Looking for a lucrative market to explore? Real estate has peaked the competition in comparison to other commercial fields. The real estate industry is one of the best and most profitable businesses out there.
But how do you make a great business even better? By incorporating current trends, of course. And one of these trends is the use of live customer chat to communicate with customers.
After the advent of internet and social media, global communication has opened up immensely and we can now live in an interconnected world. In this digital age, fulfillment of client needs has been made easier with the new technologies.
With the internet easily accessible from our digital devices, we are able to access any goods and services that draw our interest at home and on the go. This development can help you as a real estate agent or investor e.g investing on apartments, as your customers can easily access you through the internet without the need for physical interaction. This is because the customer will easily visit your website, view your listings and make a choice depending on what you have posted.
What is Live Customer Chat?
Any real-time business-customer interaction initiated through a live chat software or messaging apps is live customer chat.
Live chat software are common in websites as you browse through the internet. All a business has to do is to incorporate the same software in its website, and interact with customers in real-time and in good time.
Having a live chat option on your website will give you a competitive edge over your business rivals without similar resources, since your customers will have all the information they need about the property they are interested in when they need it, while they may not find the same from your competition.
This also ensures that you get new customers as well as a multitude of loyal customers who will stick with you because you provide the services they are looking for. The latest customer service trends revolve around real-time communication through chat. Gone are the days of long phone conversations and to-and-fro emails.
Nowadays clients prefer chatting through a website live chat feature or text messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook messengers or Instagram direct.
To stay afloat in this changing environment, businesses must embrace these new trends and offer customers what they need.
The Pros of Live Customer Chat
So, what’s the big fuss about live chat? Well, live chat ensures quick response time and allows for detailed conversations which are useful in effective problem resolution.
Response time refers to period between a customer’s request submission and a business’s reply time.
Fast to instant response time is critical for any business looking attracting potential clients and lock down loyal customers. More often than not a buyer’s interest stays or increases with fast response time.
Personalizing Live Chat Assistance
After adding live chat to your website or app, you need to personalize it to ensure that you get an edge over your competitors with similar platforms.
- Automation: If you choose an automated response system over a direct contact system, give it a bit of personality to make the replies realistic. You can do this by using familiar language to ensure that you establish a personal connection with the customers.
- Seek elaboration: While speed is necessary in these live chat cases, it is also important that customer needs are understood before issuing a response.
- Express gratitude: Courtesy is important in all communications and this should also be reflected in the live chats. Use polite words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and don’t forget to thank your customer for the time they have taken to communicate with you.
- Bond: Your customer is more likely to trust you and open up to you if you use each other’s names, as this creates an aura of closeness between you.
- Accuracy: Ensure that you are accurate in your responses and take time to proofread your conversations to ensure that there was no confusion in your responses.
- Initiate activity: Ensure you establish what the customer intends to do after your conversation. Do they intend to meet in person for further clarification or do they want to meet at the property for viewing.
Live Customer Chat Alternatives
So what are your options when it comes to chatting with customers in real-time?
1. Live Chat Software
These are solutions built specifically for ecommerce business looking to engage their customers through real-time chat.
They come in two options; embedded chat box and pop-up chat box and both allow businesses to interact with clients as they browse for products.
This is also the biggest advantage of live chat solution over other solutions, you can actually add it to your website.
2. Facebook Messenger
Facebook Messenger is a popular chatting tool. This is because it is available and affordable and thus is used by numerous real estate agents world-wide. Facebook Messenger, however, does not offer as many characteristics as other alternatives.
3. Direct Chat
While having an automated response tool is beneficial for your business, sometimes a good old one-on-one conversation trumps all. First off, direct conversation is more secure than having everything automated.
Furthermore, live chat tools charge your business for every response made, and this may affect your budget if you get customers from time to time. If you have a few customers, you pay less but you experience an influx, the overall cost may be a burden to your business.
4. WhatsApp messenger
WhatsApp is undoubtedly the world’s largest communication platform and a common day-to-day communication channel for friends and family. Why not use it to grow your business? WhatsApp offers a platform where you can communicate directly with your customers, giving that personal touch to the conversation. It also offers an easy way to share photos and other media ensuring that the customer is completely satisfied with the information you give them, exponentially increasing the chances of a purchase. Additionally, with the advent of WhatsApp business, you can now have a separate account where you can strictly communicate with your customers, ensuring privacy. It is pretty much the ideal tool to use in your business if you are looking to engage clients better.
In conclusion
Incorporating live chat option your real estate business poses more advantages than limitations. It is an excellent way to scale up of your business without a budget.
Make sure you train your agents on best live customer chat practices to enjoy the maximum benefit of real-time communication.
