Live Website Chat Support Creates a Two Way Dialogue with Customers

Live Website Chat Support Creates a Two Way Dialogue with Customers When was the last time you used Facebook? I am sure nearly ever reader will agree with me they last logged in today. The popular social media platform allows fans to take a recreational break during office and commute hours. It may come as a surprise to casual users that Facebook is amongst the top 5 social media networks used by B2C and B2B companies. According to “B2B Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends-North America”, social media usage drives traffic to their website (69%) and positively affects sales lead quality (51%) and sales lead quantity (43%). While, there is no denying how effective LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook is at increasing brand exposure, marketers shouldn’t reply upon these websites alone to drive sales. They should put live website chat support to use.

Michael Green of Forrester Research explains, “Social marketing is great for building more intimate relationships with your clients and prospects. However, Chris Chariton (VP at GlobalSpec) vehemently exclaims, “Don’t look at social media as a stand-alone marketing tool. It is just one tool in your online marketing toolkit, so whatever steps a company take in social media, they must be taken hand-in-hand with other marketing efforts.” B2C and B2B companies are planning to spend $54 million by 2014 on interactive marketing. They will increase expenditure on website development (70.7%), e-mail marketing (68.6%), search marketing (62.3%), and social media marketing (60.3%). The most effective interactive tool is live website chat support.

Live chat support for website is an online CRM application which creates a two-way dialogue on the company’s website. According to information graphic, “B2B: Social Media on the Rise” 32% of B2B and 52% of B2C companies engage customers daily. This leaves an overwhelming number of customers whose questions aren’t being answered. Unlike social media platforms which limit engagement potential, Live chat support for website interacts with customers from the moment they enter the website. Customer service representatives (CSRs) take customer support to a new level by tracking user activity as it happens. They use web analytics feature to gauge the referral URL, keyword strokes, and webpage duration. Once CSRs discover help is required, they proactively engage customers in a meaningful discussion to listen to and tackle obstacles they face when deciding whether to do business with company or not.