We all know that specialized landing pages help to convert web traffic into leads. But, whether you’re setting up new pages on your site manually or using a special editor like Unbounce, creating landing pages still requires time and effort.
Today I’m going to tell you about an easier way to turn any page on your site into an effective landing page that sells without making any changes to the page itself.
You’ve probably seen chat widgets on support pages of various websites you’ve visited, particularly if the site is for a particular product or service.
There are two different types of live chat widget: passive and active.
Passive chat widgets
A passive widget just hangs out in the bottom corner of the screen, waiting for a user to click on it and expand the chat window. Usually that happens when the user has a question that they can’t find the answer to and they want to ask a support specialist.
Passive chat widgets help visitors – have a question? Use it and you’ll get a reply – but it doesn’t actively sell. It can only influence a small percentage of orders: those that would otherwise be abandoned by customers who have given up on trying to find what they’re looking for.
Active chat widgets (triggered chats)
In proactive/triggered mode, chat widgets work very differently. Most importantly, they can help you to improve conversion rates for your business. A proactive chat window pops up automatically and invites visitors to chat.
We know what you’re thinking: “I’ve seen these things. They’re really annoying!” We absolutely agree that IF website owners misuse proactive chats, say by having them pop up immediately after a page loads, they’re irritating.
The key here is to use proper targeting/triggers to ensure that windows only pop up if/when a visitor requires them. Here’s how we suggest using proactive chat to boost conversions:
1. Always implement a delay. People need time to read what’s on your site and understand what it’s all about. If a user is still stuck on a page after 15-20 seconds, they may be struggling with the content.
2. Set triggers on key pages of the website. Using proactive chats on Help, FAQ or Checkout pages is usually a good idea. Think about pages where customers may have questions or doubts and reach them there.
3. React to customer behaviour. If a client closes a chat window, don’t show them it the next time they visit.
4. Use relevant content to draw customers in. More on this below!
Proactive chat copywriting tips
“Hello, your visit is very important to us. Describe your problem and we will try to help you as soon as possible.”
My visit is very important… so important that there’s no-one there to help me? Hmm. Bland, repetitive messages aren’t going to help with conversion. Oh, and FYI, neither is just copy and pasting the text from your Contact Us page.
Try something like:
or even:
The copy you use here is a big factor in live chat success, so don’t be afraid to experiment with proactive chat copy and see what works best.
Using proactive chats instead of landing pages
Lots of marketers know that you can set different triggers for different pages and control them when chat windows pop up, but we haven’t noticed many using triggers to turn an ordinary web page into a landing page.
Such landing page substitutes have a couple of big advantages:
- It’s extremely cheap to create many different variations
- Variations can be updated/tweaked on the fly without any technical knowledge
- They make it possible to target different segments using a single page
A proactive chat window with well thought out text can complement, or even replace, a typical on-page Call-To-Action.
Let’s imagine that we have an online shop that sells shirts, and that we have a web page with a simple white shirt that will suit any person. But wouldn’t it be more effective to sell it to different visitors in different ways using different proactive triggered chat copy?
By tracking visitors with UTM codes in links, we can then craft copy that will appeal to them. If we advertise the shirt at Complex, the link will contain the UTM code “hipster”. Let’s create some compelling copy for the streetwear savvy:
As well as catching visitors’ attention, there’s also an opportunity to cross-sell or engage them in discussion.
Want to target visitors coming from a Star Wars forum? Use UTM code “jedi”. There’s no need to create a new trigger from scratch — simply copy the one for hipsters and adjust it accordingly:
Next, change the UTM code and the text:
Custom, UTM-dependent copy transforms a page into a targeted landing page in no time. It gives you the opportunity to broach the subject of discount codes, related products and much more without having to resort to nasty pop-ups, while also enabling potential customers to ask any questions they have.
Spend an hour setting up triggers and playing around the different text and we’re confident that you’ll see some impressive results. If nothing else, it will help you gauge how ready visitors who’ve come through certain campaigns are to spend and which need a little extra help.
If you really get into proactive chats, you may even find that you’ll never need to fiddle around with a landing page editor again.