That’s right, this nifty feature helps improve customer interaction with your business and carries the potential to boost satisfaction and loyalty because folks can trust you to be there when they need you. At the end of the day, people want quick answers, and a web chat service delivers just that. 

So, what is a web chat service and why do you need one? Let’s dive into why this cool tool is a must-have for your small business.

What is a Web Chat Service?

A web chat service is like having a friendly and professional salesperson or receptionist available 24/7 on your website. It’s an online tool that lets you chat with visitors live, answering their questions and helping them make decisions without needing a human to help out. 

Popular examples include LiveChat, Tawk.to, and Broadly’s own web chat feature.

Here’s a quick peek:

Key Benefits of Web Chat Service for Local Businesses

Instant Customer Support

There is nothing more frustrating than being left hanging, except, perhaps, being left unread completely. 

Imagine, for a second, a potential customer browsing your website late at night, unsure about a product you offer. With web chat, they can ask questions and get real-time answers in seconds. This immediate support can make a really big difference between a sale and a missed opportunity. 

No more clogged inboxes or voicemails to sort through—just quick, helpful answers when they need them. It’s a good call to implement a web chat service so you can be there for your customers when they need you most.

Did you know? Broadly’s web chat can respond in multiple languages, schedule appointments, and even capture lead information. This can prove useful if you do business in a diverse local community (and may even make you the go-to over the competition).

Enhanced Customer Engagement

Web chat service creates a direct line of communication between you and your website visitors. This personal touch helps build stronger relationships with your prospects, helping a cold lead warm up to doing business with you. 

For example, a small bookstore can use web chat to recommend books based on a customer’s visitor history. This kind of personalized touch makes your customers feel valued and more connected to your business and offerings because you are not pushing things at them that they are not interested in.

Increased Sales and Conversions

There is nothing more deflating than seeing a customer fall off before making a sale. Having real-time support during the purchase process can greatly reduce cart abandonment on your website. 

For instance, a local clothing store can use web chat to assist hesitant customers with sizing questions, discount incentives, or to provide more information about a product, helping to seal the deal right then and there. 

Web chat services are a great way to turn browsers into buyers, allowing you to sit back, relax, and watch your sales soar.

Pro Tip: You can also set up email and SMS campaign triggers to remind customers about an abandoned cart. And yup, we can help you with that, too!

Cost-Effective Communication

Web chat reduces the need for extensive phone support because it allows you to manage multiple customer conversations at once, saving your admin staff time, and your business money. 

In many ways, it’s like having an extra team member without the added payroll. If you’re strapped for cash and light on hands, web chat service is a great way to streamline your communication while reducing the hassle and costs of hiring.

24/7 Availability

With automated responses and website chatbots, your business can offer support even outside of regular business hours. How cool is that?

This ensures customers can reach you anytime they need you.

Picture you’re a vegan café that uses chatbots to answer common questions about opening hours or menu items. A person with food allergies visiting the area decides to scope your café website out to see if your GF brownies contain soy. The chatbot can scan your website menu and ingredient list to tell the visitor in confidence there is no soy products. Your customer gets the help they need, and the next day, drop in to satisfy their craving.

Automation for small businesses is meant to make your life easier, not harder.

Features to Look for in a Web Chat Service

When choosing a web chat service, here are some things to look for:

• User-Friendly Interface: Make sure the chat is easy to navigate for both customers and staff. No one wants to wrestle with clunky software.
• Customizable Chat Widgets: It should be able to match the chat’s appearance with your brand’s look and feel. When it comes to branding, consistency is key!
• Mobile Compatibility: Ensure the service works seamlessly on mobile devices. After all, everyone’s on their phones these days.
• Automated Responses and Chatbots: You should not have the baby this thing. Your bot should be fully capable of handling common queries to free up your team’s time for more complex issues.
• Analytics and Reporting: Your web chat should be able to track lead information and report performance insights to help you improve your customer service.

Speaking of tracking lead generation info… trying to keep up with communications in multiple places is tough. You don’t have time for all that nonsense. That’s why Broadly offers local businesses a centralized lead management and customer communication space located in one shared inbox. 

Now, you can respond to messages via text, email, your website, and even Facebook. 

How to Implement a Web Chat Service

Believe it or not, setting up a web chat service is easier than you think. Each web chat software is a bit different, but these tips should help you get on the right track:

Choosing the Right Provider

Consider factors like features, pricing, and customer support when selecting a web chat service. We say this because it’s important to choose a provider that fits your specific business needs. 

