2024-11-21 14:31:28
For many entrepreneurs, consistently generating sales and scaling their businesses often poses a big challenge. Often, they believe that the key to increasing sales lies in persuading, convincing or pressuring people to buy. However, the truth is that focusing on coercing people to buy can be counterproductive.
Often, many small business owners are not making sales and boosting their revenue because of a negative mindset—limitations imposed by their belief system. In this article, I share three of such mindsets that hinder sales and strategies that can help you overcome them to increase sales, boost revenue, and grow your business sustainably.
Here we go…
In more than a decade of coaching small business owners on how to grow revenue and profits, I have discovered that the easiest way to make consistent sales and increase your revenue is not through aggressive selling tactics, but by indoctrinating prospects. Indoctrination, in this context, means educating, teaching or helping a client understand what they truly need. This approach shifts your focus from selling your products or services to educating potential clients about the changes they want to experience.
The most successful entrepreneurs understand that the secret to making more sales lies not in prioritizing selling, but in building trust, and helping prospective clients understand their needs. This approach fosters genuine relationships between both parties and creates an environment where customers feel confident and ready to buy.
Your role is not to put your prospects under pressure when selling. Instead, focus on educating them about the results they are looking for. That means you should understand their challenges and be willing to lead them to the solutions they seek. Educating clients in this context does not mean promoting yourself or your products or services. Instead, it is helping them understand their needs so they can make the right choices.
When you help your prospects understand their needs, you invariably align yourself with them. They perceive you as a trusted adviser, which enhances your credibility and increases your chances of making more sales.
Many business owners come to the market with a preconceived notion that clients don’t know what they want. In reality, most clients clearly understand their needs. Selling, therefore, is not trying to convince your clients to buy something they don’t want or cannot afford. It is about helping them make the right decision about what they already want.
This mistake is common among consultants and other professional service entrepreneurs who carry themselves as “experts.” They erroneously believe they understand their clients’ businesses more than the clients do and can tell them what they want.
But here’s the truth: Most clients have a pretty good idea of what they are looking for, and they only need help clarifying them or finding the right fit. As an entrepreneur, you are the one who helps them find that fit. On the other hand, when you assume the clients are clueless, you risk coming across as anxious, out of touch and manipulative, which turns clients off.
The starting point is reframing your mind and believing that your clients know what they want. However, they need your support to articulate and accomplish them. Here are the steps you can take:
Let’s face the fact: there are tens of thousands of people in the world who need what you are selling right now. The reason these people are not buying from you is not because they don’t need your product or service; the reason is because they do not know you exist. They are unaware that you have the solution their problems need.
The key to overcoming this challenge is visibility. You need to make yourself and your expertise visible to your ideal market. It does not matter where you live or what industry you’re in; if you can demonstrate to your target audience that you understand their problems and can help solve them, they will find you.
The easiest way to create visibility is by putting yourself in the marketplace. Period! There are many strategies for building visibility, but I find the following are two effective.
SEO and 3 Other Reasons to Prioritize Content Early On
Boosting your sales and revenue is not about pushing products or services onto reluctant customers. You must shift your mindset, understand your ideal client’s needs, and make yourself visible in the marketplace. Implementing these strategies can help you create a sustainable and profitable business. Remember, successful entrepreneurs help others achieve their goals—that is how sales come naturally.
Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik
The post Hidden Mindsets That Hinder Your Sales, and How to Conquer Them appeared first on StartupNation.
2024-11-21 00:41:29
Is your business losing out by solely focusing on domestic operations? This is a question that more entrepreneurs in the United States are asking themselves as the lure of more favorable economic, taxation, and regulatory conditions inspires higher volumes of overseas business.
There are many reasons that make expansion into new economies an advantage for U.S. entrepreneurs. For labor costs alone, doing business in new countries offers vast opportunities.
Taking production workers as an example, the average production worker and machine operator in the United States earned around $32,000 per year in 2022, second only to Germany in cost. For the same job role in China or Brazil, the average salary falls to less than $15,000. In other emerging economies like Mexico and India, the average salary stands at under $5,000.
