Live chat software is now more popular than ever, and with good reason. If your website doesn’t have this feature then it’s time to start seriously thinking about adding it.
Live chat support is fast, efficient, and convenient, helping your business in more ways than one.
What is live chat software?
It’s exactly what it sounds like – software that allows you to chat with a customer in real-time as they look at your website.
Live chat software isn’t exactly new, it’s been around for ages. You’ve probably seen them pop up in the bottom right corner of your screen, asking if they can help or if you’d like to speak to a representative.
Even though it’s been around for a while, many businesses are still slow on the uptake, but that’s probably going to change in the coming year.
Do you really need it?
If you’re serious about your customer service and keeping up with the latest trends, then yes, you absolutely need live chat software.
Customers love it because it’s an immediate response to a question, instead of waiting for a reply to an email or a message on social media (which can sometimes take days).
Websites from major banks to small e-commerce shipping stores now use live chat software to improve their customer experience and increase response times.
It’s no surprise that consumers now expect to see live chat offered on every website, so if you don’t have it, then it’s an immediate turn-off for some.
Why it’s important for deaf and hard of hearing
There is one section of society that deliberately seek out businesses whose website uses live chat software.
Deaf and hard of hearing people obviously have trouble on the telephone, but with live chat, they can communicate as easily as everyone else with a company.
As 121 Captions founder and owner Tina Lannin says “If a company has one, then they’ve got my business.”
It makes sense financially
Helping deaf and hard of hearing people is reason enough for live chats on your site, but there are other benefits too.
The software has the potential to increase sales and conversions, with the American Marketing Association reporting that companies who used live chat see, on average, a 20% increase in conversions!
As well as bringing in money, live chat also saves you money, being 50% cheaper than handling phone calls.
As we mentioned at the start of this article, even though live chat has been around for a while, not all websites are using it. It might be worthwhile to check your competitors and see if there’s an advantage to be had by adopting this feature.
Frankly, if you’re not using live chat on your website, then you could be missing out on reducing costs, improving satisfaction rates and increasing revenue.
With the rise and development of chatbots, it’s not a stretch to say that every website will soon have a live chat function, so why wait? Get in there today and start bringing more to your customers and your business.
