The 4 People You Meet After Adding Online Chat on Your Prestashop Store
Adding live chat to your Prestashop web store will expose you to different kinds of people and rightly so! The purpose of a free live chat is to make you available to your online shoppers at no cost.
Your Prestashop site is not a lone store sitting on top of a hill. It’s situated in a very busy virtual marketplace in a virtual downtown spotted with millions of other shops. You wouldn’t leave your shop open without somebody behind the counter, wouldn’t you?
When you start engaging with people using the live help widget you’ve added (thanks to the free Offerchat live chat module created by the very awesome jeckyl) you’ll sense some of them have somewhat similar habits. And you know what, you’re right!
Truth is there at least 4 kinds of online shoppers out there in the virtual wild. Knowing them and spotting their inherent habits during a chat conversation will give you the upper-hand on how to appeal to them and induce a sale.
The 4 People You Meet in Live Chat
People who use the free live chat module on your Prestashop store are not the typical online shoppers. Most of them are busy professionals who greatly value their time and seek an efficient service. They have a higher buying power, shop more frequently online and spend more.
That’s why they’re most comfortable having online chat with you and getting information straight through live chat.
However, this group of people has their shopping quirks and habits too. They largely differ in their personalities and shopping style.
The Yapper
Habits/Attitudes: Very friendly and familiar, very comfortable with chatting. Expect the conversation to last longer than a usual “hello-thanks-bye”. They love to ask a lot and going into minute details about their inquiry or their experience.
Your Action Plan: Yappers are probably the most familiar and the most comfortable with online shopping. They take their time and they’re not in a hurry. They could be just curious shoppers just doing some window shopping or they could be very smart researchers with the intent to purchase.
The smart merchant will seek to identify which is which and jump at the opportunity of making a sale. That said, be alert at spotting expressions or words that show “urgent intent”.
For example, when a customer chats thus, “I’m looking for a waterproof camera I can use for my coming trip”, reply immediately with the link to all your available waterproof cameras. Demonstrate product knowledge and do some price comparisons, advantages and perks and other pre-sales strategic communications. It avoids the chat session to trail off too long and puts the focus back to the main business as yappers have the huge tendency to blab away not minding the time.
The Click and Mortar
Habits/Attitudes: The click and mortar type arrives at your Prestashop, looks around, then asks if you have an actual store down the street. They only shop online for research and prefer to see the merchandise before opening their wallets.
Your Action Plan: If you’re using actual photos, explain and emphasize in your live chat conversation that the images on your web store are actual photographs of the items. WYSIWYG. What you see is what you get. That said, use high-resolution images for each product item.
Useful Tip: If you’re using Offerchat, the active chat window displays what page the visitor is in. If the visitor is on a product page, use it as an example. Have the visitor click the images to enlarge them and so they can appreciate the items.
The Showroomer
Habits/Attitudes: The exact opposite of the click and mortar. These types are the sons and daughters of the mobile era, the phone/tablet/phablet-toting bargain hunters. They go inside a real-world store, examine an item, and run a search online through their mobile device to look for sweet deals, discounts and other offers.
Your Action Plan: Be ready for bargain, promo and shipping inquiries and put your best foot forward. Highlight the perks of your business. Reply in a concise and timely manner. These people are most probably chatting from a mobile device and they’re most probably on the go. The intent of purchase is already very strong and present so don’t let it dwindle by delayed chat replies.
The Shopping Cart Deserter
Habits/Attitudes: They don’t talk much but stays for a long time browsing your store. Add items to cart, but not completing the full purchase. These types drop out at the checkout counter and leave without buying anything. These people have shown interest in your items for sale, but they don’t complete the purchase for many reasons. It could be fears about credit card security and delivery rates. It could be they’re just doing research and building a wish list. Or it can be as simple as being on a tight budget.
Source: Kissmetrics
Your Action Plan: When you see these types lingering around the checkout page or any part of your site for a long time, be proactive and offer help by chatting with that visitor. Direct them to your FAQ section to abate their fears about the security of online transactions and your shipping rates policies.
Through the Offerchat dashboard you will know how long a visitor is on a page. Click a visitor who have stayed long enough and initiate a chat right away. Offer your help. Let them know if there are special offers for the products/items they are viewing, especially delivery specials or discounts . Be proactive! A good idea is to set up chat triggers for these types of shoppers.
Tell us about the people you meet
Did we miss a special group of shopper?
I’m sure you’ll meet special cases as you spend more time online through the Offerchat live chat app on your Prestashop site. In time, you’ll notice a certain pattern of shopper behaviors that is why it is essential to know what the Offerchat online chat on your site can do so that you can effectively engage with the visiting online shoppers on your site.
And if you feel that a certain feature will help you a lot, tell us about it! We built Offerchat based on user feedback and it’s good to know your experiences as a business owner and Prestashop vendor so we can design features that will suit you best.
Happy chatting and sell more!
Cheby writes about live chat insights, customer service, e-commerce concepts, online marketing and everything in between. She connects you to Offerchat through the written word. Offerchat is a web based live chat app for websites perfect for on-page interaction with visiting online shoppers on your site. Access the client chat panel, stay online and respond to customer chats in real time - anytime, anywhere!
