Other Topics

3 Simple Persuasion Techniques For Live Chat

June 10, 2021
June 10, 2021

Crazy Egg recently shared a post titled 3 Simple Persuasion Techniques Proven to Increase Landing Page Conversions. The post from Crazy Egg got me thinking about how live chat performs similar tasks to a landing page and how some of the techniques could be applied to live chat. Live chat is the first point of call for a confused customer or a customer with questions. And just like a landing page, live chat can be used to convert.

At The Chat Shop we believe that live chat can greatly increase conversions but that sales should come from good service, so I’m not talking about pushy techniques here. The priority is providing a high quality, friendly service and then using these gentle techniques to improve live chat’s conversion performance.

1. Show a picture of a real person

People relate to people. And people buy from people. As the post from Crazy Egg states, people are drawn to photos of other people and these photos build trust with the website visitor. Having photos of your live chat agents in your live chat window means that you will catch the attention of your website visitors and you will be able to build trust with them.

Trust is an important element of buying online, and B2B and eCommerce sites need to build trust whenever they can.

Include real photos of your chat agents. Don’t use stock photos. Stock photos ruin the trust element as it suggests you are covering something and don’t want to reveal your true identity. Plus most stock photos look a little naff, as these 13 hilarious examples from HubSpot prove.

2. Establish dominance

As I mentioned before, we’re all about sales through service here at The Chat Shop, so I’m not on about pushy sales here. I’m still talking about sales through service being the primary persuasion technique for live chat.

Just as the article from Crazy Egg points out, design techniques can show dominance. Dominance is a key persuasion technique in eCommerce and even for B2B. Dominance through live chat can also be gained through good product knowledge. Good product knowledge given through relevant product and service recommendations, and through being able to answer visitor questions shows power, which means dominance and the ability to persuade visitors to buy (i.e. sales through service).

3. Get a yes response

“The principle of the ‘yes, yes’ technique is built on the idea of positive mindset. If someone is in a positive state of mind, they are far more likely to respond positively to you. In this specific case, they are more likely to say, “yes” to your offer—to convert.” from a Crazy Egg article by Jeremy Smith.

The final technique in my 3 Simple Persuasion Techniques For Live Chat list is creating a positive atmosphere where customers want to buy. Giving good advice is the best way of getting the first yes and then you can get the second yes (i.e. the conversion or lead capture) from this.

Visitors will often come to chat to get your opinion on what product or service they should buy, and you shouldn’t just use this opportunity to try and sell them the most expensive thing available. Offer useful recommendations that satisfy their needs so that they know you want to help them. Get them saying “yes, that’s a great suggestion” so that they will then say “yes, I’m going to buy this now”.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my 3 Simple Persuasion Techniques For Live Chat spin off from the Crazy Egg article. Make sure you check out the Crazy Egg blog for tips on improving your site’s conversion, and check out our live chat for lead generation page to start a chat with our agents should you need more tips on converting through live chat.

Subscribe to Expert Insights

The best source of information for customer service, sales tips, guides, and industry best practices. Join us.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

By clicking the ‘Subscribe’ button you confirm that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy

Get the content now

The best source of information for customer service, sales tips, guides, and industry best practices. Join us.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

By clicking the Get the content now button you confirm that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy

In case you hadn't noticed chat is very much our thing.

So why not put us through our conversational paces and get in touch?