Many nations have also adjusted their corporation taxes and introduced more favorable regulatory frameworks for international businesses.
Streamline your operations with one tool
Manage your entire sales cycle, track client communication, and connect your projects, marketing activities and much more with a CRM that’s easy to use.
In a world that’s ready to pave the way for overseas business, there’s never been a better time to look beyond borders for your company’s next expansion.
With this in mind, let’s explore seven of the best places to do business globally today:
The average annual salary in the Dominican Republic is around $14,400, and the island paradise has been actively working to improve its infrastructure to support U.S. businesses seeking to enter the economy.
Because the Dominican Republic is dependent on international commerce, according to P&H Law, the nation has undergone a series of regulatory modernization initiatives aimed at opening and commercially integrating the economy into wider international markets.
With a largely unrestricted outlook on foreign investment and no rules over foreign ownership for companies, it’s possible to enter the Dominican economy with relative ease. Additionally, foreign investors have free access to foreign exchange, making the act of doing business domestically more straightforward.
In addition to this, the Dominican Republic’s physical infrastructure boasts some of the best roads in the Caribbean, and its eight international airports and 14 key seaports can help facilitate a frictionless environment for a number of operational models.
It’s logical to start with Switzerland. The nation has comfortably topped the 2023 Global Innovation Index and is well-located in Europe for its close connections to developed economies like Germany, France, and Belgium.
With attractive corporation tax rates starting at 11.9%, Switzerland’s impressive transport infrastructure, commitment to innovation, and reputation for excellent fiscal discipline make it a European leader for businesses to grow into.
According to the Global Innovation Index, Switzerland is the best option for businesses seeking to enter a new high-income economy. While the nation’s economic strength has increased labor costs, there are few better places for U.S. businesses to go for seamless access to Europe’s vast market potential.
Despite its population of around 650,000, Luxembourg is the wealthiest country in the European Union and benefits from a high standard of living. The nation also excels in private banking, while its finance sector is a key economic driver.
Luxembourg has become an attractive destination for businesses because of its reputation as a European tax haven. In leaked documents, firms like FedEx were found to have established two affiliates in Luxembourg to transfer earnings from their operations in Mexico, France, and Brazil to affiliates in Hong Kong. Luxembourg agreed to tax the income rate at 0.25%, helping to leverage 99.75% tax-free transfers.
Other tax agreements with Luxembourg were reportedly leaving firms paying an effective tax rate of under 1%. However, the official top rate for companies operating in Luxembourg is 24.94% and consists of a 17% corporate tax rate, a municipal business tax of 6.75%, and a 1.19% contribution to an employment fund.
Despite offering key infrastructural advantages and strong transportation connections, average wages in Luxembourg are high. This may mean businesses could look outside of Europe to do business at a competitive rate.
Despite its more remote location, New Zealand is often identified as the best country in the world to set up and run a business.
While New Zealand has a lower population, the nation has a similar land mass to Japan and the United Kingdom, and this helps to provide plenty of growth potential and a major stake on the world stage.
New Zealand is a large global exporter and exported a total of $46.5 billion in 2022. As an English-speaking country, businesses can also benefit from holding a common language for their expansion into a new economy.
Crucially, there are no restrictions on the flow of capital from a New Zealand business to overseas investors, meaning that it’s simple to set up your business and transfer assets back to the US. However, it’s worth noting that payments could be subject to a withholding tax.
From sparsely populated nations to the most populous country on Earth. China has become a wildly popular location among U.S. businesses for its affordable labor and proficiency in the manufacturing sector.
China is the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter of goods, and it has the fastest-growing consumer market in the world.
Although corporation tax in China is set at 25%, businesses and startups in particular can benefit from a range of incentives designed to grow innovation domestically. These incentives can be drawn from the sector you operate in, your business size, and your chosen location for operations, and can generate savings alongside competitive labor rates.
