Conversion is the yardstick when measuring the success of a business. It is also the indicator if each aspect of your business is working or not—from product development to customer service. If the conversion exceeds the goals you’ve set, then you can say you’re on the right track. However, if your conversion is declining, you can find ways to jumpstart it.

One of the most effective ways to increase online conversion rate is through timely communication. If an existing customer or a prospect sends you a message and he gets an answer immediately, that’s a plus point for you. If you can address their concern or pain point at that very moment, that’s customer service excellence in action, and there’s a higher chance your target will switch from being a lead to become a customer.

How Important is “Being in the Moment” to Conversion?

According to a survey conducted by Forrester, 44 percent of customers say that having their questions answered in real time is the best feature any website can have. It makes sense, of course, having someone to talk to, right here, right now, makes people feel that the company is not just out to get their money but to meet their needs. Such proactive messaging achieves different goals for your business including less customer abandonment, conversion improvement, and customer satisfaction.

Aside from being able to answer your customers’ queries, real-time messaging also enables you to ask customer feedback. Most importantly, you know how your customers react to any feature or service you offer. While surveys can do this for you as well, live messaging allows you to see the raw reactions of your customers as they get in contact with your product or service.

More often than not, a lot of companies are not aware of the opportunities feedback can offer to their brand. Marketing expert, Sujan Patel took advantage of feedback and grew his conversion rate by 250 percent.

Lastly, real-time messaging allows you to nurture your customers and lead them throughout the sales funnel seamlessly and naturally. If customers can reach their point of contact in an organization immediately, you are more likely to see people turn from leads to customers. Companies that have mastered the art of lead nurturing are able to increase their sales by 50 percent at a lower cost.

It’s Not Just About Conversion but Conversation

Increasing your online conversion rate is important—it’s an unchangeable fact in the business world. Conversion rates are indicators of how successful a company’s overall effort is and a key element in increasing sales. However, to gain the conversions that are ideal for your business, looking beyond the metrics and and engaging your customers using multi-channel conversations is more important. By engaging your customers in a thoughtful conversation, you will be able to discover how to enhance the experience of your customers when they interact with your product or service.