.We’ve all experienced submitting a form and never receiving a reply. Whether it slips through the cracks or the system accidentally sends it into the ether, the unreliability of forms can cost your business big. Live chat drives confidence in that it’ll be responded to immediately, in real time. This prevents a number of problems that forms typically pose, such as conversation breaks and miscommunication. Conversational marketing also allows you to quickly develop a strong relationship with the customer and build a reputation of responsiveness.
Forms connect. Live chat converts.
With the info you gather from a form, you can connect with leads. However, live chat actually converts. In fact, our research shows that Podium Webchat converts at a rate of 8% while forms convert at a rate of 3-5%. Live chat shortens your sales cycle significantly by engaging and converting leads on the spot in a very small window of time. And this kind of conversion pays. A recent survey reported that live chat leads to a 48% increase in revenue per chat hour.
Forms collect contact info. Live chat skips straight to the conversation.
Forms are great at collecting contact information—your name, email, what you’re searching for, etc. But you don’t need contact information to close a deal; you need .
Forms sort. Live chat qualifies.
As a business owner, you know that leads are not the key to success. Quality, qualified leads are what you want. And while forms are great for sorting and categorising different leads and their requests, leads that are qualified through conversation actually close much faster than leads qualified through traditional methods. Your time is precious. You don’t have extra hours to spend on someone who may not even be wanting to buy from you. Conversation is the best way to determine if a lead is actually a prospect and how committed they are to purchasing from you.
Forms request. Live chat commits.
Forms require a level of interest. If a lead gives you his name, contact, and personal information, he likely wants to be contacted by a sales representative and is at least somewhat interested in your services. Live chat, on the other hand, asks relatively little. We’ve found that the average customer feels like he doesn’t have to commit as much in live chat, which is why he is more willing to fill out a Webchat info section. In reality, after the conversation moves to text, he ends up being much more committed to the business and process than he would be after filling a form.
Not all live chat solutions are created equal.
As with everything, not all live chat solutions deliver the same value. A common problem businesses experience is that live chat chains people to their desktops—employees and customers. But our live chat product, Webchat, can be taken on the go. Using the power of text, Webchat can transfer directly to a mobile device and back again. Almost 90% of consumers prefer messaging. If you want to convert leads effectively, you have to reach them where they are—their text inbox. This also means more freedom for you as texting allows you to close deals on the fly. You can also customise automated messages, making instant, live communication an easy lift for you whether you’re in the office or out for the day.
Forms are many business owners’ first love. If you’re not ready to say goodbye completely, you don’t have to. Here at Podium, we actually use both forms and Webchat. Just don’t miss the opportunity to maximise your conversion rates with the power of live chat. With the right tools, you can make sure that no one is ever waiting on you for their last coat of paint again.
Podium’s webchat feature allows you to optimise your lead conversion by tracking webchat performance through Google Analytics and transferring conversations from one business location to another. You can also receive a daily report of new inbound leads, employ auto responses, and automatically respond to FAQs. To learn more, check out our demo and see how webchat can revolutionise the way you do business.