One drawback of doing business in China stems from the wider geopolitical landscape and growing tensions between the Chinese and U.S. governments. With the prospect of a Trump presidency and greater levels of mistrust between the two nations, more operational challenges could be on the way.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit business environment ranking, Singapore is the ideal country in which to operate and is projected to have the best business environment over the next five years, alongside the United States and Denmark.
As a gateway to Asian markets, Singapore is well located and offers strong bureaucracy and more open business policies.
With its corporate tax rate capped at 17%, Singapore is a competitive economy to build into. Depending on eligibility, businesses could benefit from a vast range of tax exemptions and concessionary rates. Crucially, there are no capital gains taxes in Singapore, helping to improve cash flows for entrepreneurs seeking to build into Asian markets.
As an innovative Southeast Asian hub, businesses setting up in Singapore can benefit from a skilled and well-educated workforce at more competitive salary rates.
In terms of geography, Mexico is an excellent place for U.S. businesses to grow. As a neighboring country, Mexico is ideal for any business seeking to enter Latin American markets without the need for excessive travel.
Boasting a strong consumer market and predictable inflation patterns, Mexico is a stable option for businesses. Perhaps the greatest asset stems from the country’s advantageous tax incentives, with deductions ranging from 56%-89% in fixed asset investments and further deductions available for labor training across multiple sectors. Businesses can even access tax exemptions associated with a range of economic activities in the Istmo de Tehuantepec region of the country.
Thanks to its cheaper labor costs and proximity to the US, Mexico can be an excellent choice for businesses operating with supply chain interests in South and Central America.
AI + Data + CRM = more sales and happier customers.
Start or grow your business with the #1 CRM. Salesforce now has AI tools that helps you connect with your customers in a whole new way.
If you’re looking to take advantage of the economic, regulatory, and infrastructural benefits of doing business in a new country, there are plenty of diverse options available that can individually suit your wider mission objectives more appropriately.
There’s no right or wrong place to expand your operations, and it’s worth looking at the bespoke incentives and benefits available throughout a range of locations to ensure that they suit your needs best.
The United States can limit the growth of your business due to its higher salary structures and regulatory difficulties. By looking beyond borders as part of your wider strategy, there are no limits to the potential you can unlock in global economies.
Image by jannoon028 on Freepik
The post Assessing the 7 Best Countries for Doing Business appeared first on StartupNation.
2024-11-19 14:25:04
Excerpted from TRIPLE FIT STRATEGY: How to Build Lasting Customer Relationships and Boost Growth by Christoph Senn and Mehak Gandhi. Senn is an adjunct professor of marketing at INSEAD, one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools. Gandhi is the Head of Research at Valuecreator, Switzerland, where she designs and implements B2B growth accelerator programs.
Today’s business customers don’t just buy products and services; they buy expectations. Yet, even the best price at superior performance is only considered table stakes. What these customers want is the commitment of and access to the supplier’s total operations. They want problem-solving and creative thinking to keep their business ahead of competition. They want partners.
Compare this view to listening to a symphony orchestra—you expect a seamless performance from the entire orchestra. To achieve this, the conductor plays a critical role, even though a symphony is an auditory experience, and the conductor doesn’t make a sound. Still, his or her role is critical in connecting the different sections of the orchestra that cannot all hear each other.
Customer relationships benefit from orchestration efforts. But it’s not just about growing your own business as a seller. It’s about orchestrating mutual growth, and that starts with growing your customer’s business. In our research, we have found that only 15% of frontline sellers meet these expectations. Members of that group double their business in three years, on average, while other approaches suppliers take are stagnant or achieve only moderate growth.
Similarly, our research has shown that only 14% of senior managers have adopted the customer-centric perspective and behavior required to orchestrate better partnerships with customers. It’s worth it to become more like this 14%: these growth champions increase sales and profitability at twice the rate of their peers.
What is the reason for such a discrepancy in growth and profitability?
Our research evidence shows that successful companies move beyond the typical product-market fit type of sales approach to what we call “Triple Fit Strategy.” Instead of mainly promoting the value proposition of a product or service, Triple Fit Strategy seeks to achieve, as its name suggests, three fits between sellers and buyers at the planning, execution, and resource levels.
