5 minute read |

Drawing the line behind being pushy and proactive on website chat

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Live website chat is arguable one of the best sales add-ons that an ecommerce business can take advantage of in today’s online business environment. This is due to the fact that website chat software is relatively low in price and easy to install with a large potential for increased profits if you learn how to make full use of all the features of the website chat software. In fact, ecommerce business owners across the web who have tried out website chat can attest to how much it has helped them change dragging businesses out of the red and into large profit machines.

In a survey conducted by a website services company the researchers found that out of 200 customers that took advantage of website chat software 77% felt that the website chat was the critical component of keeping their sales steady. Another 54% said that by using website chat on their website they were able to increase their traffic to sale conversion rates up to 20%. These figures may lead you to quickly download your own website chat software, but if you want to see the same results you have to distinguish between being proactive with your website chat and pushy since the latter will drive browsers away.

Proactive ways to utilize website chat software

There are several ways that you can use website chat to proactively sell the goods on your website. The easiest way to start with browsers is by simply engaging them in conversation and asking them what they are browsing for. By discovering their interests and what has driven them to your website you can direct them towards the correct web pages by offering links so that you deliver exactly what they want into their browsers. This is hardly intrusive and is in fact helpful for those who hate poking around websites looking for the goods they way.

The second way that you can proactively encourage sales is by taking the opportunity to use your website chat software to announce your sales. If a customer is chatty and lively over the website chat take the opportunity to continue chatting with them and talking to them about your sales, promotions, or discounts. This is also a great tactic for buyers who tell you they are just browsing, because while they may not intend to make a purchase finding a great price is always tempting to someone that is already interested in your category of goods.
Finally, one more popular way to drive up sales is by talking with browsers over website chat and building up a repertoire so that you can comfortably offer them goods that they may be interested on based on their responses. By promoting items that are small or popular among other browsers you can introduce them to items that they may otherwise not have browsed towards but find themselves inclined to purchase nonetheless changing one sale into a multiple sale making it well worth your time on the website chat.

How to stay away from being pushy with your website chat software

While all of the above are great ideas, if you take them too far you will come off pushy to your browsers instead of helpful and likely drive them away. Imagine the last time you were in a shop with a sales assistant following you everywhere, if you are like most people you probably left because you felt pressured and cornered into making a purchase leading you to leave in frustration or anger. You do not want to emulate this experience online by pushing too hard for a purchase over the website chat.

The good news is that people are getting used to the idea of website chat software and are much more likely to chat over it due to familiarity with instant chat services and their own use of personal chat services. With this in mind, if you approach someone on the website chat and they say they do not want to chat and you have already told them about your offers then it is time to back off because they know that you are watching them. Push too hard and they will leave instead of putting up with the annoying chat box.

Keep in mind also if you have website chat software that creates a pop-up box that some browsers will not chat because it slows down their already slow computers. Therefore, if the website chat software shows that they are browsing slowly, it is best to back off unless they approach you because if the website drags too much for comfort they will simply move onto another website where they do not have to worry about the distraction.

There is no way to predict which customers are going to feel pushed by the website chat and which ones will welcome it, but the way they answer your invitation to chat or questions is a large indicator. Those who respond quickly and fluently are more likely to be frequent computer users, while short answers that come after a significant pause are probably less frequent online shoppers who are uncomfortable with the website chat software platform. Gauge your responses appropriately and you can find the perfect balance between pushy and proactive so that all of your website chat experiences end in success.

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