Customer Service is Key When Generating Leads Online
The core of excellent customer service is providing consumers with an easy and efficient service at all times, including the fulfilment of orders and delivery of goods (when dealing with a physical product) and we found manned web chat to be an effective solution.
A well-known example of this online is Amazon. The likelihood is that you have recently ordered something from their website yourself. Amazon has invented, and is continually improving, new ways to connect with customers with solutions/products: they are any retail business’ biggest competitor! What Amazon is doing is mastering the logistics of the supply chain, and setting new standards in customer service.
In order to continue growing, Amazon has announced that it plans to open 300 to 400 physical stores across North America. This could be seen as an additional threat to retail, however, it could also give more traditional businesses faith that the ‘high street’ is an area where business can still survive, and even grow!
The biggest question that any business will face is what communication channels they should use to ensure that their existing and future customers can make contact however they choose, whenever they choose.
In the past, all businesses had to do was have a high-street presence with a member of staff available to answer calls. Now, however, communication can be made in a multitude of ways. Although a physical presence is still the key contact can also be made by phone, text, email, online, or by social media.
A family owned estate agent, with multiple branches across the North East, has recently reviewed the way they communicate with potential customers via its website due to the nature of their higher value properties, and the fact that they are in a very competitive environment, competing with high street branches, online agents and national web-based portals. Despite having a knowledgeable base of sales people in branch manning the phones lines, it was identified that there was an opportunity to develop communication with the growing number of visitors to their website.
Through a specialist partner, it was suggested that they might investigate an outsourced manned web chat solution. When this service was considered, the decision was made to try to test a North East based supplier. The service offered could provide live manned interaction with visitors to their website, seven days a week, including out of office hours, bank holidays and weekends.
Once a decision was made to trial the manned web chat service, online registration was completed and the agreed visitor interaction was put in place via an online customer web portal. The business’ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) were identified and recorded, taking a day or so to complete and load.
Once the chat was set up on the website, the company saw results within hours of going live. During a four-week free trial, the results spoke for themselves;
- 287 engaged customer web chats providing help/information
- 110 leads provided where immediate customer contact was agreed
“We have been using Chat Heroes for just over a month now, and we have been thrilled with the results. We have had almost 300 customers getting online, with over 100 of them requesting contact back from our sales team. This is all potential business that could have been missed without the web chat feature. With seven branches covering the whole of the North East we understand the importance of allowing customers in all locations to be able to make contact. We also strive to be at the forefront of technology, and Chat Heroes has allowed us to continue doing this.”
Due to the nature of the product, the company is confident that the opportunities that have been generated from the new sales leads have a lucrative ongoing value.
The company is happy that the service is seamlessly integrated and provides an invaluable addition to their very dedicated sales team, being seen as an extension of the business’ customer support and sales function.
