As a local business, focusing on your storefront has typically been commonplace, but now, consumer trends are shifting—and your focus should too. In 2020, over 80% of consumers across the globe shopped online. Accordingly, having an outstanding online presence could unlock access to the majority of today’s customers. On top of that, E-commerce sales in the first quarter of 2021 accounted for 13.6% of total sales. While a website may not seem as welcoming as a storefront at first, 89% of consumers want the option to message businesses, so now you can create an inviting and unforgettable customer experience by using Webchat + Payments. Here are five ways that Webchat + Payments can turn website visitors into paying customers:

01. Webchat connects you with quality customers

If a consumer lands on your website, chances are that they did it intentionally. Whether they were looking for your company specifically, or they were looking online for a product or service that you offer, they went out of their way to find you. As a result, these customers are highly qualified leads. Now, by adding Podium Webchat to your website, you can create an inviting customer experience, and connect with highly engaged customers in the process. With hundreds of local businesses online, a timely and insightful response is the key to a customer choosing you over your competitor. By using Podium web chat services, you can offer just that.

02. You can collect contact info from Webchat

Even if the current online conversation comes to an end, it’s not the end of the customer journey. With Webchat, customers leave their contact information, which makes it easy to keep the conversation going anytime, and through any channel. From there, the customer information is stored right in your Podium dashboard, and you can chat with them straight from the Podium Inbox. By capturing customer contacts within Podium, reaching out to customers on their preferred channels is simple—whether that’s through text, email, or a phone call.

03. Use that contact info for Campaigns

After collecting your customer’s information, you can take advantage of text’s 98% open rate with SMS marketing campaigns that get a real response—all they have to do is opt-in. Campaigns is a powerful way to market to customers where 95% of those messages are read within just three minutes. After they opt-in, they have access to all of your SMS marketing campaigns. This gets your customers engaged and ensures that they never miss out on a sale, promotion, or announcement.

04. Add payments links to your campaign messages

Now with Podium Campaigns, you can include a payment link in your SMS marketing messages. 75% of consumers want to receive promotional offers via SMS, and this new feature from Podium allows you to connect with more customers and capture more promotional payments, all from a single text. You can sell your products and services, collect payments instantly, and keep customers engaged for future promotions. Here are a few examples of how Payments + Campaigns could work in different fields:

Furniture

You have a bunch of overstocked inventory of couches that are taking up space in your warehouse. To clear out this surplus, you decide to run an SMS Campaign promotion to your subscribers. From there, you attach a payment link that customers can redeem to purchase the product and schedule delivery, all through a single text.

Jewelry

To celebrate Mother’s Day, you want to offer 20% off all earrings. By using Campaigns Offers, you can send the text to multiple customers at once. The customer simply has to click on the link, select the earrings, go to checkout and make the purchase. You can also set a start and end date for promotions, so the code you share with your customers is invalid after your promotion ends.

HVAC

Summer is coming up and you want to offer a Summer Tune-Up deal, so you offer $100 off to your segmented Campaigns list. The customer clicks on the link to make a deposit and is then prompted to schedule a time for the technician to come by.

05. Webchat acts as an open door to invite customers in

Whether you’re in retail, home services, auto, or any field in between, Webchat can act as an open door for your customers. Including a feature like Webchat on your website makes your business feel more inviting, boosts high quality customer engagement, and ultimately helps turn more website visitors into paying customers.

While collecting a payment is the end goal for every business, it’s not the end of the customer journey. Incorporating Webchat + Payments into your marketing strategy makes it easy to connect and reconnect with customers, even after the payment is made. Customer acquisition can cost up to 25 times more than customer retention, and continuing the conversation with customers can be the key to turning them into repeat customers.

With Webchat + Payments it’s not just a transaction, it’s an opportunity. Get started with Webchat + Payments now.

5 ways Webchat + Payments can turn website visitors into paying customers

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