Should You Install a Chat on Your Website?

Can a chatbot or live chat increase your business' revenue? 

It’s a big question these days as to whether you should install a chatbot on your website. It might seem like the world of live chat and chatbots there’s a dichotomy of those who love using them and those who “x” out of them right away. 

If you're the one who clicks out of a chatbot right away, you might wonder if people use them, but low and behold people use them… a lot. Here’s a few statistics about why we love them: 

• 40% of millennials say that they chat with chatbots on a daily basis
• 55% of respondents say they would most enjoy getting an instant response and answers to simple questions from a chatbot
• 50% of consumers say that having a live person answer questions in the middle of a purchasing decision is one of the most important features a brand can offer. (Forbes)
• Internet Retailer found that Virgin Airlines converted users 3.5x more often and saw a 15% overall increase in average order value due to their ability to upsell via live chat

So why do people prefer to use chatbots or live chat? It’s the way we are used to speaking these days. The norm of communication is through texting, emailing and instant messaging, and people expect the same when they come to a site. A study by Business Insider found “59% of consumers would rather go through additional channels to contact customer service than use their voice to communicate.” Using a chat offers the same level of help as calling without using your voice, as well as the ability to share files, pictures, etc. 

Chatbot vs. Live Chat

There is a difference between using a live chat and a chatbot. Live chat includes a real person at the other end that is notified when someone enters your site. 

A chatbot usually has a limited set of questions it’s able to ask or be asked. If it’s AI powered you’re able to answer more ambiguous questions, but this can take awhile to program. 

Considerations of Installing a Chatbot

• How complex is your business? Is your team wasting time answer simple straightforward questions?
  If you have a database of answers or products that a chatbot with AI can answer, or a set of questions often asked, then it could be good to consider a chatbot as a way to answer simple questions that are tying up your team.
   
• Do a lot of your consumers expect 24/7 service?
  If you have customers that need to ask questions or search for products constantly, then considering an AI chatbot might be worth it.
   
• Could the conversation start with a chatbot then move to a live chat?
  For many businesses, things can move a lot quicker during the customer service process if they have some information already in front of them. Can your chatbot ask some fixed questions before passing off to a human to streamline that process? 

Live chat gives the same 

Considerations for LiveChat: 

Does your team have the bandwidth to man a chatbot?
Having a live chat means that someone needs to be able to respond to your users when they ask questions. If you have a “live-chat” but no one to answer, it can be worse for your business. Depending on the size of your business you could have someone do this part time like a receptionist, or try it out with a few of your sales team members.

• Is there a lot of customer service taking place with your business?
  If there’s a lot of time spent doing customer service at your business, a live chat could be a great way to streamline, speed up, and optimize the experience. With a chat you are able to get things like order numbers typed out, look back at the chat history, and even have multiple chats going at one time.
   
• Would your business benefit from personal interactions?
  If customer service and personal touch are part of your business plans, then it’s worth it to consider using a live chat over a bot.
   
• What’s your target audience?
  Your target demographic should be a consideration with both a live chat and chatbot. If you have a lot of Gen-X and younger users, then this might be a great option for you. That being said, if you’re a luxury brand, then it might not be in taste of your user personas to have a chat on your site. 

Overall, chatbots or live chat can be great for you to use for customer service. Many businesses see benefits over holidays to answer FAQs quickly and efficiently instead of hanging up users and customer service reps on a phone call. 

If you’re kicking around this idea, take these considerations into account and even take some time to try it out. One way to try it out is dedicating 2-3 hours of your day when you first install it to manning the chat and seeing how it goes, what questions your asked, and if a chatbot could replace the human interactions. 

Have a question about optimizing your customers experience? 

Still not sure if you need a chatbot? Think your digital presence might need help but not sure how? We can help. Fill out our contact form or email us at [email protected]  and one of our team members can reach out and walk through your site and even give you a free site audit.