Effective ways to communicate with clients

When launching a website, it is important to provide users with a handful of communicating methods to choose from. These are the most popular options used by big and small companies alike:

Phone call. Business websites are bound to have at least some sort of communication available. Phone numbers are easy to add, and customers expect to see them, so practically everybody has them. The only real downside is that this format may be not very effective when dealing with certain problems.
E-mail. Whether it’s a letter box on the website or just the linked e-mail address, it’s all the same. The client has to compose a message and wait for an answer. Mails don’t give immediate gratification, and the wait can get people annoyed, but they are perfect for situations that take time to resolve, especially those that require document scans.
Social network widget. You don’t even have to have a website for this: an account on a popular social network will do just fine. Add the widget so that the users will be able to correspond with the brand from their network accounts.
Online chat. Works just like the widget, but can be added to a website. A small pop-up window invites visitors to reach out to the virtual consultant and get proper assistance. It is extremely convenient, and it becomes even more efficient with the use of well-written communication bots.
Feedback form. Just let the users write whatever, and leave the contacts of their choice for you to reach out to them.
One of the new methods of business communications, it quickly grows in popularity. When properly applied, it can help with consulting, product presentation and more.

VideoForce live consulattions

The main benefit of video consultations is they are the next best thing to actual live communication. With an embed videochat you won’t have to install additional software (Skype, Zoom etc.) and create user accounts at third-party services. Just like the visitors of your website, you will be able to manage the call with a couple of clicks.

With VideoForce, clients and tech support can use either PC or smartphones for communication. Usually the consultant will have the webcam on, so that the user would see a friendly face. The client can choose to keep web camera on or turn it off. Many customers only use voice when doing video calls because they don’t have a webcam at all.

The key to video communication is letting the users see the face of the person they are talking to. An online consultant can win the potential clients over with smiles, gestures and overall personal charisma. But that’s not the only thing about video chats worth mentioning. They have a lot of advantages for business:

Question-and-answer communication is easier than ever. Instead of writing long messages to the text chat or waiting for the response email, the user just gets all the answers on the go. It saves plenty of time for the both sides.
Every situation that requires close assistance is dealt with at once. If the support doesn’t have the means to help, they will readdress the customer to someone who can deal with the problem. It’s just like regular calls, but things get done faster, and users get less annoyed.
Video chats are as close as you can get to office meetings in virtual space. The manager can make use of any visual aids, show graphics and product samples, etc. It is even possible to organize a quick production tour, so don’t miss this opportunity to attract big clients.
Unlike calls or messages, video calls recreate the power effect of personal presence, and this is vital for building immediate trust. The consultant can react to the client’s mood in real time. As research shows, it helps greatly with keeping customers satisfied.
More functions are available. VideoForce is the prominent video chat service that implements all the necessary features to make the most out of every video consultation. Desktop calls, mobile video calls, screen sharing: you name it.

Video chats are still relatively new, so the customers can be hesitant about using them. At a time like this it is important to use solutions that make things easy for the customer side, so website oriented products like VideoForce are generally favored upon installable third-party software.

The downsides of video calls

While video chats bring a lot on board, they have their objective downsides as well. These are the major cons of live consultations:

The format is relatively new, so the users may be slow to catch. Even if you turn on a videocall for site, a good number of visitors will still choose phone calls or e-mail communication because that’s what they are used to.
Video chats create additional expenses. You’ll need to organize proper lighting and provide your workers with extra equipment, such as web cameras for live calls.
Managers will have to adapt to the new format as well. Not everybody is naturally comfortable with the cameras, so you may need to organize proper training for the staff.
Slow internet deems video chats useless: you simply won’t be able to use them efficiently.

As you can probably see already, most of these problems are perfectly solvable. For example, to keep the old-fashioned clients satisfied, you just need to have both video call window and regular contacts (phone number, e-mail) on your website. It is a good idea to create visual guidance to help clients choose video chat in certain situation. And while webcams are not free, the expenses will be covered once the profits from the raised conversion start kicking in.

Video chats and conversion

So, do the video chats help build conversion in a noticeable way? The short answer is: yes. A global research project involving 150 companies was launched by Nethouse. The site builder was asking about the main means of client communication. It turned out that 85% of companies prefer phone calls, 73% also use emails on a regular basis, and 49% make use of the reliable feedback form.

This was somewhat expected; what was not expected, however, was the effect video chats had on the conversion. Even though video calls didn’t get it to top-3 communicating methods, they increased conversion rates greatly just within a year. With an average +37% conversion boost, the companies had all the reasons to stick to this format, even if it catches up slower than its alternative.

The research also showed that it doesn’t really take that long for video calls to catch up. After users get used to having a video chat on the company’s website, the company can expect video calls to actually make it to the second place, as the customers will use them just as frequently as emails.

Are video calls good for your business?

Video calls are not always necessary. If your clients mainly reach out to you with short, simple requests, a chat bot or a feedback form will do the job just fine.

On the other side, there are situations when video calls are just doing it better. For example:

If the product may raise many specific questions. Law and medical companies get more clients with video chats simply because it is easier for customers to communicate the problem with a video call.
If the product is IT. Showing off key software features is just easier with live presentations. As a bonus, using latest communication technologies in the IT business is always a good look.
If you have any kind of tech support. Customer service will make use of the screen sharing feature to guide users through software setup and customization. The clients report that they find it easier to show their software problems on screen instead of documenting them, as well.

As a rule of thumb, video chats are great for raising conversion and boosting up sales. This communication method is the most emotionally engaging. It creates numerous opportunities to promote and even directly sell your product.

Before implementing video chat function…

Take time to get a look at your business and properly answer these questions:

Does your product require lengthy discussions? Do your clients address you with complicated, non-standard questions on a regular basis? If the answer is “yes”, then a video call widget is a must.
Do you need extra features like screen sharing?
Do you want to increase your customers’ trust and build a customer-friendly reputation?
Do you want to showcase the product or supporting documents to your clients? Are you interested in live presentations?
Do you need to have an online consulting space for virtual office meetings with bigger clients?

Even a single “yes” is a strong indicator that you do, in fact, need to install a video chat on your website. Longer calls, detailed discussions and proper product demonstration: just try it for a month, and you’ll wonder how your business managed to function without video calls for so long.

Video consultations: how to raise the conversion rate on the site?