How To Increase Your Live Chat Response Rate, According To 46 Marketers | data box blog (2023)

Today there is a lot of competition for these properties in the bottom right corner of every website.

Support. Offer. Marketing: Every department wants to be able to talk to potential customers in real time.

And while each department has its own goals and priorities,52% of respondents to our latest report said that lead generation is the top priority for any website or in-app communication.

27% of respondents said selling (scheduling meetings and/or scheduling demos) was their top priority, while another 21% said providing customer service.

Unsurprisingly, given the plethora of features that website chat offers, there are a number of solutions that businesses can employ. Some are cross-functional (think HubSpot), while others focus more on specific features like support (think Help Scout).

We asked respondents to indicate which tool(s) they use. (Respondents were instructed to select all applicable tools.)

35% of respondents say they useHubSpot Conversations Tool, while Intercom and Drift each got 20% of the total number of votes.

This led to our next question: how many chat tools are companies using?

41% of respondents reported using only one tool, while 30% reported using two, 13% 3 and 11% 5 (or more) chat tools.

But no matter how many tools you use, what you use them for, or which applications you prefer, you still need an effective strategy to generate a good response rate and efficiently serve your leads and customers.

We spoke to 46 marketers about their approach to maintaining a high response rate for website chats. This is what we learned.

Customize your notices

"Personalization is the best way to increase engagement and response rate in a live chat on a website," he says.IntuitiveIt's Casey Phillips. "Without customization, users will assume your site's chat is another one of those so-called 'chatbots,' which are annoyingly robotic and relatively useless. Customizing the conversation based on a specific user's specifications doesn't just make the chatbot more useful. , but also generates trust and curiosity in the user”.

Marketers recommend a few different personalization strategies:

Customize chat requests per page

Rebecca Graves foradetect agives this advice:

“Make your chat message relevant to the page you're on. Instead of the generic "Any questions? I'm here to help", change the message to match the page. If you're on a pricing page, something as simple as "Want to know which package is best for you?" may be more attractive to the visitor".

"If you use the same greeting everywhere [on your website]," says Henri Pallonen ofbrilliant marketing, "You can't pinpoint how it could help and that's not as appealing as specific greetings."

Dennis Seymour foraSerioMDemphasizes the location of the most important pages on your site.

“Determine your most important pages by looking at your stats. In my experience, the homepage isn't exactly the best when it comes to performance and engagement, even though it gets the most traffic most of the time,” said Seymour. “For some it's the pricing page, for others it's the resources or case study pages. Once you've determined those sides, experiment with when the message is triggered, and then A/B test your message."

jennifer notoCaroline TIHeed this tip: "To increase response rates, we set up custom messaging for each service page to specifically target what the potential customer is looking for on the site."

Find the right message

"When a user browses your pricing page, have the chatbot ask questions at the decision stage or ask the user to schedule a free demo or trial," says Kalie Fry ofMcMahon-Marketing. "Not only do you want to adapt the bot script to the theme of the page, but to reduce as much friction for the buyer as possible."

Edmond Pouillyoxygen"I have found that having an attractive 'pop-up' question with direct links to the page the visitor is viewing will help significantly increase engagement. A good example of this would be if you have a website page about starting a business in China, your chatbot might say something like "Hello! Do you have a question about doing business in China?'”

"In this example, the question is directly related to the content the visitor is viewing and almost 'feels' like someone in a retail store offering help navigating the web."

User behavior tracking

"Most live chat tools provide information about how your visitors are behaving on your site," he says.Certain Technological Solutions"Colton de Vos. “Users can see how long visitors have been on the site, how many times they've visited, and which pages they've visited. a better response In my own experience, this can increase response rates by up to 30% by reaching only the most qualified visitors with a message relevant to their interests."

Nguyen hung upsmall pdfgives some examples of how this information can be used:

“If the user has frequently visited your pricing page or demo page multiple times, ask if they need help by contacting your sales representative. If they've dropped out multiple times after visiting your platform or they're on your support/FAQ page, focus on helping them answer product-related questions.”

pepper rangeMyrna Arroyo also recommends using Traffic Source to customize your live chat.

Remember that user behavior is not just about the actions people take on your site, it's also about how people already interact most with your site's chat.

