The digital world gives businesses the opportunity to connect with customers in new and innovative ways. However, it also means there are more competitors fighting for visibility. This battle for attention has made monetizing online channels increasingly challenging.

According to statistics from Internet Live Stats , There are almost 2 billion websites on the world wide web and Google averages 40,000 searches every second, which equates to 1.2 trillion searches worldwide per year.  The online space is extremely busy and it’s difficult for businesses to stand out and have the edge over their competitors. 

The Covid19 pandemic has accelerated this growth online with the United States seeing a 10 year growth in online enquiries and Australia seeing a 5 year growth in online enquiries, all within a short span of 3 months in 2020 (Chat2).  In 2017, Nasdaq had forecasted that by 2040, 95% of purchases will be through eCommerce. The Pandemic has shortened this timeline, possibly by 10 years.  Hence, why its more important than ever before to start building your online presence.

Customer service is the focal point of any business. It is through customer service that businesses can either grow or decline in the market. A business can either become an industry leader or a laggard based on its customer service practices. Customer service is a point of difference to give your business the competitive edge.

Keen to retain more revenue within your business? Prefer to attract more direct bookings through your website?  Well you don’t have to look any further, we have 3 top tips showing you how you can save on paying exorbitant fees to third party agents and get more dollars through your door from your own website, google and social media!

Chat2 Concierge’s Top 3 Tips

As you are aware the first place people go when considering holidays, vacations and travel activities is to one of those large third-party booking agents like Trip Advisor, Booking.com, Expedia etc. But what you might not realise is that many consumers start their research there, but then seek out the business website of the place they are considering staying, or the activity that looks appealing. They are searching you on Google and landing on your website and social media pages. This is providing you with an opportunity to directly engage with your potential guests when they land on any of these platforms and attract the  direct booking. But how you may ask? 

Did you know that Live Chat allows you to engage in the moment with your online guest when they are either:

1. Searching for you on Google;

2. Landing on your website; or

3. Visiting your social media pages.

Live Chat systems are now not only for your websites, but now integrate with all platforms your guests use, looking for more information about your products and services. Of course, not all Live chat systems can do this as well as offering a live team ready to engage your guests 24/7, so you need to do your research carefully.  You need ensure you set up live chat systems effectively to ensure success. 

At Chat2, our live chat service is not only on your website, but our service integrates with Google Chat, Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct Messages.  We ensure a successful setup and initially generate around 200 – 300 responses to upload into the system so the AI can assist our live operators to knowledgeably respond to your guests.  

Our Chat2 Concierge service captures your guest’s attention in the moment they arrive on your website or social media page or are searching in Google! The service provides a personal customer service experience, that will “wow” your online guests for a fraction of the cost of the hefty fees charged by the OTA’s, so they will want to stay on your site longer and will come back after booking for any further information they need saving you time.

The Chat2 Concierge service is regularly responding to comments,

“hey, I’ve just been on Agoda and they are offering this ……” or

“I’ve just been to booking.com and they are charging this….”

We are providing the opportunity to tourism and hospitality businesses to be able to respond to these comments and attract the direct booking by promoting their best offers in the moment they have their guest’s attention. 

Chat2 Tip 1 – Respond fast 24/7

Technology has changed the way consumers behave online. They are no longer patient to wade through pages of a website looking for an answer. They are far more demanding than they have ever been before. 53% will exit your website if they cannot find the answers they are looking for quickly.

Did you know that even if you ask a question outside of normal business hours or on the weekend, online consumers still expect the business to respond in the same amount of time as if it was during normal business hours? It’s a tough and challenging expectation to meet, though our 24/7 Chat2 Concierge service is meeting this expectation and enabling tourism businesses of all sizes to compete against the OTA’s.

Around 30 – 40% of enquiries are now received outside of normal trading business hours for our tourism and hospitality clientele.

The Chat2 Concierge service enables tourism and hospitality businesses to be available to their guests 24/7, providing answers quickly to questions they may have and guiding your guests towards an online booking. Our service is manned by real people who are there in the moment your online visitor arrives, obtaining trust, providing reassurance and ultimately obtaining the booking or lead (70 – 85% conversion rate).

Chat2 Tip 1 – Respond to your online guests fast and effectively,  so your visitor wants to stay and spend more time finding out what you offer. You can do this by introducing our Chat2 Concierge service that engages your guest 24/7, keeping them on your website while answering questions in the moment they are being asked and guiding your guest to book in the moment. 

Chat2 Tip 2 – Encourage your customers to book direct

You should make it simple for guests to navigate and book directly on your website. As soon as your customer arrives on your site, make sure you have an eye-catching direct booking button to take their attention.

The Chat2 Concierge service assists tourism and hospitality businesses to obtain the direct booking, by guiding the guests through to the booking button. Frequently, guests just need some reassurance that they are in the right place and be shown where to select dates, guest numbers and room/activity types. Then they may have some questions around the types of rooms and activities, which the Concierge team are well placed to answer and continue to encourage the guest towards a direct booking. We have several different techniques we utilise to obtain the conversion in the moment the guest is looking to book. 