Just don’t jump in and buy the first one you see. Do some research on your available options, and maybe even try out a few demos first before making this big decision.

The right provider will check all the right boxes and offer a seamless experience that aligns with your goals. This web chat service has a big job to fill, so take your time to evaluate options to pick the best one for your small business.

Pro Tip: If you’re having trouble deciding which web chat service provider to go with, start by listing out your needs and wants from most important to least important. The more high-priority items the provider checks off, the more aligned it is with your business needs and goals.

Setting Up the Service

Integrating a web chat service into your website is usually pretty straightforward. Most providers offer simple steps to get you up and running quickly. It’s often just a matter of going into your settings and adding a bit of code to your site. Follow the setup instructions provided to you and your web chat service will be live in no time.

Training Your Team

New things can feel scary to team members who are not the most tech-savvy. That’s why we recommend you equip your staff with the skills and resources to use web chat effectively. 

Training ensures that your team can provide the best possible customer service. Make it fun— role-playing common scenarios can be a great way to get everyone comfortable with the new tool. 

Need help? Unlike the big software names out there, the Broadly platform is specifically designed for the little guys, to us, you’re not a number, and we’re here for you every step of the way. We’ll give you the support you need to encourage your team to use web chat confidently. 

Also see: Why is Communication Important in Business?

Monitoring and Improving

It’s a smart move to regularly review chat performance and customer feedback. This helps you make the necessary adjustments to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Keep an eye on the data and tweak your approach as needed. We also recommend continuously monitoring and optimizing your web chat service to keep it running smoothly.

Did you know? Your web chat service can learn over time. You can train your AI model on frequently asked questions and feed it other helpful information like appointment booking links or sign-up prompts to improve its effectiveness when dealing with prospects.

Get more Sales with Broadly’s All-New AI Web Chat

Broadly’s new AI-Assisted Web Chat Lead Capture feature is designed to engage leads and capture important contact information while answering common questions about your business. This tool helps local businesses enhance their customer interactions, making communication no longer a big headache.

Implementing a web chat service can greatly impact the way your local business interacts with customers. From providing instant support to improving engagement and boosting sales, the benefits are there and ready for the taking—so don’t leave money on the table!

If you’re ready to enhance your customer interactions with a web chat service we’re here to help. Sign up for a free demo of Broadly’s web chat service today and see the difference it can make. Experience Broadly’s web chat service in action and start transforming your customer engagement right now!

The post The Benefits of Implementing a Web Chat Service for Local Businesses appeared first on Broadly.

Team chat apps are essential for remote teams or team members who need to collaborate on projects. If you’re tired of drowning in lengthy email threads and ready to facilitate improved communication and workflow, don’t delay. 

Here’s why you should implement a team chat app for your small business as soon as possible. 

What is a team chat app?

Team chat apps provide the functionality of instant messaging apps along with powerful collaboration features and task management tools. They often support multiple modes of team communication, including private messaging, group chat, audio/video calls and file sharing. 

Team chat apps facilitate routine communications, such as assigning tasks, providing feedback, and integrate with a variety of commonly used business apps such as Google Drive. 

Pricing for team chat apps varies widely, but is often based on the size of your team. Some platforms offer a free plan, but typically with limited features. 

Reasons you should consider a team chat app for your business

Streamline communication from anywhere

Whether you have team members working remotely or out in the field, you’ll be able to communicate with them in a variety of ways. Email is overkill when messages are short and sweet. Group chats quickly get everyone on the same page, even if you’re not all in the same place. 

Most team chat apps even allow team members to respond from their mobile device. These apps also make it easy to keep internal and external communications separate and to differentiate between individual and company-wide communications. 

Facilitate collaboration between team members

Team chat apps support team collaboration and project management by allowing team members to assign tasks to one another, share links and files, brainstorm solutions in group messaging, provide project updates, or use screen sharing or video conferencing to get stakeholders on the same page. 

Decrease distractions and interruptions

Team messaging apps minimize distractions by allowing team members to respond to notifications in their own time. Instead of bugging someone in person or by phone while they’re busy, you can use direct messages to communicate at a time that is convenient for you, without worrying about the other person’s schedule. 

Some chat tools also show your time zone or if you’re in a meeting or with a customer, so other team members know why you’re not responding right away. 

