As you probably already know, consumers love live chat and implementing it can mean a serious increase in conversion rates. The stats regarding the power of live chat are quite impressive.

A study conducted at eDigitalResearch uncovered that live chat has the highest customer satisfaction rate of all customer service touch points. An eMarketer survey found that 63% of customers were more likely to return to an online store that offers live chat. Rescue Spa saw a 30% increase in conversion after implementing live chat.

Yet, there is another compelling reason to try live chat; to gather qualitative research. Getting to know who’s shopping on your store will help you put together customer personas based on real life data. It doesn’t matter if you’re a small startup or a large corporation, this is valuable information every business needs to know.

Conversion Sciences states “A live chat support system makes understanding customers’ concerns and needs easier because you’ll have a written log of what is causing customer headaches that can be mined for data.”

While your live agents will most likely be going after a sale, it’s important you train them on the value of gaining qualitative research. Have them ask questions such as the following:

How did you hear about us? How can we improve our store? Was it easy to find the product you wanted? Do you currently use this product or something similar? Is this your first time making a purchase from us?

Imagine the informative data you’ll be gaining by asking questions like these! You can use it to better market your store and products towards your ideal customer. You’ll be making educated decisions instead of wasting valuable time playing guessing games.

Want more? Check out one of latest blog posts–Should You Really Be A/B Testing?

Image courtesy of Robert Servais