It’s helpful to promote the benefits of booking direct by offering that little extra, enhancing terms and conditions or our team share the benefits to the guest on the importance of booking direct.

Chat 2 Tip 2 – Make it easy for the guest to navigate and book online, maybe offer that little extra to promote booking direct or ultimately provide an enhanced online customer experience utilising a service like Chat2 Concierge 24/7. 

Chat2 Tip 3 – Consistency and Reliability

Guests ask questions in such a variety of ways online, it is certainly very tricky for any chatbot to answer based on a limited range of pre-programmed questions and answers. It doesn’t matter what way the questions are asked, our Concierge service team are highly assisted with the artificial intelligence built into the Chat2 software, to ensure your guests will always receive a response that is on brand and on message, while being professional, warm and friendly that is adaptable to the request.

It’s important for potential guests to always receive knowledgeable and consistent answers, in line with the branding of your business. You will discover if you trial a service like Chat2 Concierge,  enhancing the online customer experience, your guests will return to your website again and again (boosting Search Engine Optimisation SEO as an add-on benefit).

When guests re-visit your website and notice you are still available to them 24/7, answering questions quickly and effectively, you will be gaining a higher degree of trust, hence an increase in obtaining the direct booking. Did you know that according to Forbes and Forrester Research 2021, that 66% of adults feel that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do for them?

Chat2 Tip 3 – Ensure the online customer experience you provide to your online visitors is consistent and reliable and you will attain a competitive edge over your competitors while attracting the direct booking.

We know the service works!

Tourism Case Study

One of our tourism operators who has been utilising the chat2 Concierge service since 2017. They have seen their online enquiries grow from year to year, despite having to cease operations in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This operator was heavily reliant on the international back packer industry and after seeing significant growth in enquiries from 2017 – 2019, they had to cease their diving and cruise activities for a short time while Australia went into lock down.

The Chat2 Concierge service was not impacted by the COVID-19 event and operations and  continued normally. The service kept this tourism operator open with an online presence. When visitors arrived on the website, they were reassured that the business would restart activities once restrictions were eased. Visitors were invited to keep coming back by the Chat2 Concierge team and there were even some future bookings that were obtained for the following year.

Eventually this Cruise Operator resumed operations late in 2020, with only the domestic market. Though despite losing their international clientele, they received more online enquiries than ever before. May 2021 saw a 27.5% increase in the number of enquiries compared to May 2019, even without international guests. This is quite impressive growth, just by being there online consistently. Unfortunately lockdowns hit the southern states in July 2021 and the loss of confidence rocked the tourism industry once again. 

Now in 2022, the number of enquiries in January started above 2021 and has continued to surpass all previous years! This Tourism Operator has consistently and continually been online and is not reaping the benefits over its competitors by being so available to its guest, many internationally that are now returning, so it should only be onwards and upwards from here.

The Chat2 Concierge service empowered this tourism businesses to enhance their online customer experience to their online visitors 24/7, with a team of real people, who are providing visitors with fast and knowledgeable answers to their questions, but most importantly educating them on the benefits of booking direct, promoting the business, sharing the booking link and ultimately encouraging them to book direct in the moment. 

What’s in it for my business?

If you are keen to:

• Attract more direct bookings at a much lower cost;
• Save money;
• Be available to guests 24/7;
• Increase online enquiries and conversions; and
• Improve Online Customer Experience for your guests through various platforms.

We recommend you enhance the online Customer Experience on your website, through Google and social media pages. You can trial your first month of Chat2 Concierge complimentary. Though there is a small upfront fee to create the specific knowledge base of responses customised to your business. The service makes it attractive to your guests to book directly in the moment they are looking to book, as they are receiving instant answers to questions, they learn of the benefits of booking direct and the service is consistent and reliable 24/7.

In May 2022, the Chat2 team are attending the Australian Tourism Exchange 2022 event, so if you are attending, Kellie and Karen would love for you to come and introduce yourself and say hi.  There will be a special opportunity for all attendees at the Event.  

Or we invite you to register  today or Book an online demo here to find out more .

In the digital world, customers are more connected than ever before. They expect to be able to buy just about anything from their phones — from entertainment to groceries.

Customers want businesses to be digital first, and physical stores second. Today’s shoppers are looking to companies like Apple, Amazon, Sephora and Starbucks, who are creating shopping experiences that are seamless, convenient and personalized. Businesses that want to stay competitive in today’s market need to understand how to best reach their customers in a digital world. Read on to learn about the rise of digital customer engagement, and how you can connect with your customers in a whole new way.

Artificial Intelligence: The Secret to Staff Shortages.

Artificial Intelligence has been rapidly developing and is already a part of many things you do on a daily basis. It is now playing a large role in solving one of the biggest issues businesses are currently facing operating in a pandemic environment: staffing shortages. Businesses are struggling with keeping their businesses operational worldwide due to low unemployment rates, staff either falling sick to Covid, or they are required to isolate from being a close contact.

This is affecting many industries worldwide from tourism and hospitality in Far North Australia to Fruit Sellers in Miami, U.S. Many of these businesses are having to close parts of their operations while they ride out the Pandemic until they can find the staff to undertake key operational roles.