Organize information for easy access

Team messaging platforms allow you to search your message history, find old video meetings or voice messages for reference and pull up company docs. You can use a team chat app as a file storage solution as well. Most team communication apps are much easier to navigate than an email inbox. 

Improve team engagement 

Team chat apps allow for brief communication through emojis and gifs, which can go a long way in relationship building and making employees feel like they’re part of a team. It’s especially important for teams that get little face time. A quick social video chat between co-workers can replace chatting at the water cooler and helps improve rapport across your business. 

The best teams also use feedback to boost employee productivity. Team chat apps make it quick and easy to provide employee recognition. Broadly’s Team Chat app allows you to track employee performance based on customer feedback, so you can recognize and reward top performers with ease. 

Why it’s important to adopt a team chat app quickly

A 2019 study revealed that 91% of businesses use at least two messaging apps — and for good reason. If you don’t get your team on board with using a team chat app, not only will you risk disorganized and inefficient communication, but you also might see your customer service fall through the cracks. 

In industries where customer reviews drive new leads, it’s especially vital for team members to work like a well-oiled machine. If team members can collaborate more effectively, your business may even be able to handle more customers without hiring additional employees. That’ll increase profits alongside customer satisfaction. 

Win more business with Broadly

Broadly offers a robust Team Chat app with advanced features designed to enhance collaboration, communication and engagement. It promotes teamwork and your employees will always be on the same page

Broadly is an all-in-one solution for service-providing businesses to manage their marketing processes and grow their online reputation. 

• Campaigns: Launch SMS and email marketing campaigns that deliver results
• Website: Create a modern website where customers can learn about and easily book your plumbing services
• Web Chat: Answer customer questions instantly on your company’s website
• Reviews: Get more online reviews, referrals and testimonials

Schedule a demo today and see how Broadly can help your business flourish.

The post 5 Reasons why you need to adopt a team chat app quickly appeared first on Broadly.

Similar to how social media messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp allow customers to send private messages to brands, live chat solutions allow business owners and support teams to connect with individual website visitors in the moment via private messages. It may be used for all different purposes from offering customer support or collecting customer information for the company’s CRM. 

Investing in the best live chat software can pay off. After all, the right setup can help your team minimize response times, drive customer engagement, improve customer experiences and customer satisfaction, offer enhanced customer support and deliver tremendous value. 

How do chat services work?

Let’s dive into frequently asked questions about how live chat services like Broadly’s web chat work.

What is web chat software?

Web chat software helps companies add digital communication channels to their website by adding a web chat widget to every page of a website. These real-time tools can be used for:

• Offering customer support: Enabling customers to connect with your customer support team,help desk or self-service content
• Supporting sales and lead generation efforts: Allowing brands to collect customer information for the business CRM

Read more on how web chat can support your different business goals:

• How to use live chat for leads
• How business use live chat for sales
• Why customer service chat matters in business

How does the customer use the chat service?

Instead of having to reach out to a company over the phone, via email or social media channels, live chat software allows customers to contact business owners or support teams directly via a web chat widget. Whether they are ready to request service, have a question about offerings or need support, customers can send a direct message to the company so that the company can respond in real time.

How does the business use the chat service?

On the business side of things, owners, managers and support teams have increased chances to support and convert website users. Website chat widgets help businesses collect more information early in the conversation and conduct more personalized conversations with users. 

Broadly’s web chat solution also transitions the conversation from the website to SMS, so business can keep the conversation going even after the customer or potential customer leaves the website.

What is the difference between a text message and a chat message?

Customers can send chat messages via a website’s web chat widget. Chat messages typically are initiated via a web browser. Text messages, on the other hand, are sent via the customer’s phone to the company’s SMS number. 

Broadly’s solution works by transferring any messages sent by the user through website chat to SMS/text messages. Small business owners have the added benefit of a single integrated inbox for all customer communication including web chat messages, messages from social media or review platforms, and even internal communications.

What is a chatbot?

A chatbot is an automated tool powered by artificial intelligence that uses templates to answer simple customer inquiries to enable faster response times and self-service. For more complex questions, the chatbot can transition the conversation to a customer support agent for further assistance. 

With Broadly’s website chat software, you get the best of chatbot and live chat solutions. Our web chat widget helps gather customer information relevant for your business right away, then connects the user to your team for a personalized, human sale or support conversation

Why do businesses use chat services?

Here are some of the top reasons companies use web chat services.

