Have you ever been on a website and felt confused while trying to buy something with no one to help you out? Think of it as an experience that you have been offering, as a seller. The good news is that with the help of marketplace chat not only you can enhance it, but easily convert those leads into sales. With modern day technologies like high-end portable computers and smartphones, a buyer has enough reach to actually look for several options with a few taps, as a seller one needs to make sure that your conversion rate stays high while the bounce rate remains low, and marketplace chat is one of the best options for achieving that.

The following live chat statistics show how important live chat is in generating leads.

• The ability to ask a live person questions while in the middle of an online purchase is rated as one of the most important features of an online store by 44% of consumers. (Digital Marketing)
• A consumer is likely to return to a website which uses live chat 63% of the time. (99firms.com)
• The chat session itself accounted for 38% of customers making their purchase. (Digital Marketing)
• An increase in revenue per chat hour of 48% and a 30% increase in conversion rate can be attributed to live chat. (ICMI)

It’s not just Customer Service, it’s Sales!

Live chat is usually associated with customer service as potential customers can encounter a variety of problems when they shop online like website freezes, the item they’re looking for is no longer in stock, the promo code they’re using does not apply the discount. Think of it as – What next when your prospects have queries that can’t be fixed by FAQs or product information pages? Nearly 94% of customers who were proactively invited to chat were either somewhat or very satisfied with the experience and hence it can also be used as a sales tool. Chat can be used by sales teams to generate leads, improve sales conversion rates and identify upsell opportunities. It’s because the chat provides a direct line between a representative and the customer. With live chat sales, businesses can speak directly with prospects in real time thereby building consumers’ trust in your business. You can create an organic referral system, since your customers’ recommendations are much more powerful than any marketing content. Business generated from word of mouth and referrals is always the most cost-effective and easiest way of accumulating leads.

This is why almost all major E-commerce platforms have implemented marketplace chat in one way or the other. It is not always possible for small businesses to have a person on staff to answer customer questions and concerns 24/7. If this isn’t possible, make sure your business hours are clearly displayed on your website, so visitors won’t become frustrated because you’re not available.

Keep in mind “Implementation is the key”

With all this assurance that marketplace chat can help you grow your sales as a business it is very important to implement it right. A few years back having a live chat would mean either outsourcing the entire project to a services company or setting up an additional team for the same in house, which came with a big cost and wasn’t for everyone. But as times have changed, new age tools like Machine Learning, Automation and Artificial Intelligence have made things pretty easy, as well as affordable. There are various platforms that offer advanced features and require minimum manpower to work on. Especially AI-powered chatbots, that provide a more human-like experience, are capable of carrying on natural conversation and continuously improve over time. You can check out this article to have an idea about the latest and greatest ones, for 2022.