In some areas of these businesses AI has a role to play to assist with staff shortages. Over the years there has been a notable increase in the need for people who can manage these technologies and implement it into businesses effectively, especially in these challenging times. Businesses are striving to retain some semblance of operation to keep themselves open while it riding the Pandemic wave.

AI can assist with staffing shortages either in the short or long term. While some feel that this will mean mass unemployment, others see it as an opportunity to become more efficient with their current employees. With the introduction of AI removing the more mundane time consuming tasks from employee responsibilities, this enables you to empower your employees with a strong knowledge of the business, to focus on developing the business further into areas of greater profitability.

What happens when many jobs become automated? How will we balance the progress of technology with the loss of human jobs? The future is uncertain, but one thing is certain: Artificial Intelligence is here to stay. Here’s what’s going on with AI right now and how it may affect your business.

CHAT2 CONCIERGE EXTENDS COVID-19 RECOVERY SUPPORT PACKAGE TO ASSIST STRUGGLING TOURISM INDUSTRY DURING NATIONAL SCHOOL HOLIDAY LOCK DOWNS

Queensland-based technology company Chat2 is preparing to continue support to Tourism and Hospitality sectors, seeking online solutions to help reduce the impacts being felt by business, due to the nationwide labour shortages teamed with the recent influx of booking changes and re-scheduling as a result of the current lockdowns, occurring nationally over the domestic travel peak, school holiday season.

With opposition leader Anthony Albanese calling for the government to ‘step-up’ vaccination distribution last week, to aid in FNQ tourism industry stabilisation and the news of a new variant of COVID-19 making its way across the globe that may be impervious to current vaccines also having arrived on Australian shores, international borders remaining closed indefinitely, the extended lockdowns and continued uncertainty have meant for many, that the daily impacts to business have become impossible to predict.

The tourism and hospitality sectors continue to be the most heavily impacted by COVID-19. Borders closing and international trade impacts, with uncertainty creating current labour shortages which has in turn led to many seeking digital solutions in the hopes of better combatting these issues in the future.

‘We have a great website and thanks to the Team at Chat2 our website is now productive 24 hours a day and no opportunities to connect with our customers are missed.’- says Gregor Davie, General Manager at Artwork Spaces.

During 2020 the travel and tourism sector suffered global losses of nearly $4.5 trillion with its contribution to GDP plunging by a staggering 49.1 percent compared to 2019. 62 million jobs were lost in the sector last year while domestic visitor spending and international visitor spending fell by 45 percent and 69.4 percent, respectively according to Statista, April 2021.

The Australian Financial Review reported about the ‘crunch time on labour shortages’ caused by COVID-19 with restaurateur Neil Perry quoted as ‘wondering where he will find the staff needed’ for his new $4m eatery in Double Bay.

A recent survey conducted by the Australian Hotels Association revealed that nearly three in every four businesses were suffering due to a shortage in skilled workers.

Operators are finding it increasingly difficult to offer permanent positions with the fluctuations in trade, a lack of applicants and the low levels of suitably qualified applicants across all sectors reported to be the major contributors to the current labour shortage issue.

Wayne Harrison of Australian Immigration Visas said,

“Tourism & Hospitality operators welcomed the news that he Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs MP Alex Hawke recently released ‘Supporting Australia’s COVID recovery through Skilled Migration’ and announced the inclusion of a range of skilled occupations on the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL). The addition of 22 occupations brings the PMSOL to 41 in total, in particular Chef (351311) has been added.”

Karen Lloyd-Collins Chief Operating Officer of Chat2 advises that a different approach is essential to servicing and growing online visitation with the challenges faced by COVID-19.

“Online customers are getting used to obtaining information fast at a time that is convenient for them, which is a real challenge for businesses trying to efficiently manage their labour availability and costs and this is where we offer an effective alternative.”

The extension through to the end of August 2021 of the Chat2 Concierge Tourism Recovery Package will mean Chat2 can continue to enable businesses to quickly trial the service with implementation taking only five days.

A six-month package is offered that includes fifty percent off initial set-up, with the first two months for free and an additional discount of nearly 40% with staged payments rising incrementally each month to $199 in month six.

Chat2 provides live chat on a business’ website with a difference. The concierge service is staffed by a team of real people who are customer engagement professionals that use their custom-designed software and a knowledge base to answer many of the common enquiries website visitors have and guide them to book or buy online. Some of the key benefits tourism businesses experience include an increase in direct bookings and website traffic, as well as a decrease in the number of hours their staff spend answering questions on the phone or email. Karen explains,

“Using our custom-developed, AI-based software, our team can provide customer service online via a business’ website and Facebook Messenger, 24 hours a day, at a fraction of the cost of a business staffing it themselves.”

“We are incredibly grateful to the Queensland Government and Tourism and Events Queensland for their past support. We are confident our service will continue to benefit tourism operators beyond just our region in the short and long term with their increased domestic customers and once international tourism travel becomes possible again.” says Karen.

“Chat2 Concierge is converting 80-90% of our online conversations and with the team providing 24-hour service we are attracting more domestic and international direct bookings”- says Alan Wallish, Passions of Paradise.

