Modern customers are busy and impatient. They expect fast service and response. 55% of US customers leave the site unwilling to wait. Many online project owners wonder how to increase the conversion of incoming traffic. There are many ways, but the easiest and most affordable is online chat. An active invitation feature will enable you to effectively interact with every potential customer.
An active invitation is a chat pop-up window offering help to a site visitor. The important thing is that this is not a banner, not a promotion, but an ordinary chat where you can write and quickly get a response.
An active invitation is a good way to increase conversion and get in touch with a site visitor. It automatically invites the visitor to join the chat with the operator. With the right settings, this approach significantly increases the number of targeted chat calls without superfluous annoyance to visitors. But customizing active invitations is a delicate process where you need to study the behavior of site visitors and predict their questions.
According to IBM, in 2020, 85% of all customer support will be realized through online chat.
So, we will try to figure out how to make the most of an active invitation tool.
Pop-up Chat Window Can Be Annoying
It does irritate the customer if it is the first thing he sees upon entering the site. This is exactly the case of an intrusive consultant who rushes to you right at the entrance to the store: “Can I help you with something?" You push her away “I just watch” and immediately get annoyed.
The same story happens online. You go to the site to quickly find the right thing, close the annoying chat invitation, and remember about it only when you finally need some help. Of course, if a chat window pops up on every page, it can be annoying. But if you offer help to the visitor at the right time and on the right page, he will definitely interact. You can evaluate how your chat is performing by visiting the site and checking out the updated review on NordVPN.
What Is the Most Appropriate Moment for an Active Invitation?
Normally, an invitation appears after 20 seconds. As a rule, this time is not enough for the visitor to get acquainted with the site. The best approach is to test the average time users spend on your site with Google Analytics and then customize your chat feature accordingly.
When an Active Invitation Is Needed?
You can customize active invitations following several behavioral factors: the number of pages viewed, different categories of products, different cities and countries of visitors, and much more. But before you proceed with the configuration, you need to determine the moment when the user is likely to need the help. Analyze your own experience of site surfing, and you will have a response. A visitor needs assistance in the following cases:
- 404 error page;
- Basket;
- Search results after the filter;
- Authorization page;
- Contact page.
How to Collect Client Information?
One of the main tasks of an active invitation is to start a dialogue and attract leads. However, you should not request anyone who visited the site to leave their contact in the first message. Instead, it is best to think of a script of finishing the dialogue in a way that the visitor wants to leave his contacts himself. A good way to do this is to offer a potential customer something attractive in exchange for an email or phone number. This can be a free consultation, helpful articles, and books, a personal discount, or a promise to inform him when the necessary product is available.
How to Convince the Client That He Talks to a Person, not a Bot?
The first thing is to add a realistic photo of a consultant to your chatbot. It encourages the visitor to enter into dialogue. A proper message can also inform the client that a real employee of the company will answer him in the chat.
Examples of Active Invitations
Do not underestimate the importance of the greeting message of the chat invitation. It is not enough to ask the visitor if he needs help. Such requests are usually ignored. You should be more specific.
- Case 1 Example # 1: cosmetics site
The girl went to the site of an online cosmetics shop on request for "dry skin treatment". The page shows all the products that can solve the problem. An active invitation pops up in 20 seconds:
- Hello! Are you looking for a cream or serum? We recommend that you pay attention to two moisturizing brands for which we offer 20% off this week. If you have any questions, I would be happy to help.
Such an invitation can be sent automatically and the operator or a chatbot connects when the visitor writes a message. Such a conversation can be personalized by calling the visitor by name. Some services, along with other visitor information, display links to their accounts on social networks.
- Case 2: Logistics
The visitor went to the site of the transport and logistics company with a request for "container shipments for textile products." He starts to examine the page with a description of routes and types of containers. To attract potential customers and bring them to the dialogue, you can ask questions about future delivery:
- Hello! What cargo do you plan to carry? I can help with choosing a route.
If the visitor responds, then he is interested in delivering. If not, maybe he went in to look around.
Key Takeaways
Online chats engage new customers and provide information about the target audience. However, this tool should be used wisely.
- Frequent and persistent invitations to chat will bring more damage than profit;
- You need to use user data along with your settings to reach out to potential customers in personalized ways to offer what they look for;
- It is worthwhile to write scripts based on the product, audience, and final goal of the online consultant.
- Operators and chatbots should have enough information about the products, services, and conditions, as well as be able to use the knowledge base with answers to common questions.
- Don't forget about problematic clients. It is necessary to think of scenarios of interaction with this segment of users. And just in case there should be an algorithm of an exit from the dialogue.
Online chat tools will keep evolving, acquiring new features and possibilities. It is already a powerful site instrument and will soon become an integral element for every online business.