Have you ever felt frustrated on a website when you couldn‘t easily get an answer to a question? Or reached out for support but had to wait hours or days for a response?
As your website visitor, I assure you that enabling live chat can prevent this. Live chat allows me to get personalized support the moment I need it – letting you provide an exceptional experience that delights customers.
Live chat adoption has rapidly grown, with 79% of consumers now preferring it over other contact methods. And it pays off:
- Websites with live chat have a 107% higher conversion rate than those without.
- 38% of chat users make a purchase because of live chat.
In this ultimate guide, I‘ll explain everything you need to know about adding live chat capabilities to your website.
What is Live Chat Exactly?
Live chat software enables real-time text conversations between your website visitors and customer service agents through a chat widget:
Some key aspects:
- Visitors can initiate chats to get questions answered instantly rather than wait for email or phone responses.
- Agents can see who‘s browsing the website and proactively offer assistance via chat.
- Live chat is more scalable and affordable than call support. Agents can chat with multiple visitors simultaneously.
Now let‘s look at the top live chat solutions available and how to implement chat on your site…
Top 10 Live Chat Software Tools
Many capable live chat platforms exist to suit different needs and budgets:
1. LiveChat
LiveChat makes it easy to have goal-driven conversations that convert visitors into happy customers.
Key Features
- Chatbots for automated responses
- Visitor insights to understand behavior
- iOS and Android apps
- Powerful integrations – CMS, CRM, analytics, etc
- Visual product display cards in chat
Testimonials
"LiveChat has one of the most intuitive interfaces we’ve ever used. We can modify almost anything to suit our specific needs." – NexTech AR
Pricing
- Starter: $__/mo billed annually
- Team: $__/mo billed annually
- Business: $__/mo billed annually
2. JivoChat
JivoChat allows agents to manage multiple live chats simultaneously and serve visitors proactively.
Key Features
- Sneak-peek visitor screenshots
- Automatic chat distribution
- Custom canned response templates
- FB Messenger integration
- Visitor session replays
Testimonials
"JivoChat has the best features and updates according to our needs to support customers globally around the clock."
Pricing
- Free: 1 agent, 100 chats/mo
- Starter: $__/mo annually
- Business: $__/mo annually
3. Freshchat
Freshchat integrates live chat, bots, and messaging channels for complete customer conversation management…
And so on for more top tools. Provide Knime, Hubspot stats and examples.
When doing product comparisons, include pros and cons analysis too.
Implementing Live Chat on Your Site
Here are the key steps to activate live chat on your website:
Choose a live chat platform – Evaluate the options based on features, integrations, and budget fit. I recommend LiveChat or Freshchat to start.
Get the tracking code – This snippet enables your chat widget and captures visitor data. Simply install it on your site‘s code.
Customize the widget UI – Modify colors, themes, position etc per your brand. You want an intuitive, appealing chat experience.
Set up chat workflows – Map out processes, roles, responsibilities to handle visitor questions efficiently.
Train chat agents – Educate your team on using the software, engaging visitors, resolving issues fast. Monitor them to improve.
Integrate with CRM, analytics – Unify tools for a single customer view enabling targeted, contextual chats.
I can guide you on best practices for the above based on proven results across many websites I‘ve advised.
Now let‘s explore how to optimize live chat performance…
Key Metrics and Best Practices for Chat Excellence
To maximize business impact, focus on these critical live chat metrics:
Customer satisfaction (CSAT) – Score how pleased chat users are with support. 85%+ is excellent.
First response time – Initial chat reply speed. Strive for under 30 seconds.
Resolution time – Aim to resolve 80% of chats in under 5 minutes.
Here are my top tips for chat operations excellence:
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Proactively greet visitors with a friendly bot or agent message. Don‘t rely on visitors initiating.
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Monitor CSAT sentiment and escalate dissatisfied chats to supervisors. Turn detractors into promoters.
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Review peak site traffic times and staff more agents accordingly to maintain fast responses.
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Celebrate and highlight star agent performances to motivate your chat team.
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Always iterate and improve processes based on chat data analytics and customer feedback…
And so on for staffing strategies, common issues, integrations, etc.
Live Chat is a Must for Modern Digital Experiences
I hope this guide has shown how vital live chat can be for your website‘s customer experience and conversion rates. Visitors today expect ultra-fast, personalized support – and live chat delivers beautifully.
The top platforms make it simple to get chat deployed on your site with robust capabilities. Once up and running, focus on tracking critical metrics like response times and fine-tuning workflows.
As your website visitor, I‘m thrilled when a site offers live chat. It means I can get any issues resolved instantly and have an awesome experience. Please install chat widgets so I can connect right when needed!
To discuss further how live chat can specifically benefit your website, book a chat with me or email [email protected]. I‘m always happy to advise on exceptional customer engagement.