1. Enable self-service 

AI chatbots enable automated answers for simple customer inquiries with knowledge base and help desk content.

2. Reduce phone calls and speed up response times

Chatbots and customer support agents can generally answer chat messages faster than the typical phone call and can handle multiple customer live chat support conversations at once.

3. Supplement omnichannel customer support 

Chat services can enhance customer support offered via other communication channels, such as email, phone calls, text messages, mobile apps, and social media messaging services like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. 

4. Engage website visitors 

If customers can’t find what they’re looking for on your website, your customer engagement metrics, such as time spent on site and bounce rate, may suffer as visitors give up and seek out the competition. 

Adding a real-time chat service can help you engage customers wherever they are, no matter which webpage they’re browsing. With the right workflows in place, customers can get the help they need in the moment or be directed to additional support via SMS. 

5. Support a broader CRM strategy 

Chat services support your customer relationship management strategy by collecting your web visitors’ email addresses and phone numbers to send follow-up text messages. 

6. Improve support team workflows and routing 

Chat services also improve a business’s customer support workflow with real-time notifications, templates, automation and CRM integrations. 

What are the benefits of using chat services?

According to McKinsey Digital, companies use digital tools to improve customer experiences, customer engagement and overall customer relationships.

Chat services:

• Increase customer satisfaction by 15-20%
• Reduce costs associated with customer support by 20-40%
• Strengthen conversion rates and business growth by 20%

Forbes completed a study and discovered that when brands invest in areas that improve overall customer experiences, they enjoy the following benefits:

• 5.7X revenue compared to the competition for delivering a better customer experience
• +60% higher profits than companies that aren’t customer-centered
• 1.5X higher employee engagement compared to companies that don’t prioritize customer experience

Live chat has also been found to help improve the sales process:

• Increasing lead generation results by 4-8X
• Boosting website visitor engagement by 10-50%

What are chat service best practices?

Be sure to follow these best practices to ensure the effective use of live chat as a customer engagement channel:

1. Offer real-time support to engage with customers at the moment they need it.
2. Reduce response times: More than 40% of customers say they prefer live chat as a channel because they don’t like waiting on hold.
3. Use mobile-friendly functionality to optimize the user experience for customers browsing your website via mobile devices.
4. Use proactive greetings/templates to let customers know how they can interact with your web chat tool and get the conversation started.

Are web chat services effective?

Web chat services are not only effective, they are in demand, according to McKinsey Digital:

• 30% of customers say they use live chat to connect with service providers and 35% plan to in the future
• Another 15% say they use video chat and in the future that’s expected to grow to 19% 

Companies that lack web chat services risk losing customers to the competition. After all, about half of customers use digital channels, such as web chat, social media and email, for customer support. What’s more, digital channels are considered the first point of contact for most customer support interactions, according to McKinsey & Company.

Manage your chat services with ease with Broadly’s messaging solutions

Looking for the right live chat software for your company? Connect with Broadly and learn how our website chat solution helps ecommerce companies, small businesses and local service providers improve user experience and support team routing and workflows. 

Broadly’s web chat plugin seamlessly integrates with any website. Start the conversation with new website visitors in real time, then keep things going over SMS (with support for both Apple iOS and Android).

Does your company engage with customers via social media and messaging apps? We offer more than live chat support. Ask us about Broadly’s all-in-one Inbox, which helps business owners and service providers communicate seamlessly with contacts from all of your platforms one place.

The post What is a chat service and why your business needs one appeared first on Broadly.

Here’s everything you need to know about what live chat software is, how live chat can help businesses and how to use live chat for sales growth.

What is live chat software and how can it help businesses?

Whether you’re a solopreneur, a savvy salesperson or service provider with a team of one, or part of a broader ecommerce website or company, your business could benefit from using live chat for sales. 

But first, what is live chat software? Live chat software is a powerful tool you can add to your business website to allow website visitors and potential new customers to send a private, instant message to your brand. 

Live chat software works similarly to messages sent via social media messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. It connects customers directly to a member of your team, without them having to call or email your company.

Four reasons companies use live chat for sales

Here are some of the top benefits of using chatbots and chat widgets on your website:

1. Communicate with customers one-on-one

Adding a simple chat box allows potential customers and existing clients to connect directly with your customer support or sales team easily and quickly, which can help them get answers to important questions right away. 