"It's important to have enough data to know which questions your visitors are asking most often, so you can build the chatbot to consistently answer them first," said Jennifer Lux ofLyton's Web. “Then use the data to track those questions to completion. When visitors end these standard chat sessions with a "thank you" message instead of a request to speak with a live representative, you'll know your requests were successful."

test your customization

Once you've started customizing your chat prompts, it's time to test your options.

Steve Latronica asSL developmentrecommends testing to find the best message: "Try chat with prompts that address common questions or test points for shoppers considering your product or service."

Get the right time and place

"One of the most important aspects of live chat optimization is timing," he says.SIXIt's David Pagotto. "For example if they are sitting on the pricing page for more than 3 minutes."

Some Kazan moreSuperar.aisays: "Opening the chat window too early can be intimidating. When approaching someone, it should be related to where the user is and whether they are ready to chat."

“Asking questions in advance [is important],” he says.MilagroTREIt's Ryker Taylor. "Whenever we run an advertising campaign to drive traffic to our website, we use Intercom's 'Messages' feature to ask site visitors questions based on the pages they are viewing. We've seen the response rate increase by more than 2x when we have this system in place compared to when we don't."

Rick Ramos ofjoy of healthSaid this:

“I think you need to find out where on your site the response rates have increased and try to understand why. Typically, certain pages have a higher response rate because people are at different stages of the buyer's journey learning more about your product and service. I think you should focus on the pages with the most responses as it clearly shows something."

YSCIENCEEric Quanstrom from Eric Quanstrom offers practical advice: "Make the pop-up chat (window expander) appear where the visitor sees it."

“Active chats, available from a bot or human, will dramatically increase response rates compared to passive chat clients that require the user to open and launch. Obviously, there are tradeoffs here... as a chat popup ages quickly (and causes bounces and chat closes) on any page a visitor navigates to. The sweet spot is to combine strategic pops on pages the visitor is likely to engage with.”

Ask questions to get answers

"Always start with a question," suggests Andrew McLoughlinhummingbirds. "Nothing as vague as 'How can I help you today?' or "Did you like the content?", but something more dynamic. Consider asking a visitor for their opinion on the topic of the content. For example, if you have a marketing blog, you could ask what other sources a visitor searched or what they brought back them to make it clear that there is a real person on the other end of the chat with a genuine interest who wants to help move the conversation forward.”

"Stand out from the crowd by showing genuine and honest interest, and you might learn something valuable in the process of improving your site."

Jonathan Aufray ausgrowth hackeragrees:

“To increase your website's live chat response rate, you need to ask a specific question. I see many companies end a message with words like "Thank you", "Sincerely", "I look forward to..." etc. or with very vague and unresponsive questions like "How are you today?", "How can I help you?", etc...

"Ask a specific question about a problem your visitor might encounter. Your product or service solves a problem. Ask your visitors if they have this problem."

ask closed questions

"Conversations need to be two-way," testifies Hillary Blackcovert ops. “That means you need to frequently ask the user open-ended questions to keep the conversation going while getting the information you need to help them. This keeps the user interested and has more fun along the way.”

John Kelleher foraESM inputagrees:

“Try to ask questions that are easy to answer but specific. For example, "Would you like to schedule a demo?" It is a closed question and easy to answer. It's certainly a lot easier than 'What questions do you have about our service?'”

Kelleher's advice seems to be the general consensus of most marketers. Databox CEO Peter Caputa IV recently polled marketers on Twitter with a similar question. They overwhelmingly agreed that asking simpler yes/no questions increases the likelihood of an answer. “Databox uses the Intercom.io chat app. We then tested those two messages with their A/B testing feature, sending them out to about 100 new records. The yes/no question received a higher response rate than my Twitter followers said.”

Quiz:

Which question do you think has the highest response rate in our in-app chat?

Both messages start with

"Hello <name>,

I'm online now helping new clients get ready."

Then ask one of these questions...

Which question do you think gets the most responses and why?

– Pedro Caputa IV (@pc4media)December 4, 2018

take the first step

“We use proactive greetings. So instead of waiting for the customer to start chatting with us, we say hello first, says Casey TonggRinkens CFR.