“It’s important to note that it is not a chat bot at all – they are real people trained in every aspect of our product. The conversion rate of chat enquiries to bookings is phenomenal – in fact, way exceeded what we expected. Data is provided monthly on conversion rates and Chat2 are proactive in keeping themselves up to date with your product”- says Graeme Smith, Bay of Many Coves Resort, NZ.

Due to the recent lock downs across Australia during the national school holidays and considering the global labour shortage issues being faced, we have extended our Tourism Recovery Package, beyond our previous state government funding, to the end of August 2021. We understand how challenging the issues currently faced by all businesses are and that domestic school holidays are a key time for Tourism and Hospitality operators and would like to continue assisting the industry to increase online engagement through this time.

For those business who are interested in increasing their online presence and direct bookings or those facing challenges being available 24/7 with restricted staff in place due to COVID-19, we invite you to take advantage of the extended offer.

A free online information session for interested tourism and hospitality operators is also scheduled for Friday 13 August at 10:30am (AEST) or by request.

Chat2 Tourism Recovery Package Extension Promotional Flyer PDF 

What’s in it for my business?

If you are keen to:

• Attract more direct bookings at a much lower cost
• Save money
• Be available to guests 24/7
• Increase online enquiries and conversions and
• Improve Online Customer Experience for your guests

We recommend you enhance the online Customer Experience on your website and social media pages to make it more;

Attractive to your guests – timely, knowledgeable answers to questions in the moment

 Encouraging to your guests – so they book in the moment they are motivated to buy and

 Consistent and Reliable – your visitors know what to expect

Don’t Miss Out!

We invite you to trial NOW and take advantage of the extended Tourism Recovery Package* until the end of August designed for Tourism and Hospitality businesses. You can start immediately by finding out more here chat2.com/tourism/

Or

Alternatively, to find out more we have special information session for Tourism and Hospitality with updated consumer data and more info about the extended offer on Friday, 13th August at 10:30am. Just go to this link to book a spot.

*There is a one-off setup fee of $99, currently offered at 1/2 price.

Click on the picture below to visit our website to register for the Extended Offer Information Session-

The Recovery Offer includes:

• 24/7 coverage – 365 days
• Chat2 Software and upgrades
• Full setup of the software
• Knowledge Base* creation and updates
• Up to 200 chats a month

Package Pricing:

• Month 1 – FREE
• Month 2 – FREE
• Month 3 – $49 (75% off)
• Month 4 – $99 (50% off)
• Month 5 – $149 (25% off)
• Month 6 – $199

*Knowledge Base creation attracts a one off set up fee normally $199, for the Tourism Recovery package this is 1/2 price for only $99 until 31^st August 2021. 

Tourism Recovery Special 6-month Package offers a total discount of 58% and includes- 50% off set-up + 2mth FREE Trial + additional nearly 40% discount!

Offer only available to 31 August 2021. You MUST be a Tourism or Hospitality businesses to redeem.

Keen to retain more revenue within your business? Are you weary of having to pay the Online Travel Agencies up to a 1/3 of your revenue to get bookings? Well you don’t have to look any further, we have 3 top tips showing you how you can save on paying exorbitant fees to third party agents and get more dollars through your door from your own website!

Chat2 Concierge’s Top 3 Tips

As you are aware the first place people go when considering holidays, vacations and travel activities is to one of those large third-party booking agents like Trip Advisor, Booking.com, Expedia etc. But what you might not realise is that many consumers start their research there, but then seek out the business website of the place they are considering staying, or the activity that looks appealing. They are landing on your website and social media pages, so it is essential you are able to keep them there, for as long as possible to attract the direct booking. You want to stop them from going back to the third-party website to book! But how you may ask? It’s pretty tough competing against the Online Travel Agency (OTA) giants, particularly as their booking engine may be very slick, their site is easy to navigate and now many even have real people there to answer any questions!

Well, a system has been created for anyone that can do all that and more. A service that captures your guest’s attention in the moment they arrive on your website or social media page! It provides a personal customer service experience, that will “wow” your online guests for a fraction of the cost of the hefty fees charged by the OTA’s, so they will want to stay on your site longer and will come back after booking for any further information they need saving you time.

The Chat2 Concierge service is regularly responding to comments,

“hey, I’ve just been on Agoda and they are offering this ……” or

“I’ve just been to booking.com and they are charging this….”

We are providing the opportunity to tourism and hospitality businesses to be able to respond to these comments and attract the direct booking by promoting their best offers in the moment they have their guest’s attention. Our Tourism Recovery Package ends soon…don’t miss out on 2 months free and 50% off set-up. 

Chat2 Tip 1 – Make your website more attractive

Technology has changed the way consumers behave online. They are no longer patient to wade through pages of a website looking for an answer. They are far more demanding than they have ever been before. 53% will exit your website if they cannot find the answers they are looking for quickly.

Did you know that even if you ask a question outside of normal business hours or on the weekend, online consumers still expect the business to respond in the same amount of time as if it was during normal business hours? It’s a tough and challenging expectation to meet, though our Chat2 Concierge service is meeting this expectation and enabling tourism businesses of all sizes to compete against the OTA’s.