At the heart of Triple Fit Strategy is a simple question: “What if we—supplier and customer—were one company?”
Answering this question will establish a shared language, leading to a blueprint for mutual growth at scale. However, there are three key challenges companies need to address in orchestrating business growth in today’s corporate environment:
First, companies must understand the growth trajectories of their business. Rethinking the growth logic based on a strategic dialogue with customers is key to developing game-changer ideas for mutual growth.
Second, companies must navigate the growth journey by executing jointly validated growth plans and continuously keeping the growth momentum.
And third, companies must create favorable conditions for success through upskilling the right people to become orchestrators and growth champions, who play decisive roles in fostering that growth.
Addressing these challenges is why we’ve written our new book Triple Fit Strategy. This book is based on twenty-five years of research and the in-depth observation of more than five thousand business relationships on their quest to drive growth with their customers. The conceptualization of Triple Fit Strategy began with Christoph’s doctoral thesis generalizing his corporate-sales experience, resulting in the first conceptualization of the Triple Fit framework. After extensive field studies, the Triple Fit framework and its sub-concepts were further validated by Mehak in her doctoral thesis. Our work also led to the founding of Valuecreator AG, where we focus on guiding companies on their journey to build future-proof business relationships.
Our mission is to help you avoid costly breakdowns in business relationships and, instead, achieve breakthroughs by learning how to orchestrate growth. Building on a broad range of examples from different industries around the world, this book offers a diagnostic and action framework to create lasting customer relationships and boost growth. All tools and ideas have been successfully tested by us in business practice with large and small companies from Europe, the United States, and Asia.
Our focus is to share the best practices of value creation across industries and geographies, leading to a completely different growth logic. No longer is it just about adding some growth of 5 or 10 percent here and there. Instead, it’s about multiplying businesses and seeing relationships grow by two, three, or even ten times.
Triple Fit Strategy flips the product-centric view to a customer-centric view. Targeting three fit levels, you can orchestrate value creation based on a 360-degree perspective of customer priorities. The result will be customer-validated growth plans that do not only indicate breakthrough opportunities but are also a cross-check for your corporate strategy. We’ve seen time and again how understanding and implementing Triple Fit transforms businesses.
This excerpt from TRIPLE FIT STRATEGY: How to Build Lasting Customer Relationships and Boost Growth by Christoph Senn and Mehak Gandhi is copyright 2024 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review Press.
The post Orchestrating Mutual Growth: How B2B Companies Drive Sales and Success appeared first on StartupNation.
2024-11-18 16:03:59
Entrepreneurs understand the importance of gauging risk factors and determining whether certain ventures are worth it. Banks and creditors do the same when looking at those applying for a loan. They look into your history and income and decide whether you’re a viable candidate who would pay back what they borrowed.
Who are the top credit rating agencies, and how do you determine which is best for you? It’s important to understand and seek an independent assessment from them. That way, you and your creditor are on the same page about your capabilities to fulfill your financial obligations.
Credit rating is a significant factor in a business or government’s financial standing, as it states their creditworthiness. For lending establishments, it makes the difference between loan approval and rejection. Potential relationships within the industry and supply chain are also influenced.
A loan does not come easily nowadays. Only around 51% of applicants were fully approved for the financing they applied for between 2022 and 2023. Most found success in small banks, credit unions and finance companies, though this could be attributed to a lack of demand and satisfaction.
Credit rating is often confused with credit scores, but they are two different grading systems since the latter focuses on your creditworthiness. For beginning entrepreneurs, it’s also worth checking your credit score to gauge your finances. You may have to pull out financial resources from your personal credit.
Your corporate credit rating gains much more significance as you transition into a startup and, eventually, a small business. You’ll have to take out loans in your establishment’s name, which warrants a check on its history of taking out and paying debts. Investors and suppliers will also look into your credit rating, as they are staking their personal resources and name on partnering with your business.
