How to Convert Browsers Into Buyers

It’s an age-old problem for online businesses: you’ve built an innovative set of products with a brand that people love; you’ve crafted marketing messages, content and sales materials that are the pride of your marketing department; and you’ve made it all available on a vibrant website that says and does everything you’ve planned.

The foundation for success has been established, but like many companies, you struggle to turn those assets into a competitive advantage. The bottom line: consumers are visiting your website; Google Analytics told you that. But visitors seem to dally about your site, browsing but not buying. You know it’s all about conversions, but how do you make that happen when you seem to be doing everything else right?

The answer seems simple, but it’s often overlooked: engagement. When prospects show up on your online doorstep, how do you engage them instantly and get them actively into a sales pipeline? Here are four things you can do to improve your online engagement and ultimately close more business faster.

Welcome Visitors Online the Way You Would in Person
When consumers walk into your brick-and-mortar store, the first thing your sales reps do is greet them with, “How can I help you?” Most ecommerce sites have lost this personal touch and make no effort to actively engage a visitor right from the get-go. That’s where an online communication medium like live chat comes into play. A chat pop-up window empowers you to be proactive with your website visitors, engage them instantly and opening the dialog for superior customer service. Many online customers just want a little TLC before buying. Forrester reports that as much as 45% of website visitors will abandon a transaction if questions aren’t answered quickly. Chat keeps customers engaged and helps push the online transaction through to completion.

Let Data Guide Your Online Sales Tactics
Analytics provide a wealth of information about your website visitors, and you can leverage that data to ensure that fewer deals slip through the cracks. Look carefully at not only which pages are most frequently visited but also which pages lead more quickly to a shopping cart and transaction checkout. Those pages are perfect candidates for placing additional chat pop-ups to drive better engagement at the right times. There’s also rich data in chat transcripts, which can provide keen insight into buyers’ hot buttons, FAQs that can be answered more easily if reps are aware of them in advance, and identifying high sales performers within your team so you can share best practices and spread your knowledge base across the online sales team.

Stay Engaged Day or Night
Your customer service reps are usually ready to help close a deal from 9-5. But what happens after hours? Or when volume is heavy and your resources are unavailable? Online chat provides a strong after-hours presence so you can actively convert more leads and build a customer-first brand. Chat reps can even perform their duties remotely from home, allowing them to stay engaged with website visitors any time, day or night. It’s like hanging a sign on your website that says “Always Open,” and that’s always good for business.

Make Service a Key Entry Point for Sales
For companies that also provide customer service and support online, there’s real value in cross-training sales and support reps. Great sales opportunities often start with a simple service request. An existing customer that needs help making a technology product work right, or a ticket holder that wants to make an exchange for another sporting event, is in a convenient position to consider new products or services if the process is seamless enough. Service reps, particularly those within the chat function, should have upselling opportunities to readily make available to visitors at the appropriate time.

Even when visitors are ready to buy, they may be faced with a disjointed order, payment and/or delivery process. During that critical time, there is always the chance a visitor will abandon, reconsider, or just delay the buying decision. Chat enables a rep to guide a visitor through the process to ensure a complete transaction. Even if the service request doesn’t evolve into a sale today, timely engagement and interaction lays the foundation for better customer education, satisfaction and a potential return visit.

About Adam
Adam Stass, CEO of WebsiteAlive, is an expert in customer experience, live chat support and lead generation from his work with more than 11,000 websites globally including major clients like Loews Hotels, Philadelphia Flyers, Bridgestone Golf, and Comcast. Adam and his executive team have helped WebsiteAlive grow over the last five years. 
Prior to his role at WebsiteAlive, Adam was known for being an “ideologist.” He launched 720 innovate, a stealth branding company known for its consumer-building and concept development services. The company’s success was evidenced by its impressive list of clients, which included Valvoline, Coca Cola, Scunci/CONAIR, Denman International, Timex, Avecia, and other Fortune 1000 and Fortune 500 companies. 720 also co-founded Brand DNA, a marketing concept that is now used worldwide. 
At 720, Adam had a knack for working in stealth mode so that his clients’ brands could take the glory. He has adopted the same method for WebsiteAlive’s clients—working hard behind the scenes so they can shine.