The Chat2 Concierge service enables tourism businesses to be available to their guests 24/7, providing answers quickly to questions they may have. Our service is manned by real people who are there in the moment your online visitor arrives, obtaining trust and most commonly in this environment, providing reassurance around any health and cancellation concerns.

Chat2 Tip 1 – make your website attractive so your visitor wants to stay and spend some time finding out a bit more about what you offer. And don’t forget our Chat2 Concierge service enables you to do this 24/7 by answering questions in the moment they are being asked and when your guest is motivated to book. 

Chat2 Tip 2 – Encourage your customers to book direct

You should make it simple for guests to navigate and book directly on your website. As soon as your customer arrives on your site, make sure you have an eye-catching direct booking button to take their attention.

The Chat2 Concierge service assists tourism and hospitality businesses to obtain the direct booking, by guiding the guests through to the booking button. Frequently, guests just need some reassurance that they are in the right place and be shown where to select dates, guest numbers and room/activity types. Then they may have some questions around the types of rooms and activities, which the Concierge team are well placed to answer and continue to encourage the guest towards a direct booking. We have several different techniques we utilise to obtain the conversion in the moment the guest is looking to book.

Chat 2 Tip 2 – Make it easy for the guest to navigate and book online, with an enhanced customer experience utilising a service like Chat2 Concierge. 

Chat2 Tip 3 – Consistency and Reliability

Guests ask questions in such a variety of ways online, it is certainly very tricky for any chatbot to answer based on a limited range of pre-programmed questions and answers. It doesn’t matter what way the questions are asked, our Concierge service is set up so that our team are heavily assisted with artificial intelligence built into the Chat2 software to ensure your guests will always receive a warm, friendly, human response that is adaptable to request, consistent and is on brand and on message.

It’s important for potential guests to always receive knowledgeable and consistent answers, in line with the branding of the business. You will discover if you trial a service like Chat2 Concierge to enhance the online customer experience, your guests will return to your website again and again (boosting Search Engine Optimisation SEO as a side benefit).

When guests re-visit your website and notice you are still available to them 24/7, answering questions quickly and effectively, you will be gaining a higher degree of trust, hence an increase in the probability of obtaining the direct booking. Did you know that according to Forbes and Forrester Research 2021, that 66% of adults feel that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do for them?

Chat2 Tip 3 – Ensure the online customer experience you provide to your online visitors is consistent and reliable and you will attain a competitive edge over your competitors and attract the direct booking.

We know the service works!

Tourism Case Study

One of our tourism operators who has been utilising the chat2 Concierge service for the last 5 years, has seen their online enquiries grow from year to year, despite having to cease operations in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This operator was heavily reliant on the international back packer industry and after seeing significant growth in enquiries from 2017 – 2019, they had to cease their diving and cruise activities for a short time while the country went into lock down.

The Chat2 Concierge service was not impacted by the COVID-19 event and operations continued normally, the service kept this tourism operator open with an online presence. When visitors arrived on the website, they were reassured that the operator would restart activities once the restrictions were eased. Visitors were invited to keep coming back by the Chat2 Concierge team and there were even some future bookings that were obtained for the following year.

Eventually this Cruise Operator resumed operations late in 2020, with only the domestic market. Though despite losing their international clientele, they are now receiving more online enquiries than ever before. May 2021 has seen a 27.5% increase in the number of enquiries compared to May 2019, even without international guests. This is quite impressive growth, just by being there online consistently.

The Chat2 Concierge service empowered this tourism businesses to enhance their online customer experience to their online visitors 24/7, with a team of real people, who are providing visitors with fast and knowledgeable answers to their questions, but most importantly educating them on the benefits of booking direct, promoting the business, sharing the booking link and ultimately encouraging them to book direct in the moment. 

What’s in it for my business?

If you are keen to:

• Attract more direct bookings at a much lower cost
• Save money
• Be available to guests 24/7
• Increase online enquiries and conversions and
• Improve Online Customer Experience for your guests

We recommend you enhance the online Customer Experience on your website and social media pages to make it more;

Attractive to your guests – timely, knowledgeable answers to questions in the moment

 Encouraging to your guests – so they book in the moment they are motivated to buy and

 Consistent and Reliable – your visitors know what to expect

Don’t Miss Out!

We invite you to trial NOW as currently there is a 2 month free offer* until the end of June for Tourism and Hospitality businesses. You can start immediately by finding out more here chat2.com/tourism/

Or

Alternatively, to find out more we have an information session for Tourism and Hospitality on Friday, 25th June at 10am. Just go to this link to book a spot.

*There is a one-off setup fee of $99, currently offered at 1/2 price.

Book an online demo here to find out more today or register to join us for our upcoming information sessions.

Businesses need to act quickly to cash in on this unprecedented online consumer behaviour!

Have you invested thousands of dollars in your website? Would you like to convert more of your website visitors into actual paying customers? We can show you how! More than ever before consumers are going online to buy, particularly in the face of a global pandemic. It’s much safer to shop and buy online.