2. Acquire new customers, increase sales and improve conversion rates 

You may find from your metrics in Google Analytics, Salesforce or other platforms that your website visitors spend time browsing your product pages and adding items to their cart without successfully completing their transactions. That can affect your conversion rates as well as your overall customer experience and customer satisfaction scores.

The average website landing page conversion rate is 4%, which means most businesses are losing out on generating sales from 96% of potential customers. The good news is, insights from McKinsey Digital indicate that using digital communications tools like web chat and chatbots can: 

• Improve customer satisfaction by 15-20%
• Reduce customer support costs by 20-40%
• Increase conversion rates and sales growth by 20%

Separate research has found that live chat software can strengthen sales and lead generation by:

• Increasing leads generated by 4-8X
• Driving site visitor customer engagement by 10-50%

3. Relieve the burden on customer support teams and boost customer satisfaction 

Because fielding inquiries over the phone generally has higher response times than other channels, customers know they can reach out to get questions answered over social media and other faster channels. 

That’s why some brands add chatbots, technology backed by artificial intelligence, to address simple customer questions and reduce response times. 

Compared to traditional customer service offered over the phone, live chat powered by support agents can increase efficiency since support agents can handle multiple chat sessions at once. Reducing support wait times will not only improve operational efficiency but boost customer satisfaction as well.

4. Support broader CRM efforts

Given that more than 40% of customers prefer live chat as a channel, since they don’t like having to wait on hold on the phone, live chat is an increasingly important part of customer relationship management (CRM) strategy for businesses.

How can I use live chat to grow my online sales?

Here are the steps to take to add live chat to your website and increase your sales:

1. Find a live chat software that meets your needs

Gather input from your sales team and customer support team about what they’re looking for in a live chat software. Then, determine what pricing fits your budget, and assess which platform will enable your team to have effective live chat conversations.

2. Add your live chat software’s chat widget to your website

Web chat support software such as Broadly helps companies add instant messaging capabilities to their website using a web chat widget that can be added to every webpage, including:

• Knowledge base, customer questions, and help desk pages where customers may be looking for answers to frequently asked questions. These are ideal web pages for having a web chat pop up to field questions from potential customers.
• About us/follow us on social media/contact us pages where customers are be looking for your contact information (such as your business phone number or LinkedIn page) or the best way to get in touch with someone from your company.
• Checkout pages, pricing pages, and product pages where customers may want to open a chat window and have a chat session to ask questions before completing a transaction.

3. Train your customer support and sales team on using your web chat tools

For the best results, make sure your customer support and sales teams answer incoming customer questions in a timely fashion, communicate clearly and address potential customers with empathy. 

4. Follow up with potential customers ASAP

Nobody likes a long response time. In the amount of time your site visitors are waiting for an answer from you, they may be considering moving forward with the competition instead. 

Using live chat for sales with Broadly

Searching for the best live chat tools for your sales team? Connect with Broadly and learn how our web chat software helps ecommerce companies, small businesses and sales reps manage chat messages, increase sales and improve customer experiences for site visitors. 

Broadly’s live chat for sales seamlessly integrates with your checkout pages, FAQs page, product pages, contact information pages and other sections of your site.

With our real-time live chat software you can have a proactive chat window pop up so your sales reps and other team members get the conversation started with potential customers. From there, the chat will transition to SMS (for the customers) and to our all-in-one integrated messaging Inbox for your customer support and sales team members.

The post Live chat for sales appeared first on Broadly.

Local service providers, ecommerce websites and small businesses can use live chat tools to engage with website visitors in real time. Businesses can also collect user contact information for future CRM follow up via email marketing and other channels, as well as answer any frequently asked questions (FAQs) customers have to help improve conversion rates, customer satisfaction rates and the overall customer experience.

With the average website landing page conversion rate coming in at 4%, most companies are missing out on being able to capture leads and generate website conversions from a whopping 96% of potential customers. That means any tool you can add to your lead nurturing and lead generation process to help move the needle is one worth looking into. 

So let’s dive into what the lead generation process is and whether it makes sense to consider live chat for leads for your company. 

What is the lead generation process?

At the very top of the sales funnel, the lead generation process starts the very moment new website visitors engage with your website for the very first time. With the right tools in place to capture leads, all of your website visitors have the chance to become new leads.

By using effective lead nurturing strategies, these leads have the chance to move through the sales funnel process and become qualified leads, that is potential customers, and ultimately successful conversions.

