Taking Care of Business, One Customer at a Time
An online salesperson can create a dynamic, one-on-one interactive sales process that neither web design nor technology can. This creates a better online experience for the consumer because it enables product expertise to be dispensed in real-time and sits at the consumer’s fingertips on the webpage itself.
The best technology to create this dialogue between the online consumer and the salesperson is live chat. Live chat (also called IM or Instant Messaging) makes possible the important one-on-one, real time dialogue between the consumer and the salesperson that I mentioned above. The Chat Box, as it appears on any site, is a flexible tool: it can be accessible via a click-to-chat function, or can be launched based on business rules designed to determine the online consumer’s readiness to receive assistance in their buying experience. The consumer has to opt-in to the chat and can abandon it or close the chat window at anytime, leaving them in control of their experience.
Most commonly, businesses deploy chat to increase revenue and sell more items and services. In these cases, live chat can be used to pitch a product on a product page, in an online ad unit, or when the consumer exits the website without completing the transaction. Live chat can also be deployed at the beginning of the checkout process to cross-sell items complementary to the one(s) already in a shopper’s cart (for example: accessories, or extended service plans) or to pitch a promotion to increase the size of the cart (“Buy 2 items and get the third free”; “Free shipping if you buy $50 worth of goods”). In every case, live chat can increase revenue by at least 50% versus static executions.
Live chat can also be used to create different calls to action, such as registering on a website, sharing contact information to receive a call from a product specialist or signing up for an email newsletter. Using live chat successfully during checkout can reduce cart abandonment by offering assistance to online consumers and answering their questions about security, privacy and shipping, or by offering incentives to complete their purchase. Live chat is also effective on the post transaction page as well (i.e., on the Thank You page or the order confirmation page) to pitch contextual third party offers.
As you can see, there are many situations in which live chat is effective in creating a better relationship with customers. But it is important to be well informed when adopting this solution: Companies with a Web presence should seek turnkey live chat sales and care solutions that utilize software, trained reps and online marketing expertise; businesses deploying live chat to websites need to understand the complexities of online sales to assist online consumers and create that all important call-to-action.
The interactive space may have changed much, but it hasn’t changed everything. If you are a business looking to boost your online sales and marketing activities, think about how you are using sales offline, and then replicate these successes online… with live chat.
Reader Comments.
No comments yet
Leave a Comment
Pages: « previous page 1 2
Tags: ecommerce, inQ and performance_marketingArticle Sponsor
More Features
-
Loading ...
Latest News
- Facebook’s IPO: You Knew It Was Coming May 18th 2012 ADOTAS - It’s been a day of superlatives, as the [...] more »
- Infographic: The Evolution of Marketing Automation May 18th 2012 ADOTAS – Marketing automation — the process of automating a [...] more »
- Welcome Aboard: New Hires at BrightRoll, AdSafe, More May 18th 2012 ADOTAS – While one internet-related company has pretty much dominated [...] more »
- Now You Can Be a Certified Digital Media Sales Pro through the IAB May 17th 2012 ADOTAS – You think you’re a digital sales pro, but [...] more »
- Adometry Leverages Attribution Data in a New Media Modeler May 17th 2012 ADOTAS – Attribution and ad verification technology provider Adometry has [...] more »
- GM Yanks Facebook Ad Spend: Cluelessness, Bad Analytics or Strategic Statement? May 16th 2012 ADOTAS – General Motors‘ announcement yesterday that it was pulling [...] more »
- Velti “State of Mobile Advertising” Report: AT&T, Apple Crush Competition May 15th 2012 ADOTAS - Mobile advertising services provider Velti has shown a [...] more »
Features
- Infographic: The ROI of Tag Management May 21st 2012
- Digital Goes Offline: Can Brands Take Back the Store? May 21st 2012
- What Does the Ideal Publisher Look Like? May 21st 2012
- Thoughts on the Affiliate Brain Drain May 18th 2012
- Infographic: Big Brands Should “Think Global, Act Global” on Facebook May 17th 2012
Spotlight
Sponsormob Leads the Way Into RTB for MobileADOTAS – For more than half a decade, Berlin-based tech firm Sponsormob has remained relevant in an industry characterized by [...] more...
Reader Favorites
Classifieds
- Business Director-IEB-Microsoft Studios (792444)
- Marketing Communications Manager, Senior-IEB-TV &
- Senior Industry Marketing Manager - Media and Ente
- MARKETING DIRECTOR (medical software company)
- Senior Product Marketing Manager
Recent Comments
- Facebook’s IPO: You Knew It Was Coming: [...] For more insights on what GM’s ploy might mean for Facebook and for the
- Facebook’s Anticlimactic IPO | LNP Studios: [...] Get more details here: Facebook’s IPO: You Knew It Was Coming. [...]
- Bob Gordon: How has this circus helped anyone other than the sand hill crowd? Has it helped
- Facebook’s IPO: You Knew It Was Coming: [...] For more insights on what GM’s ploy might mean for Facebook and for the