Credit rating agencies on a global scale are significant, as they can assess a country’s creditworthiness. They consider investments and currency reserves to gauge economic stability. Changes usually happen during government transitions.
In a business setting, credit rating agencies became relevant for lenders and investors during challenging financial times like the “great recession.” They provide clear research as to how risky or viable a business is, maximizing its gains and minimizing its losses
These independent companies are also capable of providing bond credit ratings, which often boost costs and provide security for liquidity. It depends on which agencies you contact for an assessment.
Remember that these credit rating firms differ from credit reporting agencies or bureaus like Equifax, Experian and Transunion. These are responsible for providing an individual’s credit score by assessing personal information and credit history.
Credit bureaus typically offer the same services nationwide, and it’s up to a vendor’s discretion whether to release or pull a credit report from multiple companies. Credit rating agencies are much more varied in the areas they service and the extent of their offerings.
RAISE CAPITAL
Use flat-fee crowdfunding with no commissions.
Raise business capital of $100K to $100M.
Connect directly with accredited investors.
The ideal company should provide transparent and accurate credit ratings to business holders. They must also offer insights into their financial standing to understand why it was quantified that way, preferably with real-time data.
Certain companies are marked as nationally recognized statistical rating organizations, or NRSROs, by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These companies usually have a strong credibility compared to those without federal approval. However, they aren’t necessary for credit rating agencies to operate and provide a database.
Kroll Bond Rating Agency, or KBRA, offers exceptional credit rating analysis. This New York-based company, founded in 2010, understands technology’s role in data assessment. It provides data-centric analytics and applications that allow entrepreneurs to dive deep into credit profiles.
The 2024 Ratings Provider of the Year’s intelligence tools are also ideal for financial specialists who want to examine businesses’ economic performance. With KBRA Premium, you could even seek insightful ratings to dive deeper into those assets.
Standard & Poor’s, or S&P, is a pioneer in credit ratings. It has a letter-based investment grade, and receiving an AAA guarantees a business can repay its debt. The company is best known for its index, the S&P 500.
Anything below a BB+ from S&P is considered a risky investment, and a D strongly suggests that it should not be pursued. It holds a good track record in the financial world, and some people use it as a benchmark when comparing their credit ratings from other agencies.
For 160 years, Fifth Third Bank has worked hard to provide better banking solutions to our customers. We are committed to providing a world-class customer experience, and our vision is to be the one bank people most value and trust.
AM Best is a global credit rating agency with 125 years of experience in the financial world. It specializes in insurance industry ratings, providing transparency on these companies’ financial operations. Its superior rating is A+, though it also has quantitative assessments.
Entrepreneurs seeking to penetrate the insurance industry should monitor their credit rating. However, businesspeople also benefit from their assessment by seeing which insurance providers hold the least risk.
Fitch Ratings is another pioneer in providing credit ratings. It focuses on evaluating the bonds of companies and government bodies. Similar to S&P, AAA grades usually signify high-quality cash flow and low risk for investors.
Sovereign credit ratings are high on Fitch Ratings services, boosting the confidence of developing nations. It also releases news and commentary on whether ventures are credit-positive or negative for companies in a particular industry.
Moody’s is another credit rating agency that provides valuable insights. Its database has more than 525 million entities, making it a viable resource for lenders and vendors. Entrepreneurs use it as a reference when partnering up with other businesses.
Moody’s branches out to other services, developing software and tools to help businesses and other establishments analyze credit. Strong risk management capabilities build up a safer investing environment for stakeholders.
RapidRatings prides itself on helping entrepreneurs understand their vendors, suppliers and more. It aims to strengthen business relationships through financial health and transparency, analyzing financial operations to minimize and mitigate risks.
What makes RapidRatings one of the top credit rating agencies is its future-focused approach. Its analysis considers how resilient companies would be to a different economic landscape, deviating slightly from historical data.
Weiss Ratings has 50 years of experience in the credit rating business, providing research based on real-time data. It primarily focuses on ETFs and cryptocurrency, which is ideal for entrepreneurs considering those types of investments.
