On the surface, adding live chat to your website seems almost too easy. You install a chat box on the page, a visitor asks a question, you answer, and you now have a new customer. Except that’s not always how it goes.
Below, this live chat agency in Hoffman Estates, Illinois is going to highlight five common mistakes that make live chat much less effective than it could be.
Mistake 1: Treating live chat like a glorified contact form.
When a visitor opens a chat box, they expect to have a real conversation without wasting any time. They don’t want to see, “Thanks, we will get back to you tomorrow.”
The whole point of live chat is speed and convenience. The minute you start making people fill out long forms or wait hours for a response, it stops feeling like chat and starts feeling like email. And we all know that nobody needs one more email they don’t have time to read.
Live chat works best when it is instant and live. That is what keeps visitors interested long enough for them to become real customers.
Mistake 2: Using only chatbots.
Chatbots have their place. They can be very useful for answering basic questions about store hours, appointment scheduling, directions, etc. But many businesses go too far with automation and take the human side out of the equation completely.
If someone asks, “Do you serve my area?” or “How much does this cost?” they don’t want a bot giving the same canned response repeatedly. They want a person who will easily understand the question and give them a straight answer.
75% of consumers still prefer talking to a real person when they need support. Therefore, the best strategy is to let the bots handle common questions, while having real people ready to respond when the questions become more complex and important.
Mistake 3: Not training the operators.
The person responding to your visitors represents your business just as much as the person answering the phone or greeting people at the front desk. If they can’t answer questions clearly or come across as unprofessional, people will notice.
For that reason, any experienced live chat agency in Hoffman Estates, Illinois will give your team training sessions, ready-to-go scripts, and a solid FAQs library to work from. Their job is to make sure that every chat sounds professional and helps your visitors.
Mistake 4: Waiting too long to share leads.
So, what happens when a visitor finally gives you their name or email, but then nothing happens for hours or even days? By then, the lead has gone cold, and the chance to connect is mostly gone with it.
Harvard Business Review found that companies that follow up within the first hour were seven times more likely to qualify a lead than those who wait even a little longer.
An experienced live chat agency in Hoffman Estates, Illinois can add a setup that automatically captures visitor information and immediately sends it to the right salesperson. With this setup, someone can follow up while the lead is still fresh and interested.
Mistake 5: Shutting down after hours.
Many businesses only keep live chat open during normal business hours. But people can visit your site at night or on the weekend.
Studies show that more than 60% of customers now expect businesses to be available 24/7.
While you might not have a full team online at midnight, you do still need some form of after-hours coverage. With it, people can at least leave their information or even book a time to talk the next day. This alone can keep you from missing out on potential leads just because they reached out at the “wrong” time.
Looking for a live chat agency in Hoffman Estates, Illinois?
If you’re searching for a professional live chat agency in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, look no further than Digital Destination LLC. Our team of live chat experts will handle the setup, training, and even after-hours coverage so you never miss another lead. Contact us at (312) 933-6806 to schedule a free consultation.