This is the first of three posts that will cover the live chat as a SaaS. The three parts will explain what a live chat does, why is it so beneficial, who are the leading providers and how it is utilized throughout the eCommerce sector. Let’s start!

Live chat is a SaaS (Software as a Service) that connects customers to store owners via an interactive chat window. It establishes a real-time communication between a sales representative and a customer in a web store in a way similar to the one in a brick-and-mortar store.

The seamless communication that live chat delivers is more user-friendly and effective when put next to traditional methods such as email or phone calls. They typically take more time to exchange information when trying to answer questions or resolve issues with a purchase.

So, how does live chat benefit store owners?

• ​Substantial boost in convenience for online customers

What does convenience mean for online stores? Sales.

The main purpose of the live chat is enhancing the customer experience. Live chats deliver that by granting fast and easy access to customer service and valuable information for the online consumer.

• An advantage over the competition

Standing out with everything you can is very important, and the presence of a live chat widget will help your visitors make the difference between you and the competitors who lack this feature. The attention span of online users is very short, and it is critical for web store owners to fully utilize the limited time that visitors spend on their websites.

Who is the software designed for?

The live chat service is largely used for customer management and eCommerce platforms, improving their efficiency on two major levels – better customer service through interactive communication, as well as improved conversion and sales rates.

Using a live chat, businesses that are trying to enhance the customer experience of their online platforms can give consumers more reasons to hang around and browse through products. This feature adds a sense of casual human interaction, which is missing in email-based customer service. Receiving assistance similar to the one you have from employees in a physical store is on demand in online stores, which is why the live chat substantially increases chances for better conversion rates.

How does a live chat stack up against other customer support methods?

Web queries, remote support, mobile messaging, forums and social media are all very popular and helpful. They present multiple channels to engage with e-shoppers and make them comfortable by providing information which would result in a boost of satisfaction. Ultimately, this leads to increased conversion rates.

Besides email and phone calls, Aberdeen Group found out that about 94% of online businesses and organisations use multiple support systems at once.

However, the time factor still plays a major role.

The live chat offers highly reduced response time. This makes it one of the most profitable engagement tools used to establish a live connection with the visitor of your website.

44% of the people, who participated in a survey conducted by Forrester Research, responded that they found live chat extremely useful while they were setting up the final details of their online purchase.

A sales representative who is more active in answering questions or just engaging the customer is going to have a better chance of conversion. This is why, some live chats have a feature that triggers after a customer spends x amount of time on the website.

The quarterly report by Zendesk Benchmark reached the conclusion that the percentage of customer satisfaction is higher with clients who choose live chat instead of email, phone or social media.

Zendesk showed some very impressive stats in favor of live chat, making it the leading platform when it comes to conversion capabilities:

• Live chat – 92%

• Phone call – 88%

• Web form – 85%

• Email – 85%

• Facebook – 84%

• Twitter – 77%

So, should the live chat be your only customer support channel?

Of course not.

This does not mean that other channels of communication are obsolete. Email, social media, and phone calls are still a great way for a lot of people to resolve an issue or find out more information about goods and services.

However, the stats show that adding a live chat widget will add extra performance to your online business, which is the most practical advantage.

If your support channels are successful enough already, introducing a live chat widget will offer even more convenience for your clients as well as customer service staff.

Another advantage is that live chat allows one representative to handle multiple chats simultaneously.

• Sales increase – the most determining and influential reason behind the boost in sales remains the increase in convenience. A live chat shows its significance in key moments of the shopping and checkout process that can make or break a sale.

• ROI and increased efficiency – there are more opportunities for multi-tasking using different techniques like scripted common answers for frequently asked questions. Forrester Consulting made a study on the advantages of using an interactive chat and found some very impressive statistics:

  • 305% ROI from sales

  • 120% ROI from customer service

  • 59% call deflection rate

• Improved interaction – creating relations between your customers and your eCommerce store is a very solid foundation of trust. This is critical to engaging users on a higher level and encouraging them to keep coming back to your store.

• Better customer satisfaction – generating positive brand recognition is a tough challenge and depends on multiple factors. Demonstrating quality live support and care for customers on an individual basis is one of the main factors.

Key takeaways

Let’s see what are the main things we learned about the live chat feature:

• An easy-to-use software solution for both sales reps as well as customers

• Convenient and casual interaction that breaks the ice of formal communication

• Increased sales and conversion rates due to the quicker resolution of issues

• A small investment for substantial long-term returns

• Decreased bounce rate due to the immediate contact that a shopper makes with the store

In the following post, we will discuss what are the most effective ways of utilizing the live chat and who are the most notable providers of the software. Keep reading for more useful information and leave us a comment below if you have any questions!