There are several studies that prove that offering live chats on websites can increase conversion rates. The figures might vary from case to case, but they all show that it can have a positive impact on a business. Let’s have a closer look at different case studies.
According to a live chat statistic conducted by the American Marketing Association in 2016 customers who use live chat are 3 x more likely to buy. Adding therefore live chat on your website would lead to a conversion rate of 20 %.
· The North Face: The North Face is a company that specializes in performance outdoor clothing and equipment using cutting edge technologies and materials. Since providing excellent customer care is one of their core commitments, they wanted to see whether providing live chat would improve their bottom line. They approached several companies and found out that the company ‘BoldChat’ offered every feature they were looking for. What results did they achieve?
Source: https://www.boldchat.com/resources/articles/case-studies/the-north-face
· Boldchat conducted in 2012 a statistical analysis and found out that those entering a live chat are 7.5 x more likely to buy. The same report also showed that chatters (on average) buy 24 % of the time and pay up to 55 % more per purchase.
· Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.: According to Internet Retailer Virgin Atlantic Airways uses a live chat platform and achieved conversion rates as high as 23 %. Those customers that used its corporate live chat feature converted 3.5 times the rate of those customers who didn’t use this platform. It’s interesting to note that at Virgin Atlantic, the live chat option is not used to sell flight tickets at the end of the sales process, but to bring in incremental revenue or increase average order values. Since customers are already in the decision-making stage when buying tickets online, they use their live chat feature to upsell, for example, customized meals, priority seat bookings, etc. They also stated that a live chat option is cheaper than responding to emails or answering phone calls.
So, what is the value of chatting with customers? If your business has a live chat option, you show your customers first hand that you value their time, build trust and brand loyalty. 77 % of online shoppers want to contact a real person before buying, and more than half state that a lack of interaction has kept them from purchasing.
Another survey, conducted by Forrester, showed that 44 % of people said that having a live person replying to a person’s queries while they are in the middle of an online purchase was considered as one of the most important criteria that a website could offer.
So, what are the reasons why people engage in live chat sessions? The answer can be found in the graph below.
79 % of people appreciate the fact that their questions are answered quickly. This shows that TIME is a key factor and can make all the difference whether customers want to buy from you or move on to other competitors. Thus, the speed of providing relevant information in the moment of need does matter. 46 % also agreed that a live chat feature is the most efficient communication method. 29 % prefer approaching a company via live chat rather than email, and 15 % also believe that live chat is better than giving the business a phone call.
Having a live chat support facility can be beneficial in many ways. It saves money and time to companies as well as consumers, leads to better outcomes and builds trust and transparency at the same time.
However, there are many other effective ways that allow you to increase your conversion rates, too. For example, presenting an interactive online form on your website that can easily and quickly be customized. Leadformly has helped lots of different types of businesses to increase their conversion rates up to 300%. If you want to find out more about it, you can check it out here.