Written by : Shadz Loresco on Digilah (Tech Thought Leadership)
Consumers no longer see shopping as a mere transaction; it’s about providing an entertaining and engaging experience.
When you don’t win a customer’s trust, they go to a competitor or change their mind about making a purchase altogether.
What can you do to provide a great customer experience that generates loyal customers and maximizes revenue?
Humanizing the customer experience is one way to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
Instead of offering discounts that hurt sales, engage with customers, and provide a personalized experience to increase customer loyalty and drive repeat purchases.
While most e-commerce stores offer self-service options such as knowledge bases, FAQs, and perhaps an automated chatbot, many consumers prefer to speak with a real human being. For businesses, live chat is a low-cost alternative to expensive phone calls.
Here are five ways to use live chat to make your online shopping experience more personal.
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- Be sure to make a good impression on your online visitors
Visitors’ first impressions of your e-commerce store are determined by many of its elements, including design, user experience, and product offerings. Others include how easy it is to get customer support and service when they need it, and the channels available.
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- Customize the look and feel of your live chat widget
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- Enable a friendly Smart Greeting that welcomes your visitor
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- Design your widget icon and chat box in a way that matches your brand image
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- Even better, embed an in-call video or image to introduce your brand
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- Localize your live chat; enable Smart Routing on your widget to automatically assign visitors to the most suitable staff based on device language or geographical location
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- Give your customers the option to contact you at any time
Live chat support is a fast, efficient way to help customers.
Customers don’t have to wait for an email response or pay long-distance phone charges to get help; they can just chat with you directly!
You can also set up offline contact forms so that people can leave their contact details for immediate follow-up when staff are online.
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- Enable web calls from the live chat widget for consumers who prefer to speak with a staff rather than type in a message
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- Visitors can also access a directory of staff members to find the best person to answer their questions, such as exchanges & returns, shipping, or payments
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- Create an emotional bond with shoppers
Inspire consumer trust by showing the human side of your staff. Live chat allows customers to interact with real people, rather than automated messages, bringing e-commerce one step closer to humanizing the customer experience.
For example, if your staff are into running, they can share their recommendations on running gear. Providing instant replies to customer inquiries can make customers feel valuable and important in addition to reducing customer churn by keeping your best customers and encouraging repeat sales.
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- Having a live chat widget that allows you to seamlessly switch between chat, video calls, and voice calls inside the same app is a winning feature that can help you stand out from the competition
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD2XIFwcYL8
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- When you add value to a conversation, you make it more meaningful
As your customers progress through their purchase journey, you should be creating and sharing content to keep them engaged. The best way to do this is by creating content that is timely and relevant to the conversation your brand is having with its audience.
This could be a new product offering, promotion, or even a social media post showcasing your brand personality.
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- Add a web link to push visitors directly into a live chat session, or a web call with a staff who previously helped them
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- A great way to keep offline interactions going is with QR codes. Stick these on the backs of your products so that customers can easily access help if they need it
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- Print QR codes on your marketing materials so that leads can be generated from printed posters, leaflets, and brochures in addition to your e-commerce website
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- Personalize the chat as often as you can
Customers expect to be treated as individuals, so try to tailor your responses based on the information you have about them. Great customer service means using the customer’s name in the conversation, whenever possible and appropriate.
This helps the customer feel like they’re speaking with a human person behind the brand rather than an automated bot.
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- Personalize conversations by asking for additional information through pre-chat forms
Get the most out of your e-commerce customer experience
When e-commerce stores are focused on generating leads and growing sales, it’s easy to lose sight of the personal touch. The simple truth is that people return to brands they know and trust to give the best buying experience.
Live chat is the perfect antidote to this problem: Provide a human touch with your customers’ questions and concerns, and you’ll transform transactional experiences into memorable and pleasant ones.
Leverage the power of a unified CX and EX solution to create a truly connected, intuitive, and immersive experience. To learn more about CINNOX, request for a demo or sign up for a free trial.
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