Are you short-circuiting your chat conversations? 3 roadblocks to chat success

Dealerships can enjoy success with a live chat strategy that avoids roadblocks to communication

What kind of walk or run would you be able to have with your dog if you started out where this photo was taken? As with many facets of business, live chat has many nuances that can contribute to success or instant failure. Just as the dog exercise would get cut short before getting started, many dealers throw a generic chat on their website expecting success, and choose settings that end potential chat conversations before they even get to “how may I help you?”. With a million live chat conversations under our belt, we have a pretty good idea of what helps generate sales leads through managed chat and what can slow things down, or even bring them to a halt. Here are three ways to block your own chat success:

1. Require a name and/or email address to chat – One of the reasons many people are willing to chat is because they have the benefit of anonymity. An effective chat operator is skilled at earning the trust of a car shopper in a manner that results in a lead. Requesting this information up front will end a chat conversation quicker than you can tell rover to heel.
2. Have shoppers choose which department to have the conversation – any extra step that is required before the actual conversation starts can increase bounce.
3. Opt for no proactive invite – oftentimes half or more chat conversations are generated by the proactive pop-up invitation to chat.

Because so many details affect a dealer’s ability to generate leads with chat software or managed chat, from website software, to the chat operator console, to chat processes, it is important for dealerships to partner with a company with a proven track record of generating leads and selling cars with effective chat strategies.