Review Chat Transcripts & Past Form Submissions To Find Opportunities

This year talking I’ve been talking to businesses of all industries, and people are reporting that 2024 has been ‘slow’. Opportunities are not necessarily hard to come by, but people are slow to take action. So when someone is in the hot zone, we need to strike.

For this week’s Swipe and Deploy I’m going to share an example where I was the person in the hot zone, and a supplier failed to convert me.

Simply Missing Tricks Or Too Busy And Complacent?

I won’t name and shame but recently I’ve been looking at ordering a fair chunk of exterior cladding. I’ve been on countless websites researching and ordering what are usually free sample packs.

However, this story is about my journey engaging with a company who I feel really missed an opportunity (or may have, I still might go back).

Ultimately in my search for composite cladding, I short listed several businesses, all of which I have gave my email address to when requesting samples. So no doubt, I’m now part of each of their marketing email lists.

A hurdle for many businesses is capturing the contact’s email address, so whether samples are free or paid, capturing an email is a big win.

One company had an amazing looking product, so I was happy to pay a low fee (£6) to have a sample pack sent out. I actually ordered 2, so I demonstrated to them that my commitment and buying intent was fairly high.

By paying for samples, I am now an actual customer. Getting prospective customers to enter their card details is a second barrier that eCommerce websites need to overcome. But with a great looking product and low fee, it was an easy decision for me. Something that the other brands should take into consideration, as the fee likely just paid for the postage.

No Guidance On Fitting Or Additional Products

All of the other brands I researched, provided lots of information on how to fit their products, with brochures and videos freely available.

My preferred supplier, however, had very little information available. Although there was a video providing guidance on how to fit on their page, it actually referenced a different product.

So I reached out via their chat function to ask my pressing question. The chatbot asked for my name, email and phone number, which I handed over. Another common barrier crossed!

By this time, I was fairly certain that I wanted these products, but was unsure of how my builder would fit it, as many suppliers sell custom coloured screws, composite joists, start clips and start or corner rails. None of this was mentioned on the website.

So after waiting 5 minutes for the chat to begin with a representative, I asked my question.

However, after the initial ‘how can we help?’ they went silent. After 10 minutes I even did the ‘?’, just to keep the chat alive. Nothing, so I closed it.

They Have My Email, So They’ll Answer My Question Right?

My immediate thought was, well maybe they’ll email me the answer later, I’ll find out tomorrow. That did not happen and I’m as clueless as I was before opening the chat. I even ordered samples from another company and they turned up with a fitting guide and product list. Still no response from the other brand.

What’s To Swipe & Deploy?

Maybe the brand are too busy and not connecting the dots, but they could be checking past visitor transcripts and responding to questions. Especially as they request email addresses. It should be a top priority, like responding to an email lead.

If they were to check the email address against form completions in past 7 days, they would have seen that this user had also purchased 2 sample packs, so must be keen.

The 3 key things that seemed to go wrong here and my take away advice is:

1. Ensure that your process or approach is fully detailed on your website. If you have videos, make them easy to find. If your product is a product like cladding, provide fitting instructions, and show instructions step by step, to give guidance and confidence to those who will be fitting the product.
2. As a marketer or in sales, analysing all the data to hunt down missed opportunities is in your DNA. Unfinished chat transcripts and past sample requests might reveal how hot a prospect is, and a simple email could be all it takes to close them.
3. If there are complementary products that are required to fit or work with your product, show them or sell them. Even if you don’t manufacture them, simply letting people know what they’ll need will help the researcher or purchaser plan and budget for it. These products can be marked up, or affiliates could be used. There’s an opportunity here, but they all help the end user.

If you have chat on your website, how often do you read the transcripts? Do you ever compare them to other recent email form submissions like sample requests? Do you detail the process and show good understanding of how your product works or how it should be fitted? Do you sell or list other items that might be required to complement your product?

If you are shaking your head to any of the questions above, then you’re not alone. But working on any of them will certainly help your brand win more opportunities and provide the customer with a better experience.

That’s a wrap for Swipe & Deploy 062 this week. Join me next time where I will share another insight or inspiration piece from around the web.