{"id":21612,"date":"2019-09-18T18:09:16","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T17:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/?p=21612"},"modified":"2023-02-09T14:49:23","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T14:49:23","slug":"live-chat-for-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/live-chat-for-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Does live chat really work for marketing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your potential customers see dozens, sometimes hundreds, of marketing messages every day and everywhere: on social media, on their phones, on billboards as they drive down the street.<\/p>\n

But this kind of marketing has a low success rate. Why? It\u2019s all about context.<\/p>\n

When a prospect is watching TV or running errands, they\u2019re not thinking about what kind of software to buy for their business. Any marketing messages they see then are effectively out of context. But when they\u2019re actively shopping, a message telling them which service or product to pick \u2014 and explaining why \u2014 is perfectly within the context of what they\u2019d expect. And as it turns out, these contextual messages are also much more likely to drive them to action.<\/p>\n

Live chat<\/a> is a prime example of a contextual marketing method: your potential customers get the opportunity to chat with you, right on your website, and at the exact time they\u2019re thinking about purchasing your product or service.<\/p>\n

“Prospects who chat are 82% more likely to convert than non-chatters”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Done well, live chat for marketing can drive more sales, and reduce the amount of time it takes to convince a prospect to purchase in the first place.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a deep dive into how live chat can effectively be used as a marketing method and look at some best practices for contextual chat messages on your own site.<\/p>\n

What is live chat for marketing?<\/h2>\n

Live chat for marketing is a software tool that allows companies to communicate in real-time with prospects who visit their website for the purpose of generating sales. If you\u2019re already using live chat for sales<\/a> or live chat for support<\/a>, it makes sense to also use it for marketing to drive lead generation campaigns.<\/p>\n

How do you incorporate live chat into your marketing strategy?<\/h2>\n

There are several ways you can build out your marketing strategy with live chat. Sharing resources, upselling and proactively asking prospects questions are a few of the most impactful ways to start.<\/p>\n

Share relevant resources<\/h3>\n

Live chat messages can be customized and triggered based on a user\u2019s search intent or completed events.<\/p>\n

For example, we recently published the blog post Everything we\u2019ve learned about scaling sales<\/a>, where we share our favorite expert advice on accelerating startup growth. People reading this article are likely growth leaders looking to drive more revenue \u2013 and therefore interested in our new book, Intercom on Sales<\/em><\/a>, talking about proven sales plays for accelerating growth.<\/p>\n

By showing a live chat marketing message promoting the book on the blog article, we can offer additional resources to our readers\u00a0\u2013 and also generate more leads and convert blog visitors in the process.
\n\"Intercom<\/a><\/p>\n

Market or upsell new product functionality<\/h3>\n

Blog articles, press releases, and email aren\u2019t always fail-safe ways to alert current customers when a new feature is released or when an important update has been made to their service.<\/p>\n

Live chat messages, however, can be triggered to pop up for customers the moment they land on your web page or app. These pop-up messages can be personalized using customer names and data, making them more likely to grab their attention. Use this opportunity to market new features and functionalities for an existing or new product.<\/p>\n

\"Live<\/p>\n

Proactively ask prospects questions about their needs<\/h3>\n

Live chat can be an excellent resource for lead generation and qualification on high-intent parts of your site like pricing pages or marketing landing pages.<\/p>\n

For example, let\u2019s say a lead lands on your pricing page. This is a good indication that the lead is worth pursuing \u2014 but more information is needed to properly qualify and assist them. Use live chat to attain this information in one of two ways:<\/p>\n