Across the world more purchases and enquiries are being made online.  There has been a massive spike in this behaviour.  This means that online traffic has grown exponentially, and your business needs to take advantage of this change in behaviour. It’s free traffic to your website.  But once visitors land on your website, how do you engage with them and stop them from bouncing off to your competitor?

Why are more consumers shopping online?

Firstly, it is safer to shop online. With the global pandemic, there is no need to go out into the public and risk your chances of being exposed to the Covid19 virus. It’s much safer to shop from your lounge room couch. This is what has driven this sudden surge in online traffic.

Secondly, it’s easier to compare prices with websites such as Amazon or Ebay. It’s much easier to compare products to see which one is better value for money. Amazon can even suggest other products that you may want to buy.

Thirdly, it is also cheaper and less time consuming as there is no need to travel anywhere as purchasing can be done from home.

A study done by the Bank of America in 2020, labelled the growth of this online traffic as “The Quickening”. In the United States, they saw a 10-year growth in online activity in just 3 months. A similar trend was also seen in Australia with 5 years of online growth^[1].

Businesses like yours need to take note of this change in behaviour online and reap the rewards of website traffic growth.

Why would a customer want to shop from your website?

Why you need to take advantage of this change in behaviour

This massive growth in website traffic is unprecedented and no one knows how long this period of intense online activity is going to stay around. So it’s important to take advantage of this change now.

Bounced visitors are very costly. These are the website visitors that land on your website, take a quick look, can’t find what they are looking for and bounce off to your competitor.  If you are spending significant dollars in getting them to your website in the first place, then you are potentially wasting your investment.

The goal is to provide an effective engaging website so that when your visitor lands there, they stay, look around and engage.  The longer they stay on your site, the more likely they are to convert. So how do you engage with your website visitor and keep them on your website for longer?

How to engage with visitors to your website

These three simple steps will help you convert more visitors to paying customers:

1. Interactive and Personal Websites
2. Easy Website Navigation
3. Memorable Customer Experience

Interactive and Personal Websites

You need to make your website more interactive and personal, not just with bells and whistles, but with real humans who can explain your products and services in ways that will engage them. Today’s digital savvy consumers want more and more information, transparency and reassurance. They want to find out more about a product before they buy it.

Our Chat2 Concierge service enables businesses to do this 24/7 with a team of real people online when your website visitor arrives on your website.  The team answer many of those simple, common, repetitive questions initially to gain trust but ultimately to convert your visitor the moment they are motivated to buy. We set up specific responses for your business that the team can draw upon, heavily assisted with the artificial intelligence (ai) built into the Chat2 software.

We do this for a fraction of the cost you spend on advertising and many times we are protecting your advertising investment.

If we don’t convert your visitor in the moment, they are online, it’s easy for us to obtain contact details for you to add to your future marketing strategies.

Easy Website Navigation

Ensure your website is easy to navigate for users.  Do you know what information is most commonly searched for when visitors arrive on your website? It’s important to have this information front and center on your website, so it’s easy for visitors to find. Our Chat2 Concierge service can easily identify this information to you.

The online visitor is exceptionally impatient nowadays and is no longer willing to wade through pages and pages of a website.  They want to find their answers quickly and efficiently, normally if this cannot be done in sixty seconds, they quickly bounce off the website. The Chat2 Concierge service does capture the attention of these visitors. It does this by inviting them to engage just before they leave the website.

You also get a great insight into the language and words that your online visitors use with our Chat2 Concierge service. You get to know firsthand the words and phrases used so you can incorporate them into your website content to attract more organic visitors to your website.

Memorable Customer Experience

Once a visitor arrives on your website, you need to gain their trust by providing them with a memorable online customer experience.  Contact Us forms on websites are no longer as successful as they once were, as many consumers are tentative to provide any personal details up front.  Also, it’s not normal acceptable human behaviour. 

When you walk into a shop you don’t immediately hand over your contact details before you get to ask a few questions.  Online customer service should be no different.

Many companies that attempt to use an online communication channel like live chat, set it up so the visitor is required to enter their name and contact details before they even ask a question.  This does not work and blocks about 50% of the engagement for your business.

Our Chat2 Concierge service engages your website visitor with a real human conversation, one that is warm and friendly and adapts easily to the tone of the visitor. We are able to engage your visitor easily and convert them in the moment they are motivated to buy. This can be direct through your website or obtaining contact details and handing over a very warm lead for you to do what you do best. Some clients have reported to us an increase of 20 – 40% in conversion utilising an online customer experience service like Chat2 Concierge. We focus on providing a warm welcome and memorable customer experience.

Conclusion

Even the smallest changes to your website can turn around your business. Having a personal and interactive website allows you to stand out in a very noisy space.  For maximum traffic, make sure you’ve done everything you can to optimize your site, such as having solid, user-friendly navigation. And lastly, make your customer experience memorable so that they want to come back again and again. Remember that good website design should be an integral part of your digital marketing strategy. Always keep in mind that the first impression is the most important one!

Join one of upcoming information sessions to learn how Chat2 can help you to double your website conversions is 2021!

