“Live Chat” is an easy & affordable upgrade for any website

I want to share an extremely positive experience I had with a big wireless provider the other day. My apologies to anyone with affection for their wireless company, but yes, my experiences with them have been mostly unfavorable.

However, when I couldn’t figure out how to download a new app onto my old school iPhone 3, I went to AT&T’s website to see if I could find a solution on their FAQ page. I searched around for a bit and somehow ended up ‘chatting’ online with a live representative.

The online representative at AT&T’s website was not only able to diagnose the problem, but also answered some questions for me about the new iPhone 4S and convinced me to upgrade. I started the conversation simply looking for a quick fix and ended up with a shiny new iPhone 4S (which I love!)

The web-marketing geek in me was fired up. Had it not been for the chat feature on the AT&T website, I would have had to drive my phone to an AT&T retailer or wait for an email that I probably would not read for another few days, not to mention the fact that I ended up buying a brand new product.

Live Chat is a new, inexpensive way for your business website to convert visitors into leads. Think of it as phone messaging service for your websites. Click the ‘start chat’ button and your visitors will talk with a real person!

We launched a test of live chat on our own website in June. By August, we knew we had a winner. Come September, we trained our entire account management team on it. Heck, you may have been one of the 500+ chats we have had over the past four months. We looked at the data and found that for each person that submitted a sales-related email from our website, three potential clients used the live chat feature. We were impressed and even a little surprised by the 3:1 ratio of live chats to email submits. (If you haven’t tried out our service or just want to see live chat in action, click here or any of the big blue buttons that say “live chat”).

Live chat could be the secret to your marketing success in 2012. Here’s why:

1. Competition on the Internet is ferocious. And, consumers want help instantly. Imagine you are an HVAC contractor and I need my furnace serviced as soon as possible. I surf around briefly looking for someone who can come that same day and I land on your website. I try calling you but you’re on a job and don’t answer. I leave a message and move on to the next site. Your competitor has live chat installed on his site, and I am immediately greeted by a representative who promptly sets up an appointment that afternoon. Sad but true, by the time you call me back, I already have plans to meet your competitor for a full winter tune-up.
   Face it’people are impatient, especially when they are looking for a service. You can’t afford to miss out on business leads because you’re unable to take phone calls in the field or you can’t immediately respond to emails. Your potential clients don’t want to wait for you; they want to speak with someone right away so they can have their problem fixed. Live chat can be the communications bridge between you and a new appointment.
2. Live chat – don’t miss the leads you worked hard to get.Sure there’s always going to be old fashioned types who prefer speaking with someone on the phone or emailing back and forth, but think of live chat as a brand new way for customers to reach you.You already know your potential customers are looking for you on the web. That’s only half the battle (and we’re happy to help you get found on Google but that’s another topic altogether). But once they’re on your site, you need to convert that visit into a sale. Being able to communicate with your visitors instantly before they wander over to your competitor’s site is going to help seal the deal on business you would otherwise lose out on.

3. The 3 C’s: Convenience. Convenience. Convenience.
   
   Live chat is a simple, low-cost way of communicating with clients and there are turnkey services to help you do it (hint: ask us about ours). Your customers will appreciate how much easier it is to set up that appointment when all they have to do is type a few quick messages. Think of it as a ‘we-do-it-for-you’ receptionist that can help set up appointments or take down messages for you while you’re in the field. Rest assured, it’s actually a pretty easy setup. There’s no training or complex coding necessary to get it going. If you want to know more about how beneficial live chat could be for your small business in 2012, contact us. We’re happy to provide examples and let you know just how little it costs to set up, even if we didn’t build your website for you. And since the article is about live chat, feel free to check us out by clicking our’live chat’ link.

Power Stats:

Nearly 70 percent of consumers said a positive referral from a “friend” on Facebook would positively influence their purchase decision.

Source: Morpace Market Research & Consulting

Quote:

‘My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.’

~ Henry Louis ‘Hank’ Aaron (American baseball player)

Griff’s Last Stand’ Anyone who has ever gone car buying knows it would be impossible to pick a car, know everything about it, and buy it on your own. That’s why salesman come greet you, talk to you about what you’re looking for, help you pick a specific car, and sign the papers. Think of live chat as your own personal salesman on your website. Clients may be able to find information on their own, but being able to speak with a representative who can answer questions and set appointments is going to make a huge difference for your business by converting more visitors into leads and giving your customer service a boost with a website messaging service. Contact us. We’ll explain how well live chat has worked for us on markethardware.com and we’ll share how we can do the same for you. This article was written by Market Hardware’s Griffin Davis. Reach Griffin at [email protected] or reach anyone on his web expert team at 888-381-6925.