conversions and Customer Satisfaction
In today’s tech-savvy world, the Internet is the first stop for meeting their needs for many people. They log on to make purchases, make payments, do business, and even take classes. And since nothing is infallible, customer support is needed for all aspects of online transactions.
So, let’s say that you have a state-of-the-art call center that will allow customers to call in to get help with their online transactions. Most customers want instant gratification, so talking to someone right away while they are in the throes of panic is critical to them, although the panic is often self-induced and unfounded. However needy they are, your business (and potential future business) depends upon their happiness. Now, let’s say that your call center has ten support specialists, and they are all on the phone. This leaves your eleventh panic-stricken customer on hold (or worse yet, getting a busy signal) and all the time cursing your existence.
However, what if you had a simple little feature on your website that says Live Help? What if clicking that button put your customer into an instant queue and told them that a customer service representative would be right with them? There is no hold queue, no busy signal, just a pop-up window that says you are important to us, and someone will be right with you. Live website help features in the form of text, voice, or video chat are quickly replacing support call centers.
According to eConsultancy, live chat has the highest satisfaction levels of any customer service channel at 73%, compared to 61% for email and 44% for phone.
The benefits of providing live website help for customers far outweigh its costs for online businesses. For one, if you use live help features instead of toll-free telephone lines, you can save the costs of those special lines and the cost associated with each call that comes in. You obviously already have the cost of computers and the Internet because your business is online, so the savings from lowering your landline costs is a bonus.
Providing customers with a live help option is also beneficial for sales. What if a potential customer has a question about a product? Wouldnt it be nice if they could ask it on the spot like they would in a brick-and-mortar store and be convinced that it’s a good purchase? Unanswered questions tend to drive consumers to other places where they CAN get answers immediately.
Having access to live help on websites has been known to increase visitors’ trust since they can get the information they want right away. These visitors can become customers, and their satisfaction and loyalty can be increased by offering this service. And if they are happy, they can spread the word to other potential customers.
Most live help programs are easy to install and maintain and are worth investing in for future business successes. They operate much like instant messaging programs, which most computer users are already familiar with and comfortable using.
In addition to all of the benefits listed here, offering live help options shows your customers (and visitors) that you are up-to-date with technological advances and that you care about your customers enough to give them the instant gratification that they need in order to continue their shopping, business work, studies, and research.
Tools for Adding Live Support to Your Website
- LiveChat – Great integrations with other programs. WordPress plugin and other easy setup options.
- HubSpot – Live chat, chatbots, and all-around marketing and sales support platform with great free options.
- Sendinblue – Simple chat software that integrates with other programs. WordPress plugin and other easy setup options.
- LiveAgent – Omnichannel live chat, video chat, and help desk software. Easy setup options for WordPress and other platforms.
- Chaport – Great free forever plan with unlimited chats, history, notifications, and up to 5 operators online at the same time.
- Intercom – Perfect for when you need live chat with advanced marketing features.
- Freshchat – Another great free option for multiple team members, plus additional excellent features.
- LivePerson – All the live support channels you could ask for, including live chat on your website along with SMS, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and more.
- Tawk.to – Solid free option for small businesses and startups.
- Drift – An excellent live chat app with enterprise-level features, including lead routing, conversational AI, and advanced reporting.
Categories:Website Design & Development