To register go to https://chat2.com/info-sessions/

Businesses need to act quickly to cash in on this unprecedented online consumer behaviour!

Book an online demo here to find out more today or register to join us for our upcoming information sessions.

Are you missing opportunities and enquiries online? The property market is currently booming and real estates and property agents are being overwhelmed with enquiries, many are concerned they are missing opportunities online.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started the amount of people who are choosing online to purchase is increasing daily, in 3 months alone in 2020, the U.S. saw a 10 year growth in online enquiries and Australia saw a 5 year growth in the number of enquiries (Shawspring research). The property market has always been suited to the online space and these businesses are now seeing more activity than ever before.  Though many are not adequately resourced to cope with the number of enquiries, or to be able to respond in the moment the prospect has a couple of questions.

Are you missing out on the opportunities online?  Do you feel that there is uncapped potential in the opportunity that is available in the online space? Are you finding it challenging to respond fast enough to an enquiry, as in when you get back to the customer they have already moved on and bought elsewhere?  The current market is very fast paced and buyers and sellers are moving at breakneck speed, this is proving a challenge to many real estate companies.

In property, a significant portion of buyers/sellers are making enquiries outside of normal business hours, this is the best time for them to investigate and research buying options, as it’s outside their own working hours.  Buyers are also expecting Property Agents to respond in the same time frame as if they made the enquiry during normal hours- Forbes.  This has become a significant challenge for many Real Estates and it is one Chat2 addresses for its many real estate clients across the world.

The sales process starts online, it is the first place most people go to look and see what’s available.  It’s in this very early stage that Chat2 captures the online visitor’s attention and warms/nurtures the visitor to become a solid prospect/buyer/seller for the Property business.

“Give online visitors a customer experience they won’t forget and they are more likely to choose you, remain loyal and refer you to friends and colleagues” 

-Karen Lloyd-Collins (COO Chat2)

HOW

Chat2 assists Property businesses to engage, nurture and answer enquiries 24 hours a day, 7 days a week direct through your business website.  We have a team of professionally trained real estate specialists online 24/7, who are there in the moment your online visitor has a couple of questions.  We engage with them using our unique and innovative Chat2 software partnered with your website.  We know that property businesses invest thousands of dollars into their websites with the feeling of very little return.  The Chat2 team has been working in the real estate industry for the last 6 years and will actively get your website working for you as we make it live and engaging!

WHY

You might say that prospects rarely arrive on my website, they tend to stick with the big real estate directories.  That is actually not quite true.  Sure they may start on those directories, but we have noticed that many like to visit the real estate’s website to look at possibly more photos of the property or attain further information and that is where the Chat2 team capture their attention. Also many of these large directories will sometimes have an automated bot and the general public are still not quite widely accepting of this automated feature as yet.  91% still expect to speak to a real person online when making an enquiry- Statista. So engaging the Chat2 concierge service gives you a strong competitive advantage over these large directories, as we are real people.

What kind of queries will you receive through the live chat Chat2 channel?  Just yesterday across a variety of clients we were asked:

“I am looking to buy an investment property in the Southern suburbs. Can you help?”

“I am trying to get accurate valuations on my 4 properties in W.A.?”

“Would you have any acreage properties coming up in the next few weeks?”

“Where can I download an application form?”

Also do you know what is absolutely ideal about this particular live channel?  Property owners who are international and can not get back to tend to their properties due to travel restrictions, need MORE assistance.  If you are readily available 24/7, guess who they will choose to sell or look after their property? YOU!

Many online buyers are also hesitant to hand over any personal information on a chat channel as they don’t want to be hounded by real estate agents or spammed with email.  Our Chat2 Concierge service provides a safe, guided and free space where prospects can ask questions without having to provide personal details initially.  As we are a real human friendly team, we start with a normal warm personable conversation to obtain engagement and build trust in the first instance.  We ask open ended questions to find out what your visitor is actually looking for, we provide answers to common questions, guide visitors around the websites and then naturally this leads to obtaining contact details to pass to our clients, to do what they do best and convert the lead! You will be surprised how easy online leads management becomes with our online assistance.

Some of our Real Estate Clients do try to manage the live chat channel themselves initially, but struggle with being there, in the moment, their visitor wants to make an enquiry, so they often miss significant opportunities. Some of our clients try to staff the channel during the business hours only leaving the after hours to the Chat2 team.  But Property businesses tend to have just one person in reception and if they are attending to phone calls or a customer at the counter then the online opportunity is once again missed.

“Nearly 78% of prospective home buyers stick with the agent who answers them first.” 

-The Real Estate Trainer

Just recently we have taken over the management of the chat channel for a client in Brisbane, Australia and look at the difference we are already making in the data below. We took over in the last week of April 2021, and already doubled the number of enquiries in just that one week alone, we expect big things ahead. 

We offer a month to month (no subscription) and we do offer your first month free. So if you are interested in capturing the online opportunity that is on offer in the current economic climate, to attract more sales, leads and enquiries direct through your website than we invite you to register for a free demo.

To register your interest go to register for a free demo

Book an online demo here to find out more today.

Businesses need to act quickly to cash in on this unprecedented online consumer behaviour!