While there are many different sales funnel models and visuals available from brands like Hubspot and Shopify, each sales funnel should be tailored to an individual business’s unique needs and workflows. Here’s a quick overview of the most common stages of the typical sales funnel, encompassing each step of the lead generation process:

1. Awareness

Potential customers find out about a product, service or brand via channels such as social media, advertising, word of mouth or search engines.

2. Interest

Interested potential customers engage with a given company’s website, social media, ads or other presence.

3. Capture leads

Potential customers signal intent by filling out a webpage form, providing their phone numbers and other contact information and opting into receiving email marketing campaigns or by contacting the sales team for more information.

4. Follow up with qualified leads

The company follows up with new leads from their CRM using a combination of marketing automation tactics, such as email marketing and retargeting, and live outreach via sales reps. At this point, the goal is to further qualify leads and encourage potential customers to take the next step in the lead generation process, whether that’s booking a free consultation, getting a demo or creating an account.

5. Conversions/sales

Qualified leads take the final step in becoming first-time customers when they book a paid service or purchase a product. Read more about using live chat for sales.

How businesses use live chat for leads

In addition to the common use case of using chat widgets for customer support routing, sales teams use live chat sessions to engage with website visitors to answer questions potential customers and leads may have.

Companies may use templates and chatbots powered by artificial intelligence to automate some of the lead generation process and capture leads visiting a website for the first time. These live chat conversations may also be powered by live sales reps.

Live chat lead generation offers companies the chance to:

• Communicate with potential leads quickly and efficiently. They may even gather enough information to convert them to qualified leads.
• Answer any FAQs that may be holding up a purchase decision.
• Reduce response times by providing sales reps real-time notifications when potential leads initiate a chat session.

Live chat improves the overall user experience and drives outcomes. McKinsey Digital found that using digital communication tools helps increase customer satisfaction rates by 15-20% and improve conversion rates by 20%. Further research indicates that using live chat tools can increase lead capture by 4-8X.

Depending on what insights you uncover from looking at your Google Analytics, you may want to add website chat functionality to your pricing page, FAQs page and contact information page. It’s also possible to add a pop-up to every single page, so you never miss an opportunity to engage with new leads and convert them into qualified leads.

If you’re finding your website experience needs an update, Broadly can help with that too. Find out more about our website design services for small businesses and get in touch so we can discuss your needs. 

Use Broadly’s live chat for leads

Looking for a web chat lead generation solution for your website? Broadly provides web chat services to help customers start more customer conversions from their websites and respond automatically and quickly to potential customers.

The post Live chat for leads appeared first on Broadly.

Whether you have a team of customer support agents or handle all communications for your small business on your own, web chat services allow you to provide assistance and troubleshooting via seamless chat messages that users initiate right from your website.

Web chat reduces customer wait times and boosts the bottom line, resulting in more business and higher customer satisfaction.

What are customer service chat tools and how do they work?

For many people, the idea of making a phone call to ask for help is horrifying. It’s stressful and time-consuming to find the correct phone number, navigate the automated system, wait on hold and then deal with an unhelpful operator.

Live chat support tools allow companies to deliver answers when and where website visitors need them in real-time via live chat conversations directly on your website. The convenience factor is clear. With a single click, your clients can open a web chat session. No wasted time on the phone or waiting for an email response.

Web chat minimizes effort and inconvenience, making it the favorite choice for anyone who wants their interactions kept to a minimum and their problems solved quickly. With online web chat, most questions are answered within the first minute. Customers get the answers they need and get on with their day.

Chat messages can be powered by:

• Small business owners who need a streamlined solution for customer communications
• Customer service agents and customer service representatives
• Chatbots backed by automation, artificial intelligence, templates and canned responses

The typical workflows of live chat tools can be used to:

1. Answer simple questions faster in real-time to reduce wait times
2. Transfer more complicated issues to a phone call, text message or email for enhanced support

What are the benefits of using online chat tools for customer care?

Study after study shows the value of customer service chat:

1. Reducing response times: Keeping customer response times down is a huge competitive advantage.

Live interactive support at the touch of a button, with the fastest possible response times compared with any other format — phone, email and social media platforms — is rapidly becoming the standard all businesses need to meet to ensure their customers return time and time again.

2. Improving the overall customer experience: Aberdeen reports that live chat is one of the top 10 technologies best-in-class customer experiences (CX) leaders planned to use in 2019, with 38% reporting they already have live chat in place and 26% saying they plan to implement it.

