25 Stats That Prove You Need Live Chat Services

Customers have little patience when it comes engaging with their vendors. Response time and getting customers what they want—whether information, an answer to a question, or solution to a problem—makes or breaks a business in the digital era. Unlike a few years ago, customers are unwilling to wait for a response any more than a few minutes—or less and for those who engage with them to possess the knowledge needed to answer their questions or guide them to the information they need. 

Traditional Engagement Channels Fail to Engage

When customers are forced to wait for a response to their questions and help solving their problems, they quickly become frustrated—becoming detractors and even taking their business elsewhere. Businesses that blink when engaging with customers soon experience lost business, diminished customer satisfaction, and even operational inefficiencies. Further, customers have little patience for vendors who are unknowledgeable and struggle to get them to the right person on their team.

Customers no longer accept one engagement channel. They also want to engage with vendors using the device and channel of their choosing. Submitting a request over email or a web form and waiting for a response is rarely employed, only when a customer is willing to wait hours or days for a return. And phone remains a preference in some instances where a customer wants to speak to a live human or has a sales or service issue that requires a live human agent. Able to reduce digital wait times to a few minutes while enabling customers get answers and support quickly, live web chat has supplanted other engagement channels in terms of preference for customers.

Live Web Chat Levels the Playing Field

Live web chat levels the playing field for small businesses. They simply were unable to deliver the same experiences as their larger counterparts for sales and services inquiries. Building and running—or outsourcing—a call center was something that only large businesses could undertake. Live web chat obviates the need to do so; small businesses can quickly and easily set up live web chat—for sales and service support—and begin delivering the same type of engagement as large businesses.

25 Stats on Why Live Web Chat Is Needed

Studies have proliferated over the past five to seven years on the reasons why businesses should use live web chat. Following is a quick review of the most pertinent ones:

1. 53 percent of customers say they will abandon online purchases if they cannot find a quick answer to a question.

2. 73 percent of customers say valuing their time is the most important thing that a business can do when engaging with them.

3. Live web chat is 33 percent cheaper than voice—whether managed in-house or outsourced.

4. 69 percent of online e-commerce carts are abandoned due to the lack of engagement.

5. Over half of customers are more likely to make a purchase if they have assistance via live web chat.

6. Upwards of 20 percent of revenue occurs after live web chat.

7. Live web chat for sales can generate a 300 percent return on investment (ROI).

8. Conversion rates for live web chat can reach as much as 40 percent.

9. Live web chat has a higher customer satisfaction rate (73 percent) than all other engagement channels—email, app, social media, phone, and text.

10. In contrast to traditional engagement channels like phone where agents can handle one customer at a time, customer agents can engage up to six customers at the same time with live web chat.

11. Over 30 percent of customers expect to find live web chat on a vendor’s website.

12. More than half of customers prefer to engage with a business for sales and support inquiries over live web chat instead of talking to an agent over the phone.

13. 77 percent of website visitors will not make a purchase if live web chat is not available.

14. 63 percent of customers are more likely to return to a website if live web chat was available.

15. Average order value is 10 percent higher when live web chat is used.

16. Customers prefer live web chat because: 79 percent say they get their questions answered faster, 51 percent are able to multitask, and 46 percent indicate it is the most efficient communication method.

17. Businesses that use live web chat see a 48 percent increase in revenue per chat hour.

18. Website customers who utilize live web chat are 4.5x more valuable than those who do not use live web chat.

19. 63 percent of millennials prefer to have their basic customer support inquiries answered by live web chat.

20. 44 percent of website visitors indicate having questions answered by a live human agent during an online purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer.

21. 62 percent of customers expect to find live web chat when visiting a website on their mobile device.

22. Live web chat is expected to grow 87 percent over the next 12 to 18 months.

23. 55 percent of businesses supply their customers with a transcript copy of the live web chat session via email, which improves customer satisfaction and drives more revenue.

24. 41 percent of customers list live web chat as their preferred channel for contacting support teams.

25. 70 percent of customers prefer live human agents via live web chat versus artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots.

About Patrick Spencer

Patrick Spencer (Ph.D.) is the President and Founder of TIRO Communications that helps companies develop, build, and manage content, customer, advocacy, and demand-gen programs. Included in its offerings is TIRO Cognition Insights, a data analytics tool that enables B2C and B2B businesses to pinpoint what their customers and competitors’ customers are saying and to identify corresponding actionable product, services, competitive, sales, and marketing intelligence.

LinkedIn Profile: LinkedIn
Website: www.tirocommunications.com