Live chat is all the rage. Customers generally like it, businesses like it, it really is a win for all. But not everyone is completely in love with the idea of being able to instantly resolve issues, get information or have their questions answered.
Why is live chat growing in popularity? It really is all down to the immediacy it offers. Immediate answers to immediate questions that enable people to get on and not have to hang around
The annual Live Chat Effectiveness report found that in the US some 27% of people cited live chat as their preferred communication channel. In Europe, the figure is a little lower, although the trend is ever upwards.
So from a business perspective you can take the glass half full, or if you're Mr Grumble, you can take the glass half empty approach.
Is it:
One in four of all web visitors wants live chat so I must offer it.
Or perhaps it could be:
Almost 75% of my customers prefer other ways to communicate, so there's no need for live chat.
As a business owner, only you can decide. So for those with a tendency towards the glass half empty mindset, here at Yomdel we thought we'd help you out by sharing "Five great reasons not to use live chat on your website".
1. Our business is doing OK, so we don't need to bother with live chat
Poor old Mr Grumble, it's all a bit of a hassle. More technology, more fees, he doesn't really understand it. Why should anyone bother, life is really quite OK. Conversion rates online are holding up and even growing a little. So what if our repeat business stats are a little low, there's enough coming in. Our competition is experimenting with live chat, let them do it and wait and see what happens.
2. Mr Grumble's heard it can be a negative experience for customers
Yup, absolutely true. Like anything, done in a half-baked way (albeit with the best of intentions) it will fail, and it will annoy customers and drive them away. Too many of these irritating little pop ups offering help, slow response times or operators not knowing the answers. He might give it a go in-between doing other things, but is it really necessary? As mentioned, if done in a half-baked way...
3. Most people don't want it
Maybe that's true. Mr Grumble is happy to just serve three out of four customers and they spend enough. Why worry about the other quarter. There's enough business, and if those other people aren't happy they can go elsewhere.
4. People will waste my time asking stupid questions
Yes Mr Grumble, they may ask questions, and you may think they are stupid. After all, the answers are generally somewhere to be found in the FAQs. If you don't think it necessary to help them out then that's fine. They'll either struggle along unaided, or just pop off to your nearest competitor where they may get decent customer service.
5. The claims about live chat success are pure poppycock
Mr Grumble always struggles with good news. There must be a catch, and he's wise to the tricks. How can anyone achieve 25% online commerce conversion rates? They must be exaggerating, he thinks. Why would average order value rise 10%? If it sounds too good to be true it must be. Best just to cover the ears and shout loudly to drown out the sounds of all the success stories.
NOTE: Mr Grumble is set to continue grumbling until he goes out of business. And then he will grumble some more. While this post has been a little tongue-in-cheek, the message is intended to be serious. It is the businesses that innovate and disrupt that thrive online. Live chat is one such area. It is the bridge between the digital and real world. It does create happy customers and brand loyalty, and does deliver competitive edge. The greatest proponents of live chat (apart from Yomdel that is!) are those businesses that have invested in delivering a superb online live chat experience.
Oh yes, and I should mention that Yomdel can do the whole thing for you. That is great live chat, 24/7 that does deliver the results. Get in touch to find out how we can help.
