How to Add a Live Chat to Your Website and Boost Retention

When you add a live chat to your website, you have the opportunity to enhance your relationship with your target audience. Since everyone who accesses your website can interact in real-time with someone from your team, they may feel closer to your brand, and more likely to make purchases. 

Installing a live chat is simple, and it doesn’t require you to be an expert in coding or anything like that. On the other hand, it may be the tool you were looking for to achieve your goals with your website. Check out the article to learn more about it. 

Why Add a Live Chat to Your Website?

There are many reasons why you should add a live chat to your website. They are closely related to customer retention and enhancing the relationship with customers. Standing out on the internet isn’t simple because it’s a very competitive environment. However, a live chat can be what differentiates your business from others. 

Enhance Customer and User Experience

Installing a live chat can significantly improve user and customer experience on your website as it makes it easier to get in contact with your company. Instead of spending time on a call or waiting for a response via email, the person is a few clicks away from talking to one of your agents. 

Around 73% of customers find live chat the most satisfying way of communicating with a business, while 63%  are more likely to return to a website that offers a live chat. Immediate responses to queries, efficient communication, and the ability to multitask are some of the main reasons customers like to use live chats. 

Increase Sales

Imagine you are going to buy a t-shirt online, but you are unsure about what size you should choose. On one website, the only option you have is emailing the store while on the other, there is a live chat window on the side of the page, you send a message inquiring about the sizes and receive a response immediately. 

It isn’t difficult to see which ecommerce gets the sale, right? When you sell online, it’s important to consider the best ways to help the customers on their buying journey. Adding a live chat to your website can help them to decide, and increase sales as a consequence. 

Customer Retention

The customer journey doesn’t end when a purchase is made, on the contrary, it’s important to develop strategies to retain customers, and conquer their loyalty. When you offer high-quality customer support through a live chat, your clients can count on you even after the sale, which gives your company credibility and increases trust. Therefore, it’s much more likely that they will return and buy again from your ecommerce. 

Offer Fast and Efficient Customer Support

With a live chat, people don’t have to wait too long for a response, different from when they send an email. Besides, they can do more things at the same time while chatting with a live agent, which isn’t possible if they had to call your company. 

Engage With Your Target Audience

Another advantage of adding a live chat to your website is the opportunity to proactively engage in conversations with your target audience. You can set up different automatic messages based on the customers’ locations and how many times they have visited the website. These personalized messages are more likely to capture their attention. 

How to Add a Live Chat to Your Website

1. Choose a Live Chat Software

The first step to adding a live chat to your website is selecting the best software that meets your needs and budget. Make a list of the essential features for you, read customer reviews, and choose the one you prefer. 

For example, JivoChat provides several tools to facilitate communication between customers and companies and to keep track of them. Some of its key features are: 

• Track visitors
• Proactive invitations
• Mobile app
• Integrations
• Quick installation
• Behavior-based chat triggers
• Automatic translation
• Advanced API
• JavaScript API & WebHooks

2. Create an Account

After choosing the live chat software you prefer, you need to select the plan and create an account. With JivoChat, for example, you can register for free, then you will have access to the control panel. Insert the admin name and the name of the website where the live chat will be installed. You may include a phone number as well. 

3. Download the Live Chat App

Download the live chat app for mobile or web browsers. You will chat and control the interactions with your website visitor through this platform, which will also be used by your customer support team. 

4. Add the Live Chat to Your Website With a Code 

You will receive a code that must be installed on your website. Follow the instructions given according to the live chat software you will use. Once you have added the code to the website, you are ready to receive and answer messages from your customers instantaneously. 

If you use ecommerce platforms and CMS (content management system) like Shopify, Wix, and WordPress, you have the option to add the live chat to your website just by installing a plugin. All you need to do is look for the plugin extension, and click on “install now”. 

5. Integrate the Live Chat into Your CRM

CRM (customer relationship management) platforms are a great solution when it comes to keeping control of multiple aspects of an online store, from inventory to delivering products. To centralize everything in a single platform it’s important to count on a live chat that can be integrated into the CRM. Look for a live chat that offers this option.

6.  Customize and Configure the Live Chat

With the live chat added to your website, it’s time to personalize it, so you can offer the best experience to your website visitors. Analyze how you can configure the live chat to meet your goals and simplify customer interactions. 

Customize its appearance to align the live chat with your brand’s visual identity, and place it where you prefer in the page. With the best live chat software, like JivoChat, you can also set up the messages that should appear when the chat window opens, and define triggers based on the customer’s actions. 

7. Centralize Live Chat, Social Media Messages, Emails, and Calls

Another important feature a live chat must offer is the option to integrate in a single platform all the message channels you have available in your company. This way, you can check every customer interaction without having to change from one app to another. Besides, it gets easier to understand each customer’s history with your company. Check if the live chat of your choice offers that, and follow the instructions to connect all the channels. 

8. Analyze Customer Interactions

Utilize the live chat features to keep track of customer interactions and get to know your target audience better. With JivoChat, for example, you can check where your visitors come from, what they are looking for, and collect customer feedback. 

You can also monitor average response time, agent rating, and the number of chats. Those data enable you to create accurate reports that will offer you insights about how to improve customer support to grow your business. 

Live Chat Best Practices

Adding a live chat to your website is an important step, but it won’t work if you don’t count on a great team of live agents ready to assist your customers, or if people don’t see they can access this tool. Therefore, it’s essential to establish some practices along with installing the live chat.

Be Proactive

Set up messages to pop up in the live chat when someone accesses your website. This way, the visitors will notice the chat, and know they can send their doubts. Personalize the message to call their attention. 

Show Customers Live Agents Are Available

When customers see the chat window they may think it’s just a chatbot, and feel discouraged to send a message. To avoid that, make it clear that they will receive help from live agents, who are prompt to assist them.

Train Your Live Agents

Dealing with customers is challenging sometimes, it’s fundamental to prepare your team on how to interact with them and align the tone of speech with your brand’s identity as well. The live agents must be trained to know how to solve customers’ problems, how to address them, and how to use the live chat platform. 

Don’t Leave Your Customers Waiting

Response time matters, keep that in mind, and emphasize that to your team. When people opt for using the live chat instead of sending an email, they usually expect an immediate response. Organize your team to make that possible, if customers have to wait too long to be answered they are likely to feel frustrated, and this can damage your brand’s image. 

Enjoy the Live Chat Benefits

Now that you have learned how to add a live chat to your website, seize this opportunity to improve relationships with your customers and increase sales. Explore the features available on the live chat of your choice, personalize them to be aligned with your brand’s visual identity, and use the data collected to continuously perfect the services and products offered by your company. 

Meta description: Do you know how to add a live chat to your website? It’s simpler than you think. Check out the article to learn more about it. 

Jaqueline Corradi – Content Manager at JivoChat

Bio: Jaqueline has more than 6 years of experience as a content writer and editor. Currently, she is the content manager for the English blog at JivoChat and works on creating a helpful website for everyone who wants to learn more about marketing, ecommerce, social media, and new technologies.