According to its website, Bitcoin still has the highest rating with A, followed by Ethereum and Avalanche with A- and B+, respectively. It also publicly shows ratings for tech, consumer staples, financial, energy and health care stocks.
Veribanc is another key auditor that provides safety ratings and research. It analyzes institutions and their creditworthiness, from commercial and savings banks to credit unions. Regular consumers benefit from these reports, but businesses can utilize this information when creating accounts dedicated to their ventures.
Unlike other top credit rating agencies and their letter-based grading, Veribanc offers a color code criterion. Green signifies good creditworthiness and low risk due to equity and net income. Yellow is decent, while red signals higher risk.
BBB aims to create an ethical marketplace between buyers and sellers. It provides support and accreditation to small businesses that are committed to the same vision of honesty and integrity within the community.
You can add your business to BBB’s directory to become more visible, though it typically groups establishments by locality. Its most popular affiliations besides business services revolve around construction, auto repairs and household maintenance.
Egan-Jones Ratings Co. aims to provide fast credit quality identification. It is focused on private placement ratings, which benefit entrepreneurs who want to raise capital in a private offering rather than a public exchange.
Its rating system is fairly standard, with AAA providing a high level of creditworthiness. It may display NR, which relays insufficient information to create an accurate rating. It’s slightly different from rating suspensions, which implies failure to provide such data.
DBRS Morningstar offers a straightforward database of SMEs and their credit rating. You can search by the issuer or look up research reports to get global information about all kinds of ventures. Aside from operating from Delaware, it’s also prominent in Canada and Europe.
Credit assessments are provided to corporations and sovereign entities. Learn about these establishments’ financial strength and expected loss. You can register for a free trial and use this information to gauge their competition.
Demotech is another credit rating company that wants to help lenders and insurers stay financially stable. It’s best known for its Financial Stability Rating, which indicates an establishment’s ability to keep up with business and economic conditions.
Its grading system is more self-explanatory compared to most letter-based systems. An A rating signals exceptional creditworthiness. S stands for substantial while M equates to moderate, with the former holding precedence over the latter.
Entrepreneurs are expected to take risks, with many seeking loans for their ventures. Connecting with the top credit rating agencies can help you understand your financial position better and put your business on track for success.
Image by freepik
The post Which Are the Top Credit Rating Agencies? 12 That Entrepreneurs Should Know. appeared first on StartupNation.
2024-11-17 19:43:17
Effective communication is one of the cornerstones of successful ecommerce brands. This is true whether you’re running a fully formed ecommerce organization, a small start-up, or even an informal side hustle. That’s why live chat functionality has quickly become a standard feature among online retailers. Let’s look at the key benefits of live chat for ecommerce success.
If you spend much time online (particularly on ecommerce sites), then you’ve almost certainly come across live chat functions at some point. It might be a pop-up appearing shortly after you’ve navigated to a given website. On the other hand, it may be something you have to seek out on an ecommerce site’s customer support page.
Live chat team members have a few responsibilities: conducting sales, resolving problems, and answering common questions customers may have. This work is enabled by chat software connected to your website or app.
As we’ll soon explain in more detail, even the best call center phone systems can frustrate potential customers. Live chat services are designed to address these issues. But how do they work?
In practice, live chat works more or less like any other instant messaging service. The main difference is that a customer’s initial message gets queued up to be received by a team member. Once that initial connection is made, however, it’s basically a direct conversation.
For the most part, live customer service chats are run by real people, aka chat agents. That said, many companies have at least started to use AI-run live chats to streamline their contact centers. That said, a human agent is generally preferable.
This approach to sales and support has quickly grown in popularity among businesses seeking to build a brand for the modern consumer and increase customer engagement. But, to truly understand the benefits of live chat for ecommerce platforms, it’s essential to look at what came before.
Before live chat functionality became common, customers with problems or queries generally had three options:
Let’s start by looking at the drawbacks of these methods. Going to a physical location is a high barrier to effort, especially if the product was purchased online. Phone lines and emails create similar issues but for different reasons.
