You already know that live chat enables you to connect in real-time with visitors as they browse your site and make purchasing decisions. It’s a powerful way to reach out to your customers, solve problems immediately, and increase conversions and sales. What you might not know is that your chat program has built-in features that go well beyond simply chatting with customers.
What else can you do with live chat software?
- Track browser IP addresses: Using tracking tools in your live chat program, you can collate the IP addresses of the visitors who use your live chat help. With this information, you can identify the approximate locations of your most common chat users, and alter your chat offerings as necessary to provide the best possible service to your target demographic. For instance, if IP addresses reveal that the majority of the people asking for help are in China, it’s probably a good idea to hire at least one or two chat operators who speak Cantonese or Mandarin. You can also use this information to target your online advertising and other marketing initiatives based on the location of your customers.
- Track browser URLs: If you thought IP addresses were useful, knowing the URLs from which customers ask for help can be even more practical. If 90% of your live chat calls are coming from users on the same page of your site, it’s pretty clear there’s a usability problem there, and you can make the necessary changes to reduce user confusion and site abandonment.
- Tailor chat dialogue: In addition to the marketing benefits, these same pieces of information—a user’s IP address (location) and the URL of the web page they’re viewing as they talk to you—can allow you to customize the language and tone of your chat conversation to make each customer feel welcome. And by language, we mean more than whether your chat operators speak English, French, or Spanish! The tone and formality of your verbiage can make a big difference in the comfort level of your users. Using URL and IP information on the go can give you the common ground to connect with customers and ensure that their needs are met.
- Block negative users: Last but not least, if you have a frequent visitor who leaves negative comments on your company blog or other commercial feedback pages, you can block that user’s IP after tracking them down using your live chat software.
The information and statistics provided by live chat software can be invaluable in targeting your marketing, engaging customers productively in live chat, and removing problem users. These tools can also play an integral role in improving the quantity and quality of the leads your eCommerce site attracts.
Posted in Live Chat