3 Reasons Why Web Chat Is Important

Web chat's effectiveness lies in its efficiency. Just a few years ago, webchat was a luxury. Now, it’s a must-have. In fact, most customers expect companies to have web chat.

But maybe you’re still on the fence. Maybe you’re not sure how you’ll find time to manage web chat in addition to your other marketing and communication channels.

Why web chat is important

Let’s take a look at 3 reasons why web chat is important for your business, why it's worth the investment, and how to make it work for you.

Web chat is customer-centric.

Web chat outpaces email, phone, and social media as the leader in customer satisfaction. 

Just under 75% of customers reported good experiences with web chat. And over 30% of web chat users said they were more likely to buy after completing a chat.

Meanwhile, just over 20% of customers are satisfied with the personalization efforts of online businesses.

Web chat is the very definition of a personalized experience. It invites your customers to interact with your business using a medium they’re comfortable and familiar with: direct messaging.

It also allows your customers to multi-task. So not only is it personalized, but it’s unintrusive. That’s more important than ever in a world where customers see anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 ads every day.

Web chat gives users time, space, and confidence to articulate themselves.

When was your last consultation with a lawyer? Or maybe your last doctor or dental appointment?

You probably felt at least a little nervous, right? Discussing your legal or medical needs with a professional can be uncomfortable.

What if you forget to mention something important? What if you stammer and embarrass yourself? What if you forgot to check pricing information and end up owing more money than you anticipated?

What if, what if, what if?

These fears are so common, there are even technical terms for them:

Dikigorosophobia — fear of lawyers. (Try saying that 5 times fast!)

Latrophobia — fear of doctors.

Dentophobia — fear of dentists.

There’s a reason why "chat now with doctor free” and similar search queries are such high-volume keywords. Webchat takes the fear out of those anxiety-inducing consultations and appointments. 

Your clients and patients can approach your firm or clinic on their own terms to discuss their needs and ask questions.

They can take their time typing out a message that includes all the details. They don’t have to think on their feet while on the phone. They don’t have to worry about misinterpreting body language or other cues of face-to-face conversations.

Web chat strikes a balance for both businesses and customers.

Hybrid solutions like ZyraTalk that combine live chat with automated chatbots streamline the process of generating and capturing leads.

That gives your team more time and energy to focus on what matters most: serving your clients or customers, scheduling appointments, and closing deals.

It also saves customers time by eliminating phone hold times. Plus, they won’t refresh their inbox every five minutes waiting on a response from you that could take 4 days or longer.

Why is web chat important? The answer seems pretty obvious. In the age of the smartphone, customers don’t like to be kept waiting. And if your business can’t answer their questions more or less instantly, they’ll find a competitor who can.

“But what about web chat software that puts customers in a queue?”

There’s no limit to the number of chats a bot can handle. All the user needs to do is let the bot know they’d like to speak to a human and the bot will notify your team instantly.

Why web chat is worth the investment: wrapping up

Web chat is a mutually beneficial solution that wears many hats. It’s a customer service agent, lead generator and qualifier, and receptionist all in one. Not to mention webchat can boost SEO, drive traffic, and increase engagement on your blog.

Webchat puts customers and clients first. And hybrid solutions that combine automated chatbots with real-time messaging automatically handle common queries to save businesses time. Nothing but wins for everyone involved.

But webchat is just one component of a powerful omnichannel conversational marketing strategy. Built-in text messaging and clicks-to-call ensure your customers can connect with your business using their preferred medium. And integrations make it easy to manage chats and review the data.

Is your business ready for omnichannel conversational marketing? Get started with a free demo today. We’ll even throw in a free 30-day trial run if you mention this post when you book.