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Customer enquiries up 45% this week since Facebook Chat Plugin update

Author's avatar By Gabrielle Wright 06 Aug, 2020
Essential Essential topic

The latest user experience update for online chat increases engagement with your customers on their terms

Many marketers already use this free Facebook Chat Plugin for chatting to customers on their website. But with major updates to the Plugin this week (and increased convenience for customers) resulting in a 45% increase in enquiries, there are even more reasons to consider your chat interface.

What is the Facebook Chat Plugin?

The customer-facing Facebook Chat Plugin embeds Facebook’s Messenger app into the bottom right-hand corner of your website. Customers have the option to ‘chat’ to you just as they do with all their other Facebook connections. Until now though, logged-out customers were required to log-in before they can chat.

Facebook logged in chat plugin

What does the Facebook plugin guest chat update mean?

With the option of ‘Continue as Guest’, guests can use the chat facility without the hassle of a social login or worrying about leaving a digital footprint. Clearly, for nearly a third of enquirers, the login was a barrier which, now removed, allows brands to build an even closer digital relationship with their customers.

Continue as guest

How can I use this for my business?

The 45% uplift in enquiries through the Facebook Chat Plugin is due to removing the login barrier - this is a lesson we can all learn from, not just in Chat but in all customer-facing digital marketing.

Good UX marketers continuously check and improve their customer-facing web interface, for good reason. Resources such as our free guide 10 common website customer experience mistakes help marketers ensure your website supports your communications goals and the customer journey.

If you are already using a chat plugin, review your current tactics and performance (enquiries and conversions). Mark D. Hall’s recent blog article 6 chatbot best practices for e-commerce sites would be a good place to start. If you don’t use a chat plugin, you might consider this tactic as part of your omnichannel marketing planning.

Author's avatar

By Gabrielle Wright

Gabrielle Wright is the Smart Insights blog editor, managing the company's SEO and social media strategies. With specialisms in marketing for the pharmaceutical/healthcare industry, financial services, manufacturing, IT/high tech, brands and e-commerce, Gabrielle can generally be found in her home office in Sandiacre, with a cup of tea, reading and writing about marketing theory and its practical application in the global economy! You can connect with Gabrielle on LinkedIn.

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