The future has been pulled forward – now every business is an online business

Consumer behaviour in 2020 changed dramatically, which was hardly unexpected as COVID spread worldwide. 75% of consumers have changed the way they purchase.

Source McKinsey

In June 2020 Deloitte surveyed 10,000 US online adults and found and 65% of these consumers state they will maintain online digital behind buying behaviour, post-crisis. 42% said they would not return to shopping in stores once stay-at-home-restrictions are lifted.  

The change in behaviour drove an unprecedented acceleration in the digital environment. The United States  experienced 10 years of e-commerce growth in three months and Australia five years in three months.

Sources: Shaw Spring Research, Bank of America, U.S. Department of Commerce. KPMG COVID-19: Retail’s survival and revival.

Chat2 has been operating in the online customer service space for the last six years and we have been observing the escalating trend of consumers taking more of their purchasing activity online due to improvements in technology. 

Now with the ‘quickening’ the changes we had observed gradually have hit warp-speed.

As respected global researcher McKinsey said;

“If you’re feeling whiplash, it might be the ten years forward we just jumped in 90 days’ time.” 

Digitalization, online ordering, remote delivery and remote working have become the new norm. Businesses need to recognize the changing online environment as exceptionally significant, and take action now to take advantage of the exceptional opportunity this presents online or be left behind. In this new online environment businesses need to look at new ways to reach customers. Why?

If they do, they will be able to take advantage of this unprecedented online behaviour and move ahead of the crowd in this very busy and noisy space. 

Brands need to act now and launch themselves head on escalating their digital capabilities, looking at how they reach their customers, communicate with customers throughout the sales journey during the decision-making through to final purchase and after sales. 

Those brands that are now winning are being more creative, more authentic, seeking help from the online experts, and implementing digital capability fast.

Consumers are demanding businesses to provide a first-class e-commerce experience with seamless digital service. 

Now some brands have turned to AI (artificial technology) to attain their goal, though this strategy needs to be carefully managed to be successful. From our experience online, consumers do not want to engage 100% with AI alone, they demand human interaction and assistance by a real person. 

98% of people try and bypass IVR (interactive voice response systems) in order to get to a human agent. The top three terms used are “representative”, “customer service”, and “live person”. Hubspot 2018 Customer Service Expectations 

Particularly in this time of crisis, we are interacting with online visitors every hour of every day who are demanding more reassurance in that it is safe to buy (e.g. checking refund and cancellation policies) and that it’s safe to visit (i.e. what hygiene practices are in place). 

Traditional brand loyalties can no longer be taken for granted as 36% of consumers are trying out new brands, as the business they previously used has not kept pace with new  consumer demands for availability, instantaneous service and seamless digital engagement. 

Millennials and Gen Z have been the widest adopters of contactless activities. Gen Z (1996 to 2012) are on their mobiles on average six hours a day researching before they shop (Reuters Institute and Flamingo Group).

As consumers are now spending more time online during their buying journey, this has created the demand for businesses to become more available online. Consumers demand businesses to respond in the same timeframe out of hours or on the weekend as they would during normal business hours.

Australia Post Consumer Survey, Jan- April 2020 and Chat2 clients

This has placed a huge stress on businesses [especially smaller ones] who need to offer longer operating hours to meet this demand.

In this “new normal” digital environment, businesses need to include a clear digital route to market and integrate customer contact into their capability. 

We have seen that the early adopters of a digital strategy have been able to provide effective customer service and enhanced operation, with an increase or maintenance of sales during the COVID-19 event. This is a clear advantage over their competitors.

The profound impact of this pandemic requires businesses to reevaluate how they do business and communicate with their customers. Businesses have to modernize their core operations which is uncomfortable for many, moving away from how they have always done business. 

Bold moves are needed to build and maintain resilience to survive. The most important move to consider is the enhancement of digital communication and being online in the space where and when your consumers. 

Chat2 has been assisting businesses worldwide from large corporations through to the single business operator. We help businesses stand out from the crowd in this noisy online space, by providing a 24/7 online presence with a team of “real people” providing reassurance, responses to questions, guiding online sales, sharing promotions or obtaining leads. 

As we have been working in this online space for six years and noticed the escalation in behaviour changed to the COVID-19 crisis, we are able to provide the guidance and assistance necessary to businesses to enhance their online digital capability and service to customers immediately. 

If you would like to find out more on how we do this, go to chat2.com where you will find short videos explaining what we do, you can book for a free demo with one of our consultants to give your business immediate digital capability and connection with your customers.

Businesses need to double down on digital in the ‘new normal’ and test new methods of customer engagement (yes we offer a free trial) especially in these times of unprecedented online traffic. 

We can escalate your digital consumer connection to enhance your personalisation of messages, provide real assurance, attract/convert more sales, assist with customer issues, obtain more leads, accelerate loyalty, enhance customer experience and communicate proactively with customers 24/7 for a fraction of the cost if you were to do it yourself. 

Book an online demo here to find out more today or register to join us for our first information session of the year “2021 – Year of Online Opportunity”.

Businesses need to act quickly to cash in on this unprecedented online consumer behaviour.