Is bad chat better than no chat? 5 explosive risks

Is a bad customer experience better than no customer experience? Is a bad looking suit better than no suit? Is a bad paint job better than no paint job? Is bad chat better than no chat?

The answer to all these questions is a resounding NO! With live chat on a dealership website, there is no way you can undo a bad customer experience. On the phone or in the showroom, there is a shot at intervention in a bad exchange, because there is generally some kind of interaction and relationship that has begun. You have the benefit of tone of voice or visual queues that indicate a miscommunication. In these cases, a manager can get involved to rectify the situation.

Here are five of the many risk areas that can nuke your customer chat experience:

• Slow or no response to chat request (including OFFLINE notice)
• Demanding too much info too soon (name, contact info, department)
• Robotic or illogical responses
• Too much delay in conversation
• Bad information or (worse) lying

With chat on a dealer website, the appeal for many shoppers is that the conversation begins with anonymity. The entire goal of a chat conversation is to generate a lead with quality contact information that a BDC rep or salesperson can use to generate an appointment that leads to a car sale. If something goes wrong between the chat operator and customer, there is virtually no chance to intervene and correct the misstep. There is no chance to rescue the deal – and the dealer’s reputation.

So if you’re looking to increase your car sales from website leads with an effective dealer chat strategy, ensure you choose a quality partner like CarChat24 so your customers receive the quality experience they deserve.