3. Boosting customer satisfaction: A Zendesk Benchmark study found that live chat drives the highest customer service satisfaction compared to other common forms of communication.

4. Enhancing the website user experience: Only 9% of customers can resolve issues via self-service, according to Gartner.

How customer service chat improves customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction breeds customer loyalty, an outcome every business aims to achieve. So how does using real-time chat on your website improve customer satisfaction?

Using live chat features enables companies to:

1. Demonstrate they appreciate their customers. By giving instant access to an agent within your company who is able to answer questions personally, you show the customer they are valued and that their business matters to you.
2. Strengthen connections with website visitors. By using this unique method of direct communication, your live chat agents can build immediate personal rapport with your customers.
3. Solve top customer problems to meet and exceed customer expectations. You can also ask for immediate customer feedback to get ahead of negative customer reviews.

How customer service chat tools increase sales

Here are several advantages of using live chat technology as part of your website.

1. Get ahead of the competition. If your customer care agent is available when a question arises, the wait time shifts to mere seconds. When customers can’t find the answers they’re looking for, and help is not available, they look elsewhere… to your competitors.
2. Maximize productivity and save time, not just for the customer, but for your company too. One web chat agent can cover multiple inquiries simultaneously, and average web chat operators can deliver ultra-fast answers in under a minute. Many operators can handle up to 60 separate encounters per hour.
3. Increase conversions. Each chat conversation dramatically increases the chances of closing a sale. The high rate of customers needing support while making online transactions makes chats the most effective tool to drive conversion to sale.

What our customers say about Broadly’s web chat

Our customers love Broadly’s Web Chat features and functionality. Here’s what our clients have to say are the top benefits of our live chat features.

• Delivering business growth: “We love Broadly and can definitely see how they help a business grow. We’ve connected with 80 new customers through their web chat feature in less than two months, and our reviews have jumped 31% in the same time period!” – Ed Sieber Sr., Glass Doctor of Charlotte

• Connecting with customers: “The chat box on our site helps us connect with leads and bring in new business. They’ve been a great partner for us!” – Melissa Thomas, Mr. Electric of Land O’ Lakes

• Improving the customer experience: “We’ve been using Broadly for a year now and couldn’t be happier! Broadly’s software is very user-friendly, which makes it easy for our customers to provide us with feedback and leave reviews. We also love the chat service! It’s efficient and allows us to offer our customers another way to communicate with us. Broadly has been a great fit for us!” – Renee Lucas, LCS Heating & Cooling

Five best practices for using live chat for customer service

Here are our top tips for maximizing your web chat customer experience.

1. Reduce customer effort. Add your live chat widget to every webpage to make getting in touch with customer care a breeze.
2. Train your team. Your live agents must be caring, supportive and knowledgeable about your products and services. Roleplay different scenarios that may arise and offer strategies for handling difficult situations.
3. Optimize your live chat experience for website visitors across devices and browsers.
4. Use chatbots to answer frequently asked questions (FAQ) to speed up response times and provide links to handy tutorials.
5. Assign customer care agents areas of expertise so that workflows can direct questions to specialists.

The return on investment (ROI) of great customer service

Investing in good quality customer service may sound expensive, but research finds that there can be a big payoff in the form of higher sales and revenue:

• Customers with the best customer experiences spend 140% more compared to those with the poorest customer experience, according to Harvard Business Review

• Improving the customer journey can boost revenue by as much as 10 to 15%, while reducing the cost to serve by 15 to 20%, according to McKinsey

• Minor improvements to the customer experience can result in tens of millions of dollars of revenue by lowering customer churn and increasing share of wallet, according to Forrester

• 97% of customers say customer service influences brand loyalty, according to CustomerThink

Avoid the high costs of a poor customer experience by adding web chat tools to your website

Unhappy customers are costly. They call more often, make more demands and are more likely to damage your brand’s online reputation. Even after your competition has lured them away, they may continue making negative comments on social media.

Providing good customer service is a no-brainer for business growth, and web chat tools enable a faster, more efficient experience.

When your brand consistently offers superior customer service, most clients are prepared to spend a little extra on the product or service to ensure they will benefit from the convenience of great service.

If you’re ready to grow your business and build lasting customer relationships, enhanced customer service with live chat software will make a tremendous difference!

Use Broadly’s customer service chat tools

Looking for customer service chat functionality for your website? Broadly provides live chat technology to help companies offer customer support in real-time, improving the overall customer experience for website visitors.

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