Call any customer service number, and you’ll likely have to go through a phone queue and an automated tree full of canned responses before you reach a real person. This is time-consuming and frustrating, especially if you make a mistake and have to start your call all over again.
With emails, your query will likely be assigned a ticket number and added to a queue. You’re stuck ambiguously waiting hours, days, or even weeks for an email response. Then, if you have follow-up questions, the whole wait starts over again.
In theory, chat software circumvents wait times and legwork. To understand how it achieves this, however, we need to examine the specific benefits of live chat for ecommerce businesses. So, let’s dive in.
Making Commerce Better for Everyone
Shopify is supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs, the world’s biggest brands, and everyone in between
These days, the best contact management software packages typically offer some form of live chat feature. Let’s break down the various ways offering a chat feature stands to benefit your business. Some of these will be obvious, but others less so.
Focusing on these advantages will ensure your chat agents help people and ensure both customer loyalty and customer satisfaction.
Whether they want quick answers or to explore complex issues, the biggest customer draw of live chat for ecommerce is that it cuts through the barriers posed by more traditional customer support channels. Instead of waiting for an email or being stuck on hold, you can have what is effectively a real-time conversation.
When resolving issues with a product or service is too much of a hassle, it can feel easier to chalk up the loss and disengage from the brand in question. An instant response time limits the number of people giving up on their queries, which means a satisfactory customer experience becomes more common.
Cutting out a lot of the passive waiting helps customers feel more in control of their journey. So does being able to talk to someone who can provide insights and options for resolving their issues. Although your chat agents act as guides, the customer ultimately decides where to go.
Psychologically, a lack of control tends to be associated with feelings of frustration. Control, on the other hand, gives you a sense of stake in the process. This makes people more likely to see things through to the end, which means more opportunities to end on a positive note.
Create a customizable website or online store with an all-in-one solution from Squarespace. Choose a website template and start your free trial today.
Another one of the customer benefits of live chat for ecommerce is that a live chat conversation is its own form of documentation. Of course, this is true for most customer support communication channels. Email conversations, recorded phone calls and the like.
Unlike phone calls, however, logs from chat software can easily be made available to the user. And unlike emails, messages from chat software won’t get buried in a sea of others because they’re a dedicated support channel.
These chat histories make it much easier for customers and customer service agents to stay on the same page, sparing you both the agony of explaining the same stuff repeatedly.
Live chat isn’t just a support channel. In recent years, it’s also grown in popularity as a sales channel. According to Finance Online, live chat is used for sales by:
This can be either by having the chat session run parallel to a customer’s browsing experience, or by enabling chat operatives to process a customer’s transaction. Modern customers value an omnichannel customer experience. As such, it’s an important tool for ecommerce businesses looking to increase conversion rates and stay competitive.
Power Your Entire Business.
Sell anywhere. Diversify revenue streams. Streamline operations. Manage your staff.
Have you ever tried to contact customer service and support channels only to find you’re out of operating hours? Maybe you work a typical Monday-Friday 9-5 and can only call in the evenings or on the weekend.
Accessibility plays a crucial role in customer retention. With a live chat app for ecommerce, it’s much easier to maintain a 24/7 customer support channel. For instance, you might:
With options like outsourcing, it’s possible to do this if you’re still in the one-person start-up phase. Remember, a key trait of entrepreneurs is a willingness to seek expert help when necessary.
As always, when you introduce a more convenient way to do something, people acclimate. What starts as a novelty one ecommerce business has over others becomes something you’d negatively judge companies for not offering. Live chat for ecommerce platforms is quickly becoming as ubiquitous as the shopping cart button.
Even if you don’t have an in-house chat software solution, B2B service suppliers make implementation a breeze. Once you’ve got your channel, you can focus on what’s important: Working with your chat team to provide excellent customer service.
Image from Unsplash
The post 5 Benefits of Live Chat for Ecommerce Platforms appeared first on StartupNation.
