This is a guest post by Merav Shoham, Content Manager at Proonto.
Live Chat Sales
There’s no doubt that live chat has become a widely popular customer support channel. It is loved by both customers and companies mainly because it enables the two sides to connect in a timely, efficient and cost effective way.
When unable to solve issues on their own, customers turn to this channel because it allows them to receive answers from a real person without having to wait a long time. Companies on the other hand have adopt this channel because of all the potential it contains within it.
However, live chat is no longer just a customer support tool and can be used to increase conversion rate, reduce returns and much much more.
That been said – many companies know that having live chat on your website does not guarantee it will be easy and profitable to staff it. Therefore, the fulfillment of live chat potential may seem out of reach for many.
So despite of that, how can you take advantage of all the benefits live chat has to offer?
Two Words: Sales Associates
Well, technically it’s a bit more complicated than that, but the way we see it at Proonto, a live chat software is as good as the people who staff it.
And as you expect to receive excellent service from sales associate in a brick and mortar store, online customer demand nothing less than superb service and assistance when approaching an online company via live chat.
What does a professional sale associate know how to do best?
1. Boost Customer Confidence
We’ve all been there – our shopping cart full, finger ready to click the ‘Proceed to Payment’ button, last minute regret and abandonment. The thing is that in many of times, these situations could have been prevented.
A good sales associates knows how to use the information he has from his own experience and the insights from other customers to reduce the perceived risk of purchasing, therefore assuring buyers that they are making a good decision.
2. Reduce Return Rate
Once a customer is confident in his purchase, the chances of him returning it significantly decrease. A professional sales associate makes sure to fill in all the blanks so that the customers knows exactly what he is receiving. Moreover, it is the associate’s job to navigate the buyers’ choice, which means helping them understand what product is best for them.
3. Increase Sales
Yes, this sounds cheesy, but from personal experience (on both sides) it is completely true. The sales associate doesn’t “push”, but helps eliminate concerns and hesitations that may prevent the customer from buying.
4. Generate Valuable Marketing Insights
Online sales associates receive daily feedback and the good ones know how to utilize the information (whether raw data or conversation transcript) to generate valuable insights.
An online sales associate understands your visitor’s journey and possible frustrations on your website and together with you optimizes the user experience.
5. Identify Customer Needs
It’s not that customers don’t know what they want and need. The thing is they think they know too well. With the all the available information we have today, customers are overloaded with details, making it extremely easy to get confused and buy the wrong product. The sales associate does not tell customers what they want or need, but help them pave the way to finding exactly what they’re looking for.
The role of the sales associate has changed in both the e-Commerce and the brick and mortar worlds. The time of the “may I help you” line have passed as customers expect the sales associate to know the answer to this question without even asking.
At Proonto, we make it possible for online retailers and brands to recruit, certify and manage a live chat sales team to support online customers. We recruit professional sales associates and product experts from around the world and from various fields of expertise, so that every company could staff their live chat with the best at an affordable price.
We make sure that finding an advanced live chat software and the qualified sales associate to staff it is accessible and possible to all.
We welcome you to open an account, receive our live chat software for FREE and to start looking for the right associate for your company.
What is Proonto?
Proonto is an online marketplace that enables online retailers and brands to recruit, certify and manage a live chat sales team to support online customers. Proonto helps mid-sized online retailers and brands that sell directly online staff their sites with professional sale associates and subject matter experts in a cost effective way.
