I noticed Live-Chat s appearing more and more on websites – but never realized, what it should be good for. I thought those Live-Chat are a fancy new gimmick for tech-lovers, which will not be used. I thought to chat cannot help me in my business.
Maybe you are like me. And if so, I have a message for you: Live-Chat on a vacation rental website is useful. Users love it. It will generate more bookings.
Take a deep breath (like I did) and a close look on such a small Live-Chat tool like on this page on the right hand side. And take a moment to consider, how useful it can be for you.
Why such a Live-Chat should be helpful?
It is as simple as it is: With adding a Live-Chat to our website, we add an additional option to contact us. Is this additional option helpful? It is, if it will be used. It is, if we can get in touch with clients, who do not use other available options or prefer to chat.
Do you like instant answer on your question while visiting a website? Sure you do! And your guests appreciate such fast answers, too. We knew that the shorter time to answer an inquiry, the more the customer will be willing to book. There is no reason, why instant answering in a Live-Chat should do different.
Our websites are the central sales channel to generate leads or bookings for our vacation rentals. We want to get in touch with our clients. We want the personal contact. Live-Chat will help us.
A perfect tool for a vacation rental website
What makes a vacation rental owner’s or manager’s offer different from the offers of a big travel agency or a listing site? Our value is not the price; our value is the individuality the personal contact. A big part of the holiday makers are bored to be redirected to some anonymous call centres or service centres and look for vacation rental by owner. They still request professionality in fast and reliable services.
A Live-Chat helps you showing this: A personal contact with the owner, answering questions as a person and knowing about what he’s talking about. Nobody knows more about your vacation rental, no one can do a faster decision about a booking. While talking to you, your guests are where they want to be.
Beside a personal phone call, there is no faster and more reliable way to provide this image but the Live-Chat.
Reasons to use Live-Chat on your website
- People love Live-Chat! According to a market review in the USA, 62% of the website visitors prefer to chat prior calling or sending emails. It allows them to multitask while getting the answer.
- Live-Chat is convenient for customers. Your website visitors do not have to write an email or take up the phone to call support. They do not have to search on your website, if their question is already answered somewhere. They can just click the chat and get instant contact to a human and get individual answers.
- With Life-Chat you’ll develop fast a deeper customer relationship. You’ve got your website’s user at a place where you want him to be: In a personal talk. While you are able to check the seriousness of your chat partner, you provide a personal relation you’d not archive with emails.
- Live-Chat increases your sales. Put the live-Chat also beside our request and booking forms, you’ll see a fast impact: You’ll avoid Booking cancelled in the process.
- Live-Chat cuts down on expenses. It is faster (and therefore cheaper) to understand a customer’s question or problem while chatting. Instead of composing answering emails you just ask to clarify.
- Life-Chat is a tool to tease your competition. Using a chat function on your website is an advantage you have in your competition. You’ll get the booking your competitor will not get.
Where is light, there is shadow – what is negative with Life-Chat?
To come to a real time chat, you need to be online. If you’re not online, the chat will be displayed but the user will know that there is no one to talk immediately to. You’ll receive an email with the contact data of your customer and still will be able to answer his questions. In fact, if you are not online very often, you’ll not have the full benefits.
Adding a new piece of soft will increase your loading times. From my experience it is not much.
For the work with an external chat program data like users IP will be collected and saved. You’ll not have the full control, what will happen with those data. You’ll need to check, if you have to inform your users according the rules for data protection and data collection.
How can I get such a Live-Chat for my website?
Such a Live-Chat is available as small code, easy to add to your website, from various providers. As the functions mostly are similar I am not able to recommend a special provider but give a sample of things you should look for.
Check for the price. Several providers offer fully functional one agent versions for free. If you’re the only “Agent” in your small business, there will be no need to get a paid version.
Sometimes it is just a small hint needed to come to an easy to walk trail. I’d recommend to think about using this “perfect for vacation rental” Life-Chat. We did it.
Have you implemented and used Live-Chat on your website? What can you tell us about your experience? Let us know in the comment below!