1:30 pm, January 7, 2011
Consumer consumption has changed somewhat over the past 50 years. The ever increasing speed of technology evolution in the recent decade has meant that new generations are brought up in a completely different world – you can order your groceries through your fridge, read books and magazines online, submit homework electronically, video chat across the world and shop at 3am.
Our world is spiralling fast into a 24-7 culture that answers to the right here, right now.
The internet has developed an infectious nocturnal breed. The way we socialise and spend money to that of 10 years ago is completely different and businesses need to understand this new-fashioned consumer behaviour.
The growth in surfing from the sofa among iPhone, iPad and other smartphone traffic is increasing as users, most likely husbands, browse while the wife watches Corrie or the X Factor. Combined with early morning surfing from the bed, periods that were traditionally seen as dead time are now becoming ‘traffic hotspots’ full of potential customers.
Tesco, Ocado and ASOS are doing it right. They know when their customers are online and understand how to communicate to them. ASOS operate a 24-7 customer care line on Facebook; burning questions are answered within minutes.
Dealers could bode well by following suit as our research shows that 51 per cent of visits from a sample of 50 of Top 200 dealer websites take place outside of nine to five business hours, with peak activity occurring between the hours of 7pm and 10pm.
Dealers need to capture this missed opportunity and wake up to the potential of 24-7 live chat. The future is about speed of response, capturing those right then and there 24-hours a day, seven-days a week.
According to Forrester research, the average individual spends more than 13 hours a week online and people who engage with a business through Live Chat are 4.1 times more likely to convert than visitors who don’t.
The need to be able to talk with potential customers immediately these days is important, but not nearly as important as your customers needing and wanting to talk to you. The odds of calling to qualify a lead decreases by over six times in the first hour.
Any delay or unanswered questions about a car, part, accessory or service booking will lead to people clicking away from your site faster than you might think.
Given the challenges facing auto retailers, can anyone really afford not to be communicating with soap opera shoppers and potential customers 24-7?
by TIM SMITH, GForces.co.uk commercial director
