Holidays are around the corner – and if you’re gearing up for a big retail season, be sure that you don’t leave your customers hanging.
ECommerce orders through your website can account for a big portion of your vital seasonal sales, but only if you can make customers feel supported throughout the entire process. Online chat can be a critical part of delivering excellent customer service.
What are my Live Chat options?
Live chat options in your ecommerce processes give more value to the end-consumer – and that value pays off in dividends. It’s been proven that chat sessions can be an effective sales tool for multiple types of businesses. According to Forrester Research, customers who use live chat options purchase products at rate of nearly 3.5 times as those who don’t engage in chat. The report also showed that 38% of consumers surveyed said they made a purchase due to a chat session; businesses surveyed reported seeing an increase in shopping cart size of 20% in post-chat purchases, and over half of online consumers would likely return to a website that offers chat.
This data is all pretty clear indication that chat is going to be a critical part of customer service now and into the busy holiday season.
With that in mind, remember the following while implementing a stronger chat-based customer service plan:
Think mobile – In addition to using chat more often today’s consumers are using their mobile phones more than ever. We know that nearly half have reported According to a recent survey, 47% of millennials said that they make purchases regularly over their mobile devices. In most cases, however, you won’t have to alter your chat program significantly to appeal to mobile users. Graphics may need to be reduced, but mobile users desire the same level of communication as well as time in chat as desktop users.
Appeal to the holiday spirit – Adjusting your chat scripts for the holidays is easy and it’s an engaging way to appeal to your customers. If your chat text has a standard greeting, customize it for the holidays. For example “We wish you a happy holiday season!” before the standard greeting can be a great touch. In addition, reminders that invite your audience to buy or explore more items are also good for this time of year. Let people know when they should place their order so they can receive their purchases before the holidays.
Streamline your eCommerce fulfillment process – Your chat operations are only the public face of your eCommerce customer. Behind the scenes needs to run just as smoothly in order for customer service levels to remain high. Working with a fulfillment service for eCommerce ordering during the holiday season can streamline the entire process and make your customers on the other end of live chat even happier.
Adding live chat customer support to your eCommerce website is an essential part of keeping customers happy and your business thriving.