"Although they're repeat visitors, we appreciate them coming back and ask if there's anything we can do to help. We've found that by going to the customer first, we can answer questions they might not have asked."

.. no

Not all marketers agree that asking questions is the best way.

For example, after trying several methods to increase live chat response rates, Jesse Harrison ofHopeTree legal fundingSaid this:

"I ordered my chat company to remove all questions. People can just click and start chatting. The image of a human being also helps because it makes your site more human. When people see the face of the person they're with are chatting, they are more likely to feel connected to that person and initiate and continue the chat.”

Harrison also notes that "chats on websites should be as unobtrusive as possible. No 'how can we help?' (let's just say I learned the hard way), no floating animations, nothing intrusive".

sandra saiuMentionit also avoids questions: "We found that 'chat now' as a call to action or providing an estimated response time increased our response rate."

Have a dedicated and dynamic team

"If someone is chatting on your site and you don't have someone to respond in time (think 30 seconds), you'll probably lose control," he says.demanded to boostIt's AJ Alonso. “The reason people chat on your website in the first place is to get a quick response – if they wanted to wait, they would have used a traditional contact form. In that sense, be human. People aren't just talking to you to quickly get the information they want, they want to hear it from a live person.”

Kaitlyn Adan is worn outg2 crowdsays, “Increasing live chat response rates can be difficult, but we've found that being proactive in chat really makes a difference. When you provide quick, informative responses, your listener is less likely to get impatient and end the conversation.”

Adan continues: “It's extremely important that your team respond quickly to minimize the number of chats. The person on the other end of the line must feel that they are your first and only priority. That said, the opposite might apply to the person you're talking to. Even if you have to react quickly, don't be discouraged if he reacts slowly. People are usually at work when they talk to us, so there is often a long delay in the response due to other things on their minds. Do not close the chat even if this happens. If they see you're still there when they get back, they'll probably continue the conversation and thank you for your patience. like you. This, in turn, will create a stronger, more positive interaction.”

STDcheck.comfound an effective way to motivate live chat operators, says Lauren Crain:

“We found that one way to increase the response rate and (the quality of responses) from [live chat operators] is to incentivize them with bonuses. When our live chat reps get good reviews or make sales, they get bonuses.”

gone away

"One strategy that gets abused when it comes to a chat service is convincing everyone you talk to," says Ian McClarty.phoenix sun. "Not every conversation is a hard sell, and you must treat each person appropriately. Be informative, specific, friendly, and respectful. When an opportunity presents itself, treat it as you would in person: friendly and welcoming. This may be the answer. someone's first interaction with your company or organization, the last thing you want is to ruin the impression before you've had a chance to showcase your company's strengths."

“It's also critical that your customer service representatives are properly trained and understand the company's vision and purpose. Language is important, so agents should not copy and paste form responses during a chat conversation. It immediately shows disrespect and damages an organization's reputation."

Being helpful also means having a service mindset instead of just focusing on you and your product/service.

Diz Sara Pion, growth marketer daDrift, "Ask our initial question about the customer, not us," was most effective in continually improving response rates.

Adds Nick Francis, CEO ofscout help, it is about “added value, utility. Don't sell or just say, 'HEY, TALK TO ME!'”

Automate to save time

"One of the most effective ways to increase a website's chat response rate is through automated platforms and tools that help you be as assertive and responsive as possible," says Alejandra von.international gray group.

“One of the main reasons we as a digital marketing agency find that certain brands lose leads is that they are not as responsive in website chat as customers would like. Consumers want answers to their concerns and questions, and they don't like to wait. So automation is the answer.”

aurityuses Intercom templates, says Ivana Veljovic. “That way, support doesn't have to write the same answer again. With templates, it's great to have an FAQ page for users to help themselves and support to link to the answer."

Find out what works for your customers

Your website visitors are not the same as anyone else's. So you need to figure out what works for your specific customer base.

text questionFor example, it uses a system where live chat responses are sent to visitors' cell phones, says Kenneth Burke. “The same number of people initiate conversations with us, but the response and conversion rates are much higher. We can continue the conversation and offer service or close the sale much better by texting each other.”

Find the live chat strategy that works for your customers, optimize it, and enjoy higher response and